Admin webmdave Posted February 20, 2007 Admin Share Posted February 20, 2007 A great text by Douglas Adams, read by Simon Jones (who played Arthur Dent in the original HHGTTG radio and TV series), where he explains his positions about the existence of god(s), opinions and the scientific method. http://exchristian.net/exchristian/2007/02...on-atheism.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purple Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Awww it cut him off :: pouts ::: Interesting when he talks about the cultural difference. I showed my "so british it hurts" love The Jesus Camp film, and one thing she said is "I think a lot of people (British people) think we are basically the same, I think things like this would shock most british people." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwissMiss Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Douglas Adams!!!! Ah!! What a wonderful author and thinker, I've read most of his books (not just seen the H2G2 movie)! It was such a terrible loss to British popular culture when he died, it's hard to come to terms with the fact that we'll never have more books from him! "I think a lot of people (British people) think we are basically the same, I think things like this would shock most british people." Not quite sure what you're saying, Purple. As a Brit it'd be nice to comment but I don't want to make assumptions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purple Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Douglas Adams!!!! Ah!! What a wonderful author and thinker, I've read most of his books (not just seen the H2G2 movie)! It was such a terrible loss to British popular culture when he died, it's hard to come to terms with the fact that we'll never have more books from him! "I think a lot of people (British people) think we are basically the same, I think things like this would shock most british people." Not quite sure what you're saying, Purple. As a Brit it'd be nice to comment but I don't want to make assumptions. When I showed my lover the Jesus camp film, she said that a lot of british people believe americans are basically the same as them, she felt a lot of brits would be shocked by that film because of both the rabidness of fundies, and because of the seeming amont of them. In this youtube, Douglas talked about the cultural differences when the interviewer asked him about telling peopel about his atheisim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwissMiss Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 When I showed my lover the Jesus camp film, she said that a lot of british people believe americans are basically the same as them, she felt a lot of brits would be shocked by that film because of both the rabidness of fundies, and because of the seeming amont of them. In this youtube, Douglas talked about the cultural differences when the interviewer asked him about telling peopel about his atheisim. I think I'd have to respectfully disagree with her. I spent nine years in heavy-duty fundyism, all of those years in England. Yes, it's true that the organisation to which I belonged was from America but it had basses in many European countries, including the UK, and still does to this day. Not only that, but fundamentalist churches are rife here too. I have to be honest and say that I haven't seen the Jesus Camp film but I have seen a lot of stuff like that and plenty of Americans on recent (American) television shows that were shocked by cult activities. GENERALISATION ALERT! The British psyche is an incredibly complex one. We can raise our eyebrows when people express strong viewpoints (as Douglas Adams said - and it's the expressing of those opinions not the holding of them that's the issue) yet allow our city streets to turn into battlegrounds on a Friday and Saturday night without doing anything about it. "Shock" implies a strong reaction or belief and we do like to avoid those. I do believe Britain to be a tolerant nation, we have pockets of radicalism but on the whole we do live and let live - maybe a little too much; something along the lines of "you can do what you like so long as it doesn't impinge on me". I'd say that it's not shock we feel when we see things like that, it's incredulity. Incredulity that so many Americans are suckered into that lifestyle. And, it has to be said, that many Brits wouldn't say that they are the same as Americans. In the current political climate (the Bush/Blair axis) many Brits are making the most of the Atlantic and putting as much distance between our two countries as possible and so they wouldn't lay claim to much similarity. I hope that clarifies matters and that I didn't bang on too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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