Many readers are upset by this post:
Nice article by Jeffrey Goldberg, but why did you excerpt the douchey part? He's "reasonably sure an atheist would sacrifice his life for his child?" How generous of him!
As someone who finds the Jewish/Christian god both implausible and abhorrent, I guess you'd describe me as an atheist. But whether Goldberg or you can accept it, that makes me no more or less capable of acts of generosity than you religious folks. And I would do anything to save my son if he was in danger. Are you guys really condescending enough to believe otherwise?
Another writes:
The Goldberg quote you featured is infuriating.
Imagine the equivalent sentence: "I’m reasonably sure that a gay couple shares just as much love as a heterosexual one." Reasonably sure? Either he believes that atheist parents are just as self-sacrificing as religious parents (in which case, why bring faith into it at all?); or else he doesn't (in which case he should have the stones to say it).
Another:
Sorry Jeff, but fatherhood imparts a desire to save one's child even without impulse from scripture or faith. My daughter is something "larger" than myself, and I came to feel that way organically, thank you. I'm a father first and atheist much much farther down the list, and that should be the real message of Father's Day.
Another:
I would suggest that Woude's devotion to his children presupposed his belief in God's plan for him. Otherwise he may have been just as likely to consider the story of Abraham and Isaac, or Jesus commands to abandon their families in order to follow Him, or God's own sacrifice of his Son, and come to the opposite conclusion. And to the extent that his actions were driven by his faith, it makes them seem somewhat less heroic.
One more:
The sacrifices that we make for each other (parents, friends, siblings, spouses, whatever) are big and hard enough without making some of them more noble than others because of what our beliefs may or may be. Let's celebrate what Mr. Vander Woude was: an amazing, loving father, who knew in that moment he could make his frightened son less afraid. If being a Christian was part of that, then I hope more Christians try to be like him, and I hope other people try to be like him, too. But people of every faith and no faith make those kinds sacrifices, and there's no need to diminish them to raise up this already praise-worthy father.
The Dish 