There was a moment towards the end of the Q&A session following Steven Pinker’s talk when a gentleman asked a very peculiar question, more of a statement really, about the providential nature of the Christian God. In a single, inspirational hour, Pinker had taken us on a tour of human history to show the many ways in which violence has declined, providing a wealth of detail to illustrate a remarkable story. What is perhaps more remarkable is that Christianity can take very little credit for this, despite the word “peace” being prominent in its various publicity campaigns.
While I don’t know what the ratio of theists to atheists was at this talk, given that Pinker himself is an atheist, and given the warmth of the reception and the rapt attention, my guess is that this man was a lone voice. How unusual, in a country with a long Christian history, with an established church, for the tables to have been so thoroughly turned. How encouraging!
Also worth noting is the behaviour of a group of reasonable and largely non-religious people, which compares favourably with the many historical examples of the brutal treatment religious majorities often dished out to minorities. Imagine turning the clock back four hundred years and being the sole atheist in a room full of Christians. I doubt they would have sat calmly and quietly and allowed the atheist time to speak. More likely they would have dragged him out and stuck him in the stocks or worse.
Humanists don’t tend to murder people who disagree with them, they aim to provide reasons and arguments. What I’m proud of is the way our behaviour illustrated in a modest way the major theme of Our Better Angels: the decline of violence.
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