God's Dupes

Christiane Amanpour came under attack from theists rather than atheists for her six hour documentary presenting interviews with J-C-I religious fundamentalists.

Why were theists so negative when atheists were not? Most theists whom I read on this topic focussed on selected details and failed to see the big, damning picture: in allowing bigots such as Jerry Falwell to put his foot in his mouth, Amanpour allowed religious fanaticists to show their true colors. (Atheists, of course, already knew the bad news.)

Taken as a whole, Amanpour's God's Warriors is a damning, implicit indictment of religious fundamentalism as stated spontaneously by those who believed themselves to be speaking on behalf of their personal, religious viewpoint. This puts me in mind of a line in A Few Good Men where Tom Cruise's character decides to put Jack Nicholson's character on the stand because Cruise senses that Nicholson's character wants to tell his objectionable, self-incriminating version of "the truth".

I think that, like Cruise's defense attorney, Christiane gave the religious fundamentalists rope and they hanged any justification for religious zealotry. Was this Amanpour's intention? I'd very much like to think so. Amanpour, after all, grew up in Iran; attended a convent school in England, where she has lived since the Iranian revolution; married a Jew; and, has covered religiously motivated violence as a foreign correspondent.

On the subject of professional objectivity, Amanpour previously said: "There are some situations one simply cannot be neutral about, because when you are neutral you are an accomplice. Objectivity doesn't mean treating all sides equally. It means giving each side a hearing."[3]

Search YouTube for videos about God's Warriors . CNN website on God's Warriors . CNN transcript . CNN's list of interviewees .





atheism

Audiovisual INDEX

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Atheism:
□ Atheism in Canada :
□ Atheist Call to Arms :

□ Atheism 101 :

□ Atheism: Debunking Sociopolitical and Biblical Misrepresentation :

□ A War on Science : BBC Horizon examines 'intelligent design'.
□ Ayaan Hirsi Ali at the AAIC :

□ Creationist Distortions : the faked video that so delighted science-ignorant creationists
□ Creationist Hoax Exposed : how the Australian creationists faked a video in an attempt to discredit Richard Dawkins

□ Dan Dennett at AAIC '07

□ David Attenborough on Atheism :

□ BBC Profile of Richard Dawkins :

□ Dawkins: CNN interview :

□ Dawkins: God Delusion and Beyond :
□ Dawkins: Enemies of Reason

□ Dawkins: The Root of All Evil
□ Glad, glad, glad
□ Hitchens refutes McGrath
□ Hitchens vs McGrath
□ IDiocy on Trial : intelligent design creationism on trial; PBS, Nova, Nov. 13, 07
□ Jonathan Miller – The Atheism Tapes – Richard Dawkins
□ Jonathan Miller – Brief History of Disbelief
□ Jonathan Miller – Brief History of Disbelief II
□ Jonathan Miller – Brief History of Disbelief III
□ Julia Sweeney Sees the Light : An amusing reaction to a visitation by youthful Mormon "elders".
□ The Nonexistent cannot be Great
□ Ode on an American Turd
□ Of Blogrolls and Banners
□ Operation Spread Eagle
□ Pat Condell
□ Pray to Elvis : at least Elvis did exist.
□ Small Town, Small Minds, Big Problem : unChristian intolerance in rural America

Humor:

BritCom
□ Beyond Washoe – meet Gerald

Frasier :
□ Funniest Silent 5 Minutes
□ High Crane Drifter
□ Hoisted on his Own Sword
□ How do you say 'Fiasco' in German?
□ I Spy
□ Niles' influence?
□ Psycobabble Theme

People!
□ I don't know . . .

Religious Satire
□ These men died for us . . .

Vicar of Dibley
□ Alice in Everwonder Land

Miscellany
□ Hitler Rap
□ Pat Condell on Mitt mitt die üntergärmënts
□ You might have to be one . . .

Morality:
□ Dawkins on Scripture :


Miscellaneous:
□ deviantART animation of stick figure doing battle with Flash
□ Manikin Moonwalk a bird with da moves.

Music:
□ Allegri Miserere
□ Aranjuez
□ Laura Branigan Self Control
□ Kate Bush
□ Celine Dion & Barbra Streisand - Tell Him
□ Haris Alexiou Apopse Thelo Na Pio
□ Kitka Wintersongs
□ KD Lang, Lorretta Lynn, Kitty Wells, and Brenda Lee Honky Tonk Angels
□ Cindi Lauper, Celine Dion, Roy Orbison I Drove All Night
□ Lascia Ch'io Pianga
□ Loreena McKennitt & Leahy
□ Master Soundtrack
□ Sarah McLachlan Angel
□ October Song
□ Orinoco Flow
□ Beth Orton
□ Pokarekare Ana
□ Spem in Alium
□ Survivors' Songs
□ Tango
□ Wayfaring Stranger

Science:
□ A War on Science : BBC Horizon examines 'intelligent design'.
□ IDiocy on Trial : intelligent design creationism on trial; PBS, Nova, Nov. 13, 07
□ Kevin Padian on evolution

atheism, audiovisual, videos