The Courage of Heretics

I was at my local Barnes and Noble yesterday browsing through cookbooks, when I got the notion to search for a book I've been wanting for a long time--Christopher Hitchens' "The Portable Atheist". Incidentally, it took me a long time to find the right section in the store. While there is row after row of Christian, Muslim, Eastern, and New Age Spiritual material, in order to find anything even resembling atheist/agnostic reading, one must go to the philosophy section--which is, itself, very small (only part of one bookcase). I guess that tells you where things stand in the battle of the New Testament Prophets vs. New Enlightenment Philosophers.

Anyhoo, I did eventually find the section, and was amazed to actually find one copy of TPA on the shelf. Whoopee!!! In my hot little hands I held nearly 500 pages of literature authored by some of the world's finest minds and all I had to do was take it up to the checkout to pay....and therein lies the true beginning of my tale.

You see, before I could take my treasure to the checkout and make it legally mine, I had to make a short trip back to the cookbook section to return a book I had decided not to purchase. It was during this small detour that I began to feel a bit self-conscious about having this bright yellow book with the word 'atheist' on my person, particularly in light of the fact that many of the patrons I encountered on this Sunday afternoon (the store was quite busy) were bonafide cross-wearing, The Purpose-Driven Life purchasing believers. So, what did I do? I completely wussed out and put my copy of TPA beneath the much larger cookbook that I did intend to buy, so that it would be less conspicuous. I then began the walk of shame to the front counter.

About half way to my destination, it dawned on me what I was doing. Here I was, a self-proclaimed godless heathen, worried about buying a book containing selected readings by other doubters and unbelievers, when many of those same authors had been shunned, exiled, received death threats, had death sentences pronounced upon them, or were outright executed for their heretical ideas. The worst I might have to face was a dirty look, snide comment, or attempt by some well-meaning believer to show me the error of my ways.

It was at that moment of realization that I swapped the position of the bright yellow book with the word 'atheist' on the cover with the innocuous cookbook and walked proudly to the checkout. It was also during that walk, the long wait in line, and the final scrutiny by the clerk, that I came to truly appreciate the amount of courage it took for these now celebrated authors to publicly express their doubt in a time when it truly could've meant the end of their lives, and not just a moment of anticipated discomfort.

Quote of the Day:

"Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom."

--Bertrand Russell