Certain religions that are fun to slam:

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The more atheists, the lower the crime rate.

You said it sister.

Yup. Stalin's Russia was a crime-free paradise. Unless you count the executions, state-sanctioned murders, and all that as crime.

But doesn't that pale in comparison to all of the religious wars fought throughout history?

Yes, but we've had thousands of years of religions, but 100 years of atheist totalitarianism. If you compared Stalin to individual religious wars, he'd win hands down. Of course, he had better technologies too.

The point is different. The point is that no group of humans so far can claim to have established a perfectly "humane" society. IMHO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The more atheists, the lower the crime rate.

You said it sister.

Yup. Stalin's Russia was a crime-free paradise. Unless you count the executions, state-sanctioned murders, and all that as crime.

Were those because of atheistic motivations or political ones?

There is no "dogma" in atheism, nevermind any teaching that alienates or says to kill non believers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're lumping all christians together. The minister at our church is openly gay. I was married by a different, openly gay minister.

No, I said I've seen the worst your religion has to offer. I've had pleasant interactions with Christians, too, but the screaming idiots and those who insult me have made me extremely cautious. Even people I was friends with refused to speak to me after I came out. They were people I respected. So, I try to avoid discussions and overtly religious folk because you never know who's going to be rude about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is atheism any less defensible than christianity?

You'd have to ask Dawkins. But the argument is that you can't prove God doesn't exist any more than you can prove he does. Sure, you can ask questions about "why do bad things happen despite God?" but in the end you haven't proven anything about his existence. So atheism is a faith too. Whereas agnosticism says "I don't know" and some find this the only intellectually defensible position.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The more atheists, the lower the crime rate.

You said it sister.

Yup. Stalin's Russia was a crime-free paradise. Unless you count the executions, state-sanctioned murders, and all that as crime.

Were those because of atheistic motivations or political ones?

There is no "dogma" in atheism, nevermind any teaching that alienates or says to kill non believers.

But by that line of reasoning, the NT says love your enemies, turn the other cheek, etc. And have you never read Marx, Lenin or Mao about the revolt of the proletariat and what the proletariat need to do to the capitalists? The only question is how this applies to factory workers vs. farmers. With the rare person like Hannah Arendt arguing for less violence.

Sure, it's the practitioners of religion and communism that are bad, not necessarily the ideologies.

[Anonymous]

is "queer" ok to use now by gay and non-gay people? seriously, I do not know.

[Anonymous]

Adk your family to show you where in the bible Jesus talks about homosexuality. They won't be able to find it. They may show you Paul, but Paul is not Jesus and lots of theologians think he was much more linked to his particular place and time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The more atheists, the lower the crime rate.

You said it sister.

Yup. Stalin's Russia was a crime-free paradise. Unless you count the executions, state-sanctioned murders, and all that as crime.

Were those because of atheistic motivations or political ones?

There is no "dogma" in atheism, nevermind any teaching that alienates or says to kill non believers.

But by that line of reasoning, the NT says love your enemies, turn the other cheek, etc. And have you never read Marx, Lenin or Mao about the revolt of the proletariat and what the proletariat need to do to the capitalists? The only question is how this applies to factory workers vs. farmers. With the rare person like Hannah Arendt arguing for less violence.

Sure, it's the practitioners of religion and communism that are bad, not necessarily the ideologies.

Atheist does not equal communist.

What about the thousands of years of Buddhism? There are certain sects of Buddhism that are considered atheist and I would say that Buddhism is probably the least violent religion I know of.

[Anonymous]

There are plenty of violent Buddhists - the Sinhalese Buddhists in Sri Lanka for example. (Of course, not all Sinhalese are violent, but some certainly are.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:is "queer" ok to use now by gay and non-gay people? seriously, I do not know.

Queer poster here. I know a lot of lesbians who take issue with the word. I find it inclusive and easier than reciting half the effing alphabet, which is the accepted, PC way to say it.

[Anonymous]

Since you asked, in the confines of my head and never to leave, I "look down" on Islam. I cannot deal with the gender inequality as evidenced in Sharia law, etc.


Um, don't know what religion you are--Unitarian? liberal Episcopalian?--but I was raised Catholic, and I pretty much got the feeling that women were a lower form of life. Started at communion, dressed like a little bride of Christ, and went from there.

I'm the PP you are quoting. I am an atheist and I don't pay much mind to the beliefs of any religions, most of the time. For some reason, the loud proud gender bias in Islam gets under my skin though.

I too was raised Catholic and agree with you on the virginal white dresses / lesser gender aspect. No question. With the exception of Opus Dei, though, you'd be hard pressed to point to any adult Catholic women living the oppressed life of a typical adult woman in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Yemen, etc. I feel the same way about Orthodox Jews and fundamentalist Mormons in places like Colorado City, AZ.

You'll never convince me that these women freely "choose" the life.

[Anonymous]

But, the bible teaches that women are inferior, too. Don't you think a large part of the problem is their cultural views and not completely religious views?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any religious folks wonder what will happen when you get to "The Place" and find out you were worshiping the wrong deity? I guess there's no room for doubt.

That's why it's called FAITH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But, the bible teaches that women are inferior, too. Don't you think a large part of the problem is their cultural views and not completely religious views?

The Bible does not teach that women are inferior.

[Anonymous]

Nmaybe inferior was the wrong word. It absolutely teaches that women should be subservient to men.