[Arratherimi]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi
Wow, I agree with Mr. Fun.

People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Wait, since when did atheists stone people? I thought only religious people called for stonings.

REVISE ME, BEN.

[Carol]

Originally posted by MrFun
Yeah, since I'm a faithful Christian, would you like to know how many people I have killed because of my belief? Your posts are almost on the level of murder.

[orillaVar]

Originally posted by Elok
While I feel I must excoriate MrFun for reviving this annoying discussion, the fact that Stalin or whoever was not "motivated by atheism" means little. Of course he wasn't. It's hard to be motivated to such an extreme by a belief that's just a negation of another belief, which is all the word "atheism" means. No, that's what an agnostic is. Atheists have as much of a belief as theists do.

It's a common mistake, Elok.

[Julik19]

Don't be too harsh on Elok -- being religious, it's hard enough to resist going on a murderous rampage that asking for sensible posting in addition is just plain unreasonable.

[Diortarkivoff]

Whose nuts are more numb -- a celibate priest or a 20-something homosexual?

[Yyaqyped]

Originally posted by snoopy369
Atheism is just as much a religion as Catholocism. It's Athe-ISM for a reason...

Agnostic is not a religion, on the other hand. Atheists believe there is no god; agnostics don't give a !@%$.

Those anti-religious actions listed in the OP were Atheist religious actions; I don't think Mao/Stalin believed in Atheism any more than half of the top religious types believe truly in any religion. In both cases they are using rhetoric to accomplish a political goal...
Originally posted by snoopy369
Atheism is the explicit belief that God does not exist. I also do not believe that there are fairies at the bottom of the garden. Is disbelief in fairies a religion too?

Lorizael already demolished the absurd sophistry of claiming the suffix -ISM proved a religion while ignoring the A- prefix which indicates the absence of the thing that the -ISM was referring to. Wriggle all you like, he had you done up like a kipper there.

Actually we've had this tedious debate before, at great length in a Cybershy thread which launched an assault on atheists. Molly Bloom posted a particularly comprehensive demolition on the ludicrous notion of atheism as a religion, which I took the trouble of digging out. There's plenty more on there which is relevant to this thread.

http://www.apolyton.net/forums/showt...83#post4780383

Originally posted by molly bloom
Excuse me for pointing out that 'atheism' does not share the attributes of organised religion.

What is the holy book or what are the scriptures where the revealed and only truths of atheism reside ?

Who are the priests, priestesses or popes of atheism ? How is the discipline of the supposed 'atheist religion' enforced ?

What tithes do atheists have to pay ?

What are the sites of pilgrimage for atheism, which mythical figures founded atheism, who polices the collective wisdom of atheism ?

'Atheism' is simply not accepting as true the 'arguments' for the supposed existence of a god or gods, that is, supernatural creators or divinities held responsible by some people for the creation of the universe. Nobody could answer it then. I doubt anyone will answer it now.

[diemeareendup]

Neither is necessarily a numbnuts unless he wastes time blabbering about the obvious superiority of his ideology on the internet while cool, informative threads, like mine about the Untergunther movement in France, sink like stones.

EDIT: http://apolyton.net/forums/showthrea...hreadid=172495

[Ambrakam]

Originally posted by BlackCat
Wezil, please don't elaborate about how you have achieved your knowledge I promise not to.


Elok - I wonder the same thing. I bring up so many in depth issues in my threads but nobody posts.

[elalmhicabalp]

Yeah, I outright lie in thread titles these days.

Oops. Wrong thread.

[daasayse]

Originally posted by Oerdin
Elok, that post was dumb. Claiming atheism motivated or was responsible to Stalin's actions like religion was THE motivating factor in religious wars is stupid. Yes, motivation does matter when it is claimed an idea is responsible; as the OP did. I did not mean to claim that atheism was the motivation for Stalin; but the fact that he was an atheist made it all the more acceptable to him to mass murder Orthodox and Catholic clergy for his goal of absolute power.

[fuesquemill]

Ben, all you're doing there is taking any aspect of life, culture, science or philosophy that does not have God at the centre of the universe and claiming it as 'proof' of atheism as religion. Theism is the proposal, a-theism is the rejection of the proposal. It's not a replacement system, it's an absence of the proposed system.

As many people repeatedly emphasised on the thread I linked to,

Belief System != Religion

[evennyNiz]

The sophistication and general correctness of argumentation in this thread is really appalling

Has Ben reached the point where he has developed his own Ned-esque Beniverse?

If you posted on Eventis, you would have discovered this occurred long ago.

[LindaSmithXV]

Originally posted by Guynemer
What the high holy **** does On The Origin Of Species and San Francisco have to do with atheism?

Has Ben reached the point where he has developed his own Ned-esque Beniverse? They are both cornerstones of the The Evil Liberal Conspiracy?

No idea.

[career-builder]

i should because you need a good slap after the crap you pulled.

backstabber. please go away. you are...

unwanted here.