From that article:
No they weren’t. The relationship of Nazism to Christianity is complex; but that doesn’t mean the Nazis were atheists. Himmler (who was one of the more anti-Christian Nazi leaders) considered atheists to be “overbearing, megalomaniac and foolish…not adequate for our society”–which coming from him I will count as high praise.
I was just predicting the future. looks at forum we’re now in OMG, I must be a prophet!
Do you remember what the Nazi’s had on their belt buckle? And is there something you think the staff report from the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board missed?
When you take out your typo (non-) you become a prophet.
Thanks for the link. And lest you think that the earlier days of the Nazis are the same as when they could work their will with impunity, here’s more from you beloved site: (bolding mine)
It is true that gas hadn’t been invented during the time of the Spanish Inquisition and during the pogroms. Both programs conducted by the very cream of Christianity.
The last two words in Post 27 are “massive fail,” which won’t do.
Even if we stipulate that this is true, you’re still not getting that “non-Christian” (or even “anti-Christian”) is not the same thing as “atheist”. The Taliban were and are non-Christian, and even anti-Christian, but it would be absurd to call them “atheists”.
I agree with this. It is complicated. Especially when in the early days the Nazis were trying to gain support. I don’t put much credence into any evidence to the contrary that dates to the early to mid 1930s. But I will say this, as far as Naziism might be from atheism, the distance between Naziism and Christianity is parsecs farther.
That doesn’t necessarily make them atheists.
Right. Does Dawkins have issues with his father? Did he have a bad experience with religion? (Besides Christian morons writing him hate mail about evolution, I mean.) Did Hitchens? Do I? (Answer - no.)
It is telling that so much of “rational” anti-atheist writing is along these lines. Even in the NY Times review if new atheist books are usually of the “he’s so impolite” and “there are hardly any Christians I know like that.” None of them even try to make the case for religion and the existence of God.
Know what? It doesn’t matter if religious people live longer or shorter. It doesn’t matter if atheists don’t like their fathers or if fundamentalists want to shtup their mothers. It just like if a Baker Street Irregular argued for the actual existence of Sherlock Holmes due to them having fun at their meetings.
I contend that religious people with half a brain (like most Dopers) know full well they don’t have a leg to stand on and do the theist shuffle to avoid an actual argument.
This is simply a meaningless statement. For one thing, Nazism was a single political movement which lasted for about 25 years (ignoring related movements in other countries, postwar neo-Nazis, etc.). Christianity is a major world religion which has been around for 2,000 years, and has included viewpoints as different as those of Torquemada and Mr. Rogers. And atheism is simply a lack of belief in a supreme being, and is a component of ideologies and philosophies ranging from Marxism-Leninism to Ayn Rand’s Objectivism to American secular humanism.
Oh, come on. Christians were killed and Jews were killed by the millions, even priests and rabbis. Are you arguing that that the Nazis were embracing of some other religions? Because if one is that hostile to all the prevalent religions, I think that qualifies as being atheistic.
By this “logic” Osama bin Laden was an atheist.
No it isn’t, considering things like the persistence of the Gott Mit Uns (God With Us) belt buckles, but in any case, that still doesn’t make them atheists.
No. If you find comparing Naziism to atheism a bit of a stretch, comparing it to Christianity should make your head explode. Naziism thrives with a foundation of atheism much more easily than with people running to churches following the teachings of Jesus. “Do unto others” and “Love your brother” kinda gets in the way of “send another 10,000 to the gas chambers today” or “Dr. Mengele, this is Ruth. I’d like to see what she looks like as a lampshade.”
I was waiting for the “No True Scotsman” fallacy, or, in this case, “No True Christian.”
Wow, you really haven’t studied ANY of Christian history, have you?
And with that, I got a bingo!
Riiight. And the eagle was there to show their environmentalism. And the swastika to celebrate the whirling log used by the Navaho in healing rituals. It was merely a bit of ceremonialism left over from WWI, when German soldiers had it emblazoned on their helmets. It had become a German rallying cry.