I owe this quote to the prolific Edward T Babinski who commented in response to my article “The Bible and Violence: A Biblical Bibliography“:
“Randal, One person’s ‘wrestling’ with tales of mass murder in their ‘holy book’ is another person’s belly laugh.”
I really enjoyed this quote because it concisely summarizes a village atheist (or village skeptic) attitude that is as prevalent as it is provincially ignorant. The prevalence is self-evident to anybody who has spent time in the infidel blogosphere.
As for the provincial ignorance, it calls to mind the first-time visitor to another culture who “has a good belly laugh” at the strange customs and bizarre cuisines of the foreign culture. Heck, they even drive on the wrong side of the road! Crazy foreigners.
Alas, the man who laughs in this manner merely shows his own glaring ignorance and lack of self-introspection. He has, as yet, failed to recognize that everybody accepts and defends certain presuppositions which are emphatically rejected by others. The “foreigners”, if they were as ignorant and uncouth as he is, might well laugh at his customs and cuisine, and his penchant for driving on the other “wrong” side of the road.
However, they are better travelled and not so ignorant. They recognize his mirthful mockery is rooted in provincial ignorance. And so they smile politely.
Perhaps Ed Babinski should try travelling abroad more often.
Heck, if he can progress beyond the belly laughs, he might even learn something.
