Saturday, January 22, 2011  Can Atheists be Pluralists?
President Obama's speech in Tucson lead to an interesting post
by James Croft, a graduate student who is involved with the
Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard.  Croft was ambivalent about the
religious elements of the speech-- "I feel a similar ambivalence
regarding the religious elements of Obama's beautiful speech. I
am drawn-in by the poetry of his scriptural references, and I am
powerfully moved by the image of a celestial Christina jumping
in heavenly puddles. I can see that Obama's faith provides him
with both courage and hope - essential qualities in a leader
facing dark times - and I am challenged by the thought that much
atheist writing provides neither. Yet I recognize, too, that I
cannot join the ranks of Americans bending knee to pray while
remaining true to my beliefs, to myself. I must express my shock
and sadness in another way. I'm standing outside the church, my
face pressed against the stained-glass windows, longing for
solidarity with thos