People like O'Hare never spoke for me. The only atheist I allowed myself to be influenced by was Philip Wylie, and I have long since diverged from some of his notions, though not many.
Not familiar with him, EB. Can you elaborate?
Son of a preacher, Wylie began his writing career in films. He did a number of the lion-fights-tiger things as well as helping do a screen play for the Island of DR Moreau (in the late 40s?). He underwent a good deal of Jungian therapy and emerged to write Generation of Vipers, Finnley Wren, An Essay on Morals, The Answer, When Worlds Collide, The Magic Animal, Gladiator (a novel which inspired someone to create Superman), Opus 21, etc. His fishing stories, titled Crunch and Des, became a television series. He promoted his atheistic philosophy in most of his novels. Generation of Vipers is a collection of post WWII essays, which decried "Momism", gave Wylie's vision of America, past and present, etc. It recounts his and his brother's trip to the USSR, a trip to learn about that nation first hand. Unfortunately they being young were too talkative. They spoke openly, in Moscow, about Communism's failures as a system of government and way of living. Wylie was given food that put him in the hospital. As he lay near the point of death his brother went out a window and was killed. He said he saw atheism as potentially a religion without God, ever changing to incorporate newly acquired knowledge as it became available. In his later writings he did a great deal of comparitive animal/human studies. One of his last works was an episode of a Gene Barry's Name of the Game television show, science fiction called Los Angeles, 2004. He said in one of his works: "It has been said that I have been hard on the churches. I would be harder. I would do away with them."
Mars rover found a Gideon Bible, in a stand near a rock, proving Jesus died for a universe of souls without end.
Ya'll come back; ya hear?
truth
Edgar, I recall checking out of a cheap motel in souther Texas, and being told by the middle-eastern manager something like, "Now ya'll come back; ya hear?" I thought to myself, "Boy has he been coached."
Yeah, JL. I once did some remodeling in a Chinese grocery store. Three Chinese gentlemen watched the work in silence for the entire afternoon, not even speaking to each other in my presence. Then, as we were leaving, one stood forth with a great big grin and said, "Ya'll come back, now" and a few other sayings associated with Texans of Caucasian persuasion. After the ice was thus broken we had a great time the next few days.
truth
LIfe is so complex. We mustn't expect too rigidly.
I love to have my preconcieved notions shattered like that.
Does it make one a deist to believe in Mighty Mouse?
not if you've actually come to save the day . . .
Oil Can Harry makes my blood boil.
