* Root of All Evil? Religion ~ Uncut Interview, Richard Dawkins & Alister McGrath

Alister McGrath and Richard Dawkins

Root of All Evil? Uncut Interview

This interview was filmed for the TV documentary "Root of All Evil?" but was left out of the final version. Time restrictions dictated that not all interviews filmed could be used. This was especially regrettable in the case of the McGrath interview, which is therefore offered here now, unedited.

"Freethinkers are those who are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash with their own customs, privileges, or beliefs. This state of mind is not common, but it is essential for right thinking; where it is absent, discussion is apt to become worse than useless."
~ Leo Tolstoy, On Life and Essays on Religion, 1934

* A Tragic Legacy: How a Good vs Evil Mentality Destroyed the Bush Presidency

Coming June 26, by Glenn Greenwald

* Religion has made Two Contributions to Civilization ~ by Bertrand Russell

y own view on religion is that of Lucretius. I regard it as a disease born of fear and as a source of untold misery to the human race. I cannot, however, deny that it has made some contributions to civilization.

(1) It helped in early days to fix the calendar, and,

(2) It caused Egyptian priests to chronicle eclipses with such care that in time they became able to predict them.

These two services I am prepared to acknowledge, but I do not know of any others.

~ Bertrand Russell, 1872 - 1970, Has Religion Made Useful Contributions to Civilization?

Russell's ethical outlook and his personal courage in facing controversies were certainly informed by his religious upbringing, principally by his paternal grandmother who instructed him with the Biblical injunction, "Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil" (Exodus 23:2), something he says influenced him throughout his life.

For most of his adult life, however, Russell thought it very unlikely that there was a God, and he maintained that religion is little more than superstition and, despite any positive effects that religion might have, it is largely harmful to people. He believed religion and the religious outlook (he considered communism and other systematic ideologies to be forms of religion) serve to impede knowledge, foster fear and dependency, and are responsible for much of the war, oppression, and misery that have beset the world.

In his 1949 speech, "Am I an Atheist or an Agnostic?", Russell expressed his difficulty over whether to call himself an atheist or an agnostic.

Cross-reference METAXY

* Honoring America's Men & Women Who Died in Military Service

Many people observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries and memorials. A national moment of remembrance takes place at 3 pm Washington time. Another tradition is to fly the U.S. Flag at half-staff from dawn until noon local time. Volunteers place a U.S. Flag upon each gravesite located in a National Cemetery, as above, this one at Arlington Cemetery in Washington, D.C.