Craft Beer Radio

Warning: this post talks about the discussion of religion and touches on the issue of religion itself, but will not be about religion. Consider yourself forewarned however........

I wonder if Greg realizes just how patronizing and insulting his comments on religion are to some of his religious listeners (chiefly me here). While I understand that the postshow is really just the two of you shooting some shit, y'all still have listeners. Greg's comments in the most recent postshow were among some of his worst. His implication (and I could be wrong here, if so I apologize) about atheists who have "sacred" items do so even if they have logical minds. Not really that big a deal yet in the way it was presented, the comparison was that people who are religious have illogical minds. As I said, you may not have intended for that to be your comparison, and you may not have intended it to come across that way but it did.

Second, his point about religion being turned into a business is false and somewhat offensive. There are many churches and some other places of worship that may have a business like interest and there are some that do operate very much like a business (Creflo Dollar anyone?). However, I think what Greg fails to recognize, or wants to recognize, is that like anything else these days, an organization needs a way to generate money to stay afloat. Period. That faiths or places of worship can naturally tap into a much larger and connected market place may make people assume that it is purely profit driven enterprise but by and large, this is simply not the case. I won't even go into non-Western religions or faiths which have no attachment to money, nor will I even brink up the Amish, which would be an example much closer to home for the two of you and show that religion is not solely a business. If I may, I'd also like to present Occam's Razor here for Greg and allow him to determine which seems most logical. Millions (if not billions) of men and women have devoted themselves to an organization that speaks to a higher power because a) they feel it is the best way to lead their lives or b) there is a slim chance that somehow one of them will be able to be in a position of controlling or getting access to that revenue, when the chances of doing that are almost none, and the sacrifices that require are much more than what it would take to try and create your own "conglomerate", as Greg described religion (an inaccurate way to use "conglomerate" but I digress, it is unbecoming of me to point that out from someone who nitpicks about pedantry on other podcasts).

Look I really wouldn't mind if Greg offered something particularly interesting to say about religion, or could even properly digest or repeat either atheist or religious philosophy and theology. Instead what he ends up doing is bastardizing both, not accurately describing either, and insulting one group. For all his complaints about blanket statements from other podcasts or shows, he has a terrible habit of doing that himself. I guess what I'm trying to say is that for all the complaints Greg has about flaws in other shows' reasoning, he is guilty of all that himself. The other problem is that while Greg has said he is often just trying to present his own opinion and nothing else, he regularly assumes a haughty, condescending tone when topics arise, and in doing so, he ends up presenting his claims as factual. I can understand if this is not his intention. But, if he isn't trying to do that, he at least deserves to know that that is how he is coming across. Instead of exposing his ignorance on so many topics (which he does adroitly), he should probably refrain from discussing them, saving him some face and preventing him from insulting listeners.

And look, to a certain extent I don't care what y'all talk about in the postshow, I'm not trying to direct that. I just thought it might be--something--to hear a listener's take on what is otherwise a fantastic show.

Regardless of what happens I will remain a friend of the show, tell others to listen, and continue to donate. If nothing else the mainshow is worth supporting. The only thing I won't listen to is any Lost discussions lasting more than 2 minutes.

Ed