In a Fox News twofer, The Five found an excuse to attack both Oprah Winfrey and atheists today as they discussed why atheists are angry at the talk show host over comments she made about God during an interview with swimmer Diana Nyad. The segment was set up to criticize atheists - and the five co-hosts fell in line. But the segment also deliberately raised questions about Winfrey.
In case you missed it, the “controversy” stems from Nyad's explaination as to how she is both an atheist and someone in awe of humanity and the universe and a deeply spiritual person. Winfrey replied, “I think if you believe in the awe and the wonder and the mystery, that that is what God is. That is what God is. It’s not a bearded guy in the sky.”
Fox News “liberal” Bob Beckel began by taking a swipe at atheists. He sarcastically referred to them as “extremely tolerant people” who want an apology. That earned him an appreciative laugh from co-host Andrea Tantaros. But then Beckel asked co-host Eric Bolling if Winfrey should apologize.
“Oprah shouldn’t have an opinion whether Nyad believes in God or not,” Bolling said.
Personally, I did not interpret Winfrey’s comments as anything more than suggesting that her own definition of God is broader than the conventional one. That’s more or less what co-host and “unabashed Oprah fan” Dana Perino said. “Why should she apologize for her opinion?” Perino asked. But that was also an opportunity to bash atheists for being over-sensitive. “Everything is an insult to them,” she sneered.
This was just the latest in a long line of Fox News attacks on Oprah Winfrey.
What we can do, as thinking beings, is use the material world that is all around us, the stuff we can see and touch, and examine it. Dissect it. Discover it. Manipulate it for the greater good to discover more things.
Stay on the path of reason and discovery, and every day we get our species closer to unraveling the long-sought mysteries of life and the universe. Until then, science and scientific process is all we have, and the only acceptable blind faith is the faith in a knowledge-thirsty humanity to ultimately do the right thing to advance our species and save us from ourselves.
As superstition is replaced by logic and reason, so will man’s fear of the unknown be replaced by acceptance of all we have not yet discovered! – The Wonder Club
And, @vis55, you nailed it. Sorry but a bunch of whining FOX “news” christians (yes, small c) don’t get to complain about atheists when they specifically design segment after segment to whine about the government/other media outlets/cities and even individual people who are supposedly insulting them as christians/their faith. The hypocrisy reeks to the high heavens on this one.
As for Oprah, the pundits at FOX “news” just love slipping little shots in at her when they can. It’s so petty. As for me personally, I have nothing against Oprah – I totally respect her take on God/spirituality plus she is a talented, successful, decent person who has done and continues to do a lot of good — except for the fact that she showed incredibly poor judgement in allowing BOR to come on her show about child molestation/abuse. After the comments he made regarding the Hornbeck case and comments that many consider to be misogynistic in nature, I haven’t watched her since.
That has to be a first for Faux News who routinely attack others for their opinions.
Speaking as an atheist, I usually am “insulted” by most things that Faux News Lies about!
That is it end of flippin BS!
