Sometimes I've found that the most vehemently anti-religious people are those that specifically hate those aspects of both Christianity and other religions - they don't accord easily with me-generation values of narcissism and consumerism.
Hmmm. In my (admittedly more limited) experience such people generally follow up whatever practice Madonna's advocating in that particular decade.
I was surprised he chose the St Matthew Passion because it is essentially a religious piece. I expect he had something to say about that at the time.
I think the interviewer asked Dawkins that as well; his reply was something like "Well I don't need to believe in [Character X] from [Novel Y] to appreciate the book".
However in the New Testament didn't Christ say that from his time onwards that there are only two commandments? Love God and love your neighbour?
*cough* I'd be okay with "love your neighbour" myself. Of course, the word "love" is open to rather vastly differing interpretations.
Whether or not that basis means anything to you, we all have to have some faith that life is worthwhile, and that we must put ourselves out to recognise other people's needs.
I wasn't aware that one needed to take the latter matter on faith; it seems like a pretty common-sense matter to me (Though Nietzsche would probably put that down to my Catholic upbringing). The first, well that's something more personal I guess; different people seem to reach different conclusions.
