French "celebrity" atheist Michel Onfray: If you can't beat 'em, join 'em?

Once again, I have to give the creds to fake news anchor Stephen Colbert for tipping me off on real news; in this case, to the growing popularity of French atheist philosopher Michel Onfray. I'm not sure how I feel about the concept of what this Northwest Herald article characterizes as "militant atheism," and as a humanist, I find Onfray's almost apocalyptic language and confrontational manner disconcerting. He goes way beyond the wry-verging-on-smug wit of Richard Dawkins. But he does raise some interesting questions about the direction we're headed, globally, given the growing atmosphere of religious fervor over the past several years.

And these lines about Onfray's encounter with France's right-wing presidential candidate inspired a touch of envy, when I considered the impossibility of a similar encounter in the U.S. between a right-wing candidate and a prominent American atheist (no names even come to mind immediately, besides Penn Jillette and James Randi.) I guess Sam Harris would be a good choice.

Ahead of France’s presidential election later this month, Philosophie Magazine arranged a meeting recently between Mr. Onfray and the front-running candidate, Nicolas Sarkozy, who sometimes attends church. [envious italics mine, given this is a right-wing candidate!] They argued about faith, politics and philosophy.