Yes, I think that while things can’t technically be done in the name of atheism, things can certainly be done which are for the sake of atheism, or motivated by it.
Atheism in theory is the lack of belief in god(/s), but in practice, it often leads to the belief that theists are wrong. From here, you could decide to agree to differ, or you could campaign to drag them out of (what you feel to be) their ignorance, or if you are the type, you could try to silence them (OK, this is the extreme, and in that case, the atheism wouldn’t, I suppose, be the root cause, but IMO it’s not very different to those who justify their atrocities in the name of religion (which IMO also isn’t the root cause))
I couldn’t possibly say; from the point of view of the hard (or possibly only medium-to-firm) atheist, yes, I’m sure religion is utter and ridiculous anthropomorphic claptrap, but that’s not the only view point, neither is it automatically the right one (if indeed there is a right one).
Or maybe we could get bogged down in semantics and start talking about the difference between religion, faith and belief…
Perhaps I should admit now that this is where I’m coming from, so my viewpoint is hardly neutral on the subject.
I’m not going to attempt to take away a beautiful moment from you and your sister. I recently became an uncle and seing this little child has made me far less apt to fight about anything
but since that is where you are coming from, let’s talk about it and other possibilities
david burkowitz(sp?) heard voices. He killed people.
where is the line drawn separating divine inspiration from insanity?
would this supposed god really operate on a good/evil level? or are these terms far too valued to attach to a deity?
Anyway, don’t let me divert this thread any further; suffice it to say that I don’t think you can reasonably abolish religion, I believe you’d end up with a bigger fight on your hands than anything we have ever seen.
I’d personally be telephoning all those people (whatever their belief) who told me they “disagreed with what I said, but would defend to the death my right to say it” and thanking them in advance for their support.
It’s easy to talk about reforming or eliminating religion when one thinks of the Crusades, Mary Tudor burning Protestants, and the slaughter of Muslims and Hindus at the Partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. IMHO, religious diffeences are just an excuse to vent our primordial hatred of people who are different from us, like the schism between the folks who believed in eating an egg from the big end and those who ate eggs from the little end, leading to a bloody war between Lilliput and Blefescu in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels.
But religion can also be a vent for our most exalted impulses, as in Chartres Cathedral, the Angkor Wat temple complex, and Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion.
I dunno… if folks are aiding the poor or giving food/clothing/whatever primarily because they’re afraid of being condemned to Hell if they don’t, there’s something wrong with that. Shouldn’t such things be given freely by empathy, instead of being driven by fear of the consequences otherwise?
Oddly, in my experience, it has been Christians least afraid of Hell that give most of their time and money.
They are following what Jesus said in the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25:25: “Whatsoever you have done to the least of your brothers, that you have also done to me.”
Oddly, in my experience, it has been Christians least afraid of Hell that give most of their time and money.
They are following what Jesus said in the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25:25: “Whatsoever you have done to the least of your brothers, that you have also done to me.”
Who preached more about hellfire and damnation, Mother Teresa or Jerry Falwell? Of the two, who has had more positive influence on the world?
Fear? - What a strange idea, where did you get that from?.
Most of the religious people I know find their motivation elsewhere, for example, they may feel that they have been loved by God, so they want to love others, a practical way for them to do this is to help those who need help. Is there something wrong with that?
[sub]and please note: I AM NOT IMPLYING that you have to be a religious person to do good things or be morally motivated![/sub]
This is a perfect example of most people I see on this board slamming religion; a poor understanding of belief or of people who believe. At the very least it is intellectually dishonest to claim that the primary motivation for theists every action is fear of hell. It sure isn’t my primary motivation.
