Ok,Grant,thanks for the reply. Russia was the same as other European monarchies at that time and I think in 1917 all coutries' population below merchant class was not doing pretty well. Saudi Arabia. That's ok.In my point of view,just waste of time for non-believers traders.
superstition rises from ignorance. if i had said it was our duty to stamp out ignorance in america it would be the same thing. if over half of americans believe there is a demon called satan roaming around trying to trick people so they go to a place called hell where there is a burning pit of fire we do have a problem of ignorance in america that has to be educated or stamped out of the minds of people. i used to believe all i had to do was present the evidence and people would see that what they believe has no basis in fact. that has not worked too well. i have come to believe that that it will take a more activist role if we are to ever overcome religious superstition in america. this time of year is a good time to start. for instance every time you see people state that christmas happens because of Jesus birth was on that day you can point out that the virgin birth story was a fable and even if it were true the evidence shows that it could not have happened in december. that is what i mean by stamping out religious superstition. if enough people stood up and pointed out the truth maybe these bible stories would start being classified as the fables and myths they are.
Perhaps, just perhaps, you want to engage in these types of "debates" as a means to reinforce your decision to practice atheism... I have to wonder why your "new found" faith in atheism is not in itself sufficient to quell any notion of attempting to argue empiricism vs. faith with the faithful...
Another person who "knows the truth" on a mission to convert the masses... How bloody evangelical of you.
Which assertion? That you are naive as to the nature of human beings? There are and have been many religions that hold cows, monkeys, etc, etc .. up as gods. Do they not exist? what a joker ... point, set, match
Right, that's my position exactly. Every American deserves the (constitutional) right of religious freedom. Feel free to devote your life to worshiping the Flying Spaghetti Monster, as far as I'm concerned. As long as you're not <b>forcing your mysticism on others</b>, I have no objection to it at all. On the other side of the coin, aggressive atheists like Dawkins have their constitutional rights too. He <b>deserves</b> the freedom to devote <i>his</i> life to publicly ridiculing and taunting the mystics, if that's what he chooses to do.
If that is Dawkins bag, well, as long as people can turn the channel... It is when there is some political bent to coerce people into any particular belief, atheist, agnostic, or theist that I see major problems. I see great folly in those who try to challenge personal faith with empiricism, it is a bit like challenging love with relativistic logic, as those who have personal faith, and keep it personal, if it is working for them, they don't care what others do in their own personal life. Practically speaking though, I think the atheists will go to far in this country, and unfortunately we will see more and more backlashes like we have already seen in the way of the evangelicals voting in a moron like Bush above all common sense, who then appoint theistic judges to the high court....just out of spite. There is something seriously wrong when we have 5 high court members...all belonging to the same organized religion. That situtation is certainly not representative of the demographics of the USA.
Clever. While I can agree about Christmas - that being it is a hijacked "pagan" holiday - the rest of what you said is simply masked hatred and/or malice against religion in the worst way. It would have been better for you to point at the religious and laugh. While arogant, per se, that would at least make it appear that you were on higher ground. People believe in love. They have all sorts of superstitions about love. There's etiquettes surronding it. Rules even. Much of it is based on ignorance. Love can be classified and "proven" to be mere chemical reactions and a biological imperative born from the evolutionary process. Should we stamp out the "unprovable" and ignorant notions of love? People believe in certain political ideologies. They have all sorts of superstitions about politics. They even identify themselves by it and/or affliate themselves with a certain politcal dogma. Their entire worldview is seen through the eyes of a political dogma. Their proof that their political dogma of choice is the right one is based on anecdotal evidence and ignorance. Should we "stamp out" politics. An ideology that brings out the best and worst in people. I could go on. Just remember, in history, where there was no religion and when religion was outlawed, but only a political ideology remained, great crimes against humanity still persisted. Wonder why that was?
just remember there was a time in history where religion was in total control. it was a time of mass killings and crimes against humanity. it was called the dark ages: Christianity and the Death of Civilization Millions of people make an unconscious link between Christianity and civilization, as if they are synonymous. This page seeks to show how very different they are. Once upon a time there was a mighty civilization. It knew democracy and republican government. It had city government, public works, and a public water supply. It built roads for thousands of miles. It enjoyed the highest material culture the world had ever seen. It contained more knowledge, science, wisdom and of course wealth than any city had ever known. The city ruled the majority of the known world for centuries and spread peace, prosperity, trade and justice wherever it raised its standard. Then it became Christian and it entered a thousand years of ignorance, squalor and filth, dragging the civilization of the whole of Europe down with it. The world had entered The Dark Ages. Was this just a historical coincidence? It is possible. What is not possible is to maintain the fiction that Christianity is the same thing as Civilization. Before Christianity Europe knew civilization, although âthe Holy Landâ didn't, Christianity came along and civilization went away. To make out that Christianity made the world civilized is a travesty.(more) http://mwillett.org/atheism/christian-civilization.htm