So, what he says in this video is wrong?

@Condor5 Yes.

What was the context of the “cult of science” remark?

@skado Hedges is highly critical of atheists, particularly the more notorious public figures like Harris, Hitchens, Dawkins, Dennett and Maher, who he believes have made a religion of atheism, and created their own 'cult of science.'

@p-nullifidian
Yeah, Hedges doesn't believe in a literal god any more than Dawkins, et al. do, but they, for reasons that escape me, still haven't figured out what Hedges is talking about. That kind of closed-mindedness indeed looks a lot like religious behavior. I'm with Hedges on this. Neither he nor I are biblical literalists, but we can see great value in allegorical depictions of human psychology. Dawkins... apparently not. His beliefs get in the way. He is so furious that some people are literalists that he is unwilling to open his "heart" to the possibility that another way of seeing things could even be possible. And that's the very kind of thinking that angers him when he encounters it in other people. Hedges is right about that style of atheism.

@skado In 'Waking Up,' Sam Harris charts an interesting path that might make someone like Richard Dawkins uncomfortable. But Harris, whose books I have read, is clearly an atheist, whereas Hedges, while he may not be, as you’ve noted, a literalist, is nevertheless a theist. In one of his debates with Harris, Hedges stated, 'God is better understood as a verb, than a noun.’ That's pretty much where he lost me. However, although I am a Positivist, in addition to being a Nullifidian, I prefer to keep an open mind when it comes to the potential benefit of some of the disciplines and practices claimed by religion, beginning with meditation.

@p-nullifidian
Sam Harris is indeed a lot more open minded than Dawkins, but he too, is still hung up on identifying with atheism. Identity is a thing we H.sapiens value highly but rarely are fully conscious of.
To my mind the real substance of atheism is the absence of belief in a literal god. I can't imagine that anybody would claim to disbelieve in the existence of metaphor.

My guess is that the only real difference between Hedges' theism and Harris' atheism is their respective comfort levels with those identities. They both know there is no literal god and they both understand that metaphor exists. Harris is a lot closer to "waking up" than Dawkins is, but he still envisions the "theism" label as dirty, whereas Hedges doesn't mind wearing it. It's all about identity, not belief. (My opinion).

@skado Opinions are all we really have, and it's good that we can share them rationally. I consider Harris more a Nullifidian (one who has no faith or religious belief) who is hypercritical, as am I, of organzied religion. I don't agree with everything Harris says, but I personally found his book 'Letter to a Christian Nation,' very helpful during my gradual exodus from my religion.

@p-nullifidian
I have a great respect for Harris. There is a lot that needs to be criticized about organized religion. I think all of those guys are sincere, and are pushing the conversation forward, and I think that is a good thing.