Here is an article I wrote: Religious Atheists There are essentially two types of atheists in the world. Those who reject God and religion for factual reasons and those that reject it for moral reasons. Some atheists say that if they could be convinced God exists they would believe in him and follow his wishes. Others say that even if god did exist religion is evil since it teaches blind obedience. In other words, there are atheists who reject god because they doubt his existence and others reject the very premise of religion which is believe something because you are told to; believe not based on evidence and reasoning but for fear of punishment and for wanting a reward. It is this second group of atheists I want to focus on. First I want to make it clear that this article is not meant to bash religion and those that believe in god but to point out the double standards of some atheists. There is nothing wrong in believing in god. There is nothing wrong in liking your religion because you like the ideas behind it, the culture, you view those in your religion as part of your family and like the familial aspect that certain religions have (like Judaism for instance). There is nothing wrong in believing in a higher power, but there is something wrong in surrendering your conscience to him. There is nothing wrong in believing god created the world but there is something wrong with cutting off part of your sons penis because your believe god told you to. There is something wrong with pretending to drown a baby and sending shocks to the baby by dunking his head under water. There is something wrong by scaring children with horror stories because they dont want to embrace the same religion you have. In other words, there is nothing wrong with believing in something but there is something wrong with causing physical and mental anguish to ensure that others believe what you believe. Unfortunately, many atheists are guilty of this as well. People like Richard Dawkins have mentioned all the violence done in the name of religion. He mentioned how the religion you view as superior is not based on reasoning but circumstances of birth. Yet Dawkins has this view as well. He believes in the most violent and destructive religion the world has ever seen. A religion which has murdered far more people than any other religion on earth. That religion is statism. People like Dawkins and Bill Maher might criticize all the violence done in the name of religion as a reason for rejecting it, but what about all the violence done by the state? Why this double standard? The Nazis murdered more people in 10 years than religion did in hundreds (if not thousands). Pol Pot, Mao Zedung, and Adolf Hitler murdered far more people than all the other religions combined. The violence done in the name of god cant hold a candle to the violence done in the name of the state. When Dawkin was on Bill OReilly, OReilly said that Hitler was an atheist and Dawkins said Hitler was a Christian who believed in god, but both of them are missing the bigger picture. Hitler was able to do what he did not based on his religious beliefs but because his followers believed in blind obedience to authority. Whether this blind obedience to authority is the authority of god, the pope, the rabbis, or politicians is irrelevant. Its the throwing off of ones conscience and blindly following someone else instead of thinking for oneself that is the problem. Besides for this double standard many religious atheists have, they fail to see the similarities religion and statism has. Now, not all religions are the same of course. The fact that Judeo-Christian values are under one umbrella shows ignorance since Judaism and Christianity are totally different religions (Or as the great philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche said: To have glued together this New Testament, a sort of rococo of taste in all respects, with the Old Testament into one book, the book, the Bible - that is perhaps the greatest act of audacity and sin against the spirit which literary Europe has on its conscience.). Judaism believes that actions are more important than belief and that its better to follow the rules of god then believe in him than to believe in him but not follow his rules, while the most important thing in Christianity is belief in Jesus. Judaism (as far as religion goes) is a pretty individualistic religion while Christianity is collectivistic to its core--its whole foundation is built on sacrificing the innocent individual (Jesus) so the sinful group (every else) can be saved. But for the sake of my argument I will talk about Christianity since this religion has more followers and is the one atheists condemn more. Now Christianity believes man is primarily bad (original sin). Christianity says people are born guilty due to the sins of someone else (Adam and Eve) generations ago (can you get more collectivistic than blaming future generations for the sins of someone who lived thousands of years ago?). Since man is born guilty from birth, one can only be redeemed through Jesus. It is only by accepting Jesus than mankind can be saved. Statism shares this belief. Statism says that mankind is born evil and must be tamed and only by accepting the laws of the state can mankind be redeemed. Religion has a messiah. Religion has a leader that people follow to make things better. Statism has a messiah of their own. They dont refer to him as messiah. Instead it used to be called king, now its called president or prime minister. Because mankind is stupid, dumb, and/or evil they need a leader to show them the correct path to follow. Their own conscience and brain is tainted and corrupted and only by having a leader of the free world can peace be established. Atheists that make fun of messiahs and support presidents and prime ministers are no different than the religious people they condemn. Dawkins said that ones religious views is based on accident of birth and dependent on the country you live, but is not the same true for statism? Why do you owe your allegiance to the state (which is also often determined by where you were born) but not allegiance to your religion? Why this double standard? If its crazy to say, Christianity is the best religion on earth because you were born a Christian, is it not equally absurd to say, America is the greatest country on earth just because you were born in America? In other words, atheists that condemn religion but not the state are just as religious as the people they criticize. -DR
Posted on: Sun, 08 Dec 2013 00:40:01 +0000
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