I've not been able to review it. Until I can, I will withhold judgment.
The relevant segment has been posted on youtube; try this:
I said she was put on the spot, not kidnapped. geez.
And to me, she put herself "on the spot" -- if you want to call it that -- voluntarily.
she volunteered it, out of the blue, unprompted? Or was it a response to a question?
She apparently told Oprah's producers before the show that she was "not a 'God person'", and Oprah followed up with a question on the show.
That was not directed at you personally. It was a general statement.
I didn't take it personally; I was just confused as to what you meant.
I am an engineer also. I did not receive any sort of rationality training in engineering school. I would think the philosophy cirriculum handles that a little more explicitly - logic, etc. But I would not know. I took an introductory course on philosophy, which mainly dealt with Descartes, and several courses on philosophy of religion, which definitely did not deal with rationality.
I went through a bunch of that also, but I specialized in the philosophy of science, and technology assessment. Most of that stuff is the soul of rationality, though you can find woo on the fringes of almost anything if you go looking for it. I also participated in a number of seminars and colloquia with Ray Hyman -- for many years a close associate of James Randi -- so I think I've had pretty good and consistent contact with people committed to rationality and critical thinking.
As for why I think Oprah is anti-atheist, I would say it does not hinge on a single interview. She has pushed woo on her show and especially in her stupid magazine for years. For all the reasons you list for disliking her show. I could be wrong, though.
Okay, fine. You're entitled to your opinion; you may be right.
As a former activist for causes other than atheism, I have learned to be a little leary of dragging out the big guns against noisy, but essentially harmless opposition -- and in the process missing the real targets.
To me, "anti-atheist" describes people like George H. W. Bush, who once said on the campaign trail, ""No, I don't know that atheists should be regarded as citizens, nor should they be regarded as patriotic. This is one nation under God."<
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Or Pat Robertson, who has compared athesits to Nazis, and accused them of, among other things, "stealing Christmas".
Also anti-athesit are the constitutions of Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi, North & South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, five of which explicitly ban atheists from holding public office, and two of which do so implicitly.
Oprah's just another wealthy TV personality who's a little confused.
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