Religious Cheats Won't Own Up

Religious and ethical think-tank Theos have a moral dilemma. On Saturday I spotted that they had changed their views on the Atheist Bus campaign, as expressed in their smug press release. As a courtesy I sent them an e-mail linking back to my post. They haven't acknowledged it. I think that we can take it as read that they know what they have done is wrong, but they are ashamed to admit it.

That's fine. I had also copied in The Telegraph, Fox News, The Guardian, The Times, The Independent and Sky News who had all quoted verbatim from their press release. I also tried to e-mail Ariane Sherine at The Guardian, but the message bounced. I later found her blog and posted there.

Of course, not owning up is a behaviour you would come to expect from a group whose identity is forged around an immature belief. So perhaps it is just to be expected. More and more I am coming to understand "believers" to fall into a pattern similar to "immature", agnostics are in the teenage or "questioning" phase, and atheists falling into the "mature" or miserable old fart category. How we ended up in a political settlement where the immatures hold sway remains a mystery to me.

I don't know whether getting Theos to own up remains an objective worth pursuing. I had thought that I could e-mail the three directors of Theos whose e-mails are quoted on their website. Should a child be confronted by their own misbehaviour? Am I their parent? Perhaps I have more interesting things to get on with.