“A new tyranny is thus born, invisible and often virtual, which unilaterally and relentlessly imposes its own laws and rules.”
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Francis I
“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and swept them all away.”
Matt 24:37-39
Now let’s suppose, just for the moment and just arguendo, that God doesn’t exist, that He’s a pure figment of the imagination. What then won the battle of Lepanto? No, back off. What got the Christian fleet together even to fight the battle, for without getting together to fight it it could never have been won?
The answer is, of course, faith, the faith of the pope, Pius V, who did the political maneuvering and much of the financing, and also the faith of the kings, doges, nobles and perhaps especially the common folk who manned the fleet. And that answer does not depend on the validity of faith, only upon its sincere existence. Faith is, in short, a weapon, the gun you bring to a certain kind of gunfight.
They’ve taken to calling themselves “brights,” of late, those who disparage and attack faith. At least, some of them have. One can’t help but note the prior but parallel usurpation of the word “gay” by homosexuals. And, just as gays do not appear notably happier than anyone else, one may well doubt whether “brights” are any smarter . . . or even as smart.
Example: The religious impulse is as near to universal a human phenomenon as one might imagine. Not that every human being has it, of course, but it has been present, and almost invariably prevalent, in every human society which did not actively suppress it (and some that did).
Now imagine you’re a human being of broadly liberal sentiment, much opposed to religion and also much opposed to the oppression of women and gays, equally much against sexual repression, which, by you, and not without some reason on your part, religion is generally held responsible for. You are, in other words, a “bright.” Let’s say, moreover, that you’re a European “bright.”
What has been the effect of your, the collective “your,” attacks on and disparagement of Christianity? Did you get rid of religion? Yes . . . ummm . . . well, no. You got rid of Christianity for the most part. And left a spiritual vacuum for Islam. So, in lieu of one religion, a religion, be it noted, that has become a fairly live-and-let-live phenomenon, you’ve managed to set things up nicely for a religion which is by no means live-and-let-live. You’ve arranged to replace a religion that hasn’t really done much to oppress women and gays in, oh, a very long time, with one firmly dedicated to the oppression of the one and the extinction of the other.
And you’ll insist on calling this “bright,” won’t you? TBecause it so cleverly advances your long-term goals, right?
Tom Katman
http://www.tomkratman.com/Ranttuloriad.htmlgoals, right?
After 30+ years of observing and taking part in debates about history with many of my fellow atheists I can safely claim that most atheists are historically illiterate. This is not particular to atheists: they tend to be about as historically illiterate as most people, since historical illiteracy is pretty much the norm. But it does mean that when most (not all) atheists comment about history or, worse, try to use history in debates about religion, they are usually doing so with a grasp of the subject that is stunted at about high school level.
This is hardly surprising, given that most people don’t study history past high school. But it means their understanding of any given historical person, subject or event is (like that of most people), based on half-remembered school lessons, perhaps a TV documentary or two and popular culture: mainly novels and movies. Which is why most atheists (like most people) have a grasp of history which is, to be brutally frank, largely crap.
Armarium Magnum
http://armariummagnus.blogspot.com/2013/11/why-history-isnt-scientific-and-why-it.html?m=1
What’s worse is that I’ve also experienced atheists who have been shown extensive, clear evidence that the medieval Church taught the earth was round and that the myth of medieval Flat Earth belief was invented by the novelist Washington Irving in 1828, and they have simply refused to believe that the myth could be wrong.
Neat historical fables such as the ones about Christians burning down the Great Library of Alexandria (they didn’t) or murdering Hypatia because of their hatred of her learning and science (ditto) are appealing parables. Which means some atheists fight tooth and nail to preserve them even when confronted with clear evidence that they are pseudo historical fairy tales.
The bulk of persecution from religion comes when any religion is in complete control of the government. It does not seem to matter matter whether it is Christian, Islam, etc. Our Founders were learned,,educated men who understood the need to separate religion from government.
The only rational response to whether a God exists or not is to realize that one can not know for certain (outside of a personal, direct experience which serves as no proof to others)). Whether this God exists in the form that Christians, Muslims, etc., believe in, is an even more complicated question.
I don’t know if “God” exists or not. I do believe that virtue is it’s own reward. I can not beleive that a just God would sentence anyone to eternal Hell because one failed to adopt the dogma of one religion over another. I do not demand that others behave in a manner that is coincides with my belief. I believe in let and let live as long as another’s behavior does not impinge on my rights (Not my beliefs).
Nothing else makes sense.
B, everything that exists in the universe is governed by rules, humanity is no exception . The God of the Judo-Christian people established laws governing the righteous and unrighteous alike and the penalties for disobedience as well. .There are no exceptions, regardless of how one feels.
Humanity is not governed by feelings and we can all thank God for that.
“We naturally like what we have been accustomed to, and are attracted towards it. […] The same is the case with those opinions of man to which he has been accustomed from his youth; he likes them, defends them, and shuns the opposite views.”
― Maimonides, The Guide for the Perplexed