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Imperial nudity is openly on display, in taverns women discuss the emperor rudely. Slightly less uncouth women snigger quietly behind their handkerchiefs. Many women compare imperial attractiveness with the manliness of their husbands and boyfriends. Indeed later we know those women will be cuddling their partners and while making comments like, "You look better than the naked emperor, darling."

Then a courtier gets involved and refuses to admit anything is wrong. That is The Courtier's Reply, a sequel to "The Emperor's New Clothes". [1]

The courtier

  1. The courtier insists nobody should dare suggest his imperial majesty is undressed without first studying fashion design, tailoring and other similarly sophisticated subjects in detail.
    1. How is fashion and tailoring relevant to recognising that the emperor is naked? The courtier doesn't get round to explaining all that.
  2. The courtier explains one should study the way Parisian fashion houses add that undefinable "je ne sais quois" [2] which makes their designs special and European. Furthermore one is required to study fashion companies in the United States as they add American know how that makes their designs impeccably stylish. Western fashion designers have the skill to conceal what a wearer has below the waste. Simultaneously designers subtly show something attractive is there and avoid obscenity. Impudent upstarts assume they can tell what is visible below the waste. And they don't even understand how skilled designers conceal it.
    1. We puzzle over this since we can't see any evidence the emperor is wearing stylish clothes, rather we see no clothes at all. Incidentally are all those women staring at something. Errr what?
  3. The courtier continues that critics clearly haven't studied erudite comparisons between the costumes of European emperors and those worn by emperors in China, Japan, Ancient Rome and other nations. Without knowing how imperial naughty bits are/were respectfully covered in these above mentioned empires it is unreasonable to assume one can tell whether or not the imperial naughty bits of our ruler are properly clothed. Moreover brazen cynics cannot compare imperial clothing with that of Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs, Ancient Mesopotamian rulers, Latin American rulers before the European arrival etc. etc. etc.
    1. How in the name of the Most Holy IPU & FSM is all this relevant. Would women giggled at all those other emperors in elaborate costumes the way they giggle at our naked emperor?
  4. Unless all subjects connected with clothes and fashion are studied in detail nobody has the right to criticise the naked emperor. How can those extremely disrespectful accusers imagine they know enough to tell whether the emperor is wearing tasteful, fashionable clothes or no clothes at all? It's clear critics don't know the first thing about clothing design, fashion or good taste!
    1. The list of what needs to be learnt can easily be extended without limit and it's all irrelevant.

Parallel

There is a parallel with the way Christians too often avoid answering the arguments that Richard Dawkins and other new atheists give and instead insist that atheists haven't read enough Sophisticated theology. We note Muslims also to it. [3] Similarly some Christians try to argue, atheists shouldn't dare to criticise Christianity without studying what Sophisticated theologians write in detail. Then if we read theology they still complain. We haven't read enough or we read the wrong stuff, or we haven't read it in the uncritical frame of mind Christians prefer. There's always a new criticism.

If they really had evidence for God they'd tell us where to find that evidence instead of complaining that we don't read enough irrelevant theology wouldn't they?. [4]

Religion is unsound

Those who support Christianity sometimes recognise there's no sound reason to believe in Jesus but would rather ordinary people don't find that out. After all teaching Christian humility is a good way to stop subordinates questioning when those in authority become corrupted by power.

—(PZ Myers)

Personally, I suspect that perhaps the Emperor might not be fully clothed — how else to explain the apparent sloth of the staff at the palace laundry — but, well, everyone else does seem to go on about his clothes, and this Dawkins fellow is such a rude upstart who lacks the wit of my elegant circumlocutions, that, while unable to deal with the substance of his accusations, I should at least chide him for his very bad form.

Christians and their supporters often see they can't answer arguments showing belief in God isn't reasonable. Then their next tactic can be to complain that attacking Christianity is somehow improper. Christians feel free to criticise atheism in impolite ways but we shouldn't exercise free speech.

If moderate Christians could prevent the harm done by the Religious Right and Christian Fundamentalists generally many of us certainly would attack Christianity less.

See also

"The Courtier's Reply When can one use The Courtier's Reply? Find that out and more.

External links

"Courtier's Reply" quotes Myers in full, it’s really funny and well worth reading. [5]

Footnotes

  1. The Courtier's Reply by PZ Myers imagines how the famous story, by Hans Christian Andersen could continue. A few people outside western countries may not know the story so for anyone who would like to read it or refresh their memory here are links. Swindlers persuade a vane emperor that they can get him magic clothes. These clothes look fine, really magnificent to worthy folk but fools and unfit people can’t see anything. (People do sometimes believe wild, improbable paranormal stories so perhaps this fairy tale isn't too bizarre.) The climax of the story has the emperor parading while neither he nor anyone else admits they can’t see wonderful clothes. Finally a child says the emperor is naked and after that everyone recognizes the emperor’s nudity.
  2. je ne sais quois;je ne sais quois
  3. Sophisticated Courtier's Reply
  4. Defending the Courtiers at Intellectual Conservative
  5. Incidentally Myers isn't the only atheist who compares religious faith to the naked emperor of Andersen. Galileo Unchained uses the same comparison, see Faith Shows the Emperor has No Clothes.

External links

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