patrick.net

Rin says

If the above is applied, then peace shall prevail on earth.

You jest, but I suspect that much terrorism is the result of young men not being able to get laid. And yes, I'm serious about that. Sexually frustrated young men with time on their hands and nothing to lose are very, very dangerous. In contrast, men who get laid regularly are generally laid back and happy, and unlikely to risk their happiness for some crazy cause or glory.

Dan8267 says

assuming two complimentary things are mutually exclusive

Strategist says

They are not complimentary. They are sworn enemies from day one.

It's complEmentary not complimentary (in this case).

A drunk non-native speaker knows your own language better than you.

Dan8267 says

Who is more likely to convert to Islam, one who already believes in an all-powerful god and moral figure or an atheist who finds the idea of the supernatural ridiculous?

***

Remember, Islam would not even exist if not for Judaism and Christianity.

Dan, about the history, you are right: the charlatan Mohamadman hijacked the Abrahamic tradition much as the 9/11 hijackers hijacked 767's. Also, at the individual level, you are right again: individual Christians can be converted to Islam more readily than atheists can.

OTOH, at the societal level, the empirical data seem to contradict your claim. As Patrick and 2Scoops pointed out, the comparatively more secular western European and left-leaning populations appear more vulnerable to hijrah. Sam Harris explained a likely reason: most secularists fail to understand how the world looks to a sincerely religious person. I've been lucky to know many religious people, and I can tell you that they believe. To the secular left, a religious label seems like a fashion label, but to sincerely religious people, religion defines the origin and ultimate purpose of life itself. As a result, secular societies appear more vulnerable to the delusion that radically antagonistic religions can "coexist", even when they can't. I wish that atheists in general could see that Islam says to kill them and importing believers is problematic, but surprisingly many refuse to see that really obvious fact, even when Muslims say so openly and refer to it on official flags that fly brazenly around the world.

None so blind as those who will not see.

Here is the flag of Saudi Arabia. For those who can't read Arabic, it states the Shehada: "There is no god but Allah, Mohamed is his prophet." They underline that statement with a sword, like the sword they would use to cut off your head. They call atheists terrorists, because even questioning the fundamentals of Islam undermines the foundation of their government.

Your words regarding religion sound very rigid, almost fanatically intolerant. I don't know if that's the intent, however intolerance shares a common source on both ends of the religious spectrum. Just an observation.Dan8267 says

rando says

Inoculations use bits of a weakened virus to give protection against a deadly virus.

The biochemical machinery responsible for the success of vaccines do not have anything to do with the mechanism of faith. Allowing children to be brainwashed by Christianity is like giving them AIDS. It weakens their immune system against the infection of Islam. Who is more likely to convert to Islam, one who already believes in an all-powerful god and moral figure or an atheist who finds the idea of the supernatural ridiculous?

Another analogy. To keep people off crack, give them cocaine to snort. To keep people from abusing liquor, get them drunk on beer. To make sure you don't die of lung cancer, infect yourself with brain cancer.

Remember, Islam would not even exist if not for Judaism and Christianity.

They are taught from day one to hate America, this won't be good in a long run. That's a lot of people in middle east who wish us death. I think that stopping terrorism can only be done the way Patrick pointed in another thread. You have to confront the problem and deal with it. Not what liberals do, tip toe around the issue cowering.

I don't want to defeat Christianity, I just want to MAGA. Which absolutely requires that we protect our nation and it's citizens from all the evils and failings of religion, especially Christianity. Because Christians seem to believe this is their country, and their government.

errc says

I don't want to defeat Christianity, I just want to MAGA. Which absolutely requires that we protect our nation and it's citizens from all the evils and failings of religion, especially Christianity. Because Christians seem to believe this is their country, and their government.

You might want to consider who is blowing up Americans with bombs before you make statements like that.

America is doomed! This country is in the shotter, and going straight to hell! All thanks to Libruls!!

America is a Christian nation, that survives and thrives on Christianity and it's belief systems! And by Christian, i mean good Christian, not that bad ones. When Christians wrong people cause harm, they are not Real Christians!

Have you ever asked yourself how you hold both positions simultaneously?

FortWayne says

errc says

I don't want to defeat Christianity, I just want to MAGA. Which absolutely requires that we protect our nation and it's citizens from all the evils and failings of religion, especially Christianity. Because Christians seem to believe this is their country, and their government.

You might want to consider who is blowing up Americans with bombs before you make statements like that.

How many Americans have been blown up with bombs by the opposing faction in your religious war?

More, or less, than those who have fallen victim to the Christian War on Drugs? A failed Loser war, where the government is at war with its own citizens?

Love thy neighbor, bro

Gade says

Sweden is thoroughly secularized, They have defeated Christianity. It does not look like they will win against Islam.

This is true. Watch the slow death of Sweden through the toleration of violent intolerance.

How many people were hurt by drugs with lives completely destroyed? Your view of freedom means hurting others when it comes to drugs errc.

War with Middle East... you probably forgot that they attacked us. We retaliated.

errc says

FortWayne says

errc says

I don't want to defeat Christianity, I just want to MAGA. Which absolutely requires that we protect our nation and it's citizens from all the evils and failings of religion, especially Christianity. Because Christians seem to believe this is their country, and their government.

You might want to consider who is blowing up Americans with bombs before you make statements like that.

How many Americans have been blown up with bombs by the opposing faction in your religious war?

More, or less, than those who have fallen victim to the Christian War on Drugs? A failed Loser war, where the government is at war with its own citizens?

Love thy neighbor, bro

Here's a question. How many Muslims in the US have multiple wives?

I know there are tons in the UK and the Goverment looks the other way while throwing the book at non-Muslims who never finalized a separation but got married again 10 years later.

I better not find out the Government is chasing Mormon sub-groups for Bigamy while ignoring Muslims.

rando says

I think there can be morality without God. You just have to see that other people suffer like you yourself do, that they are really very similar to you.

The only way to scientifically test your hypothesis would be to remove God from the equation and see if people develop moral behavior.

The thing is that because God literally did create everything, there is no way to remove Him from the equation. He wrote the laws of the universe and all the equations that explain those laws.

So since we can't remove God from the equation the best we can do is examine the evidence. Are there any atheist dominated societies on the earth? None that I know of. But lets assume there is such a place. Would this place still require police, door locks, banks/safety deposit boxes, security cameras? There in not an altruistic society. It is an illusion.

I know some people will say that animals exhibit altruism/morality. But while there certainly are examples of morality/altruism in nature, there are also examples of savagery and cruelty. It is NOT universally true that animals are moral. And therefore, morality is not a product of evolution/genetics.

But back to the point. People are not capable of acting with morality 100% of the time. People are flawed, and incapable of 100% rational behavior. Evidence of this is seen all day everyday, just watch people. They consistently do things that don't make sense. The most tragic example is that people think that by wishing God's existence away, they can avoid the pain that comes from refusing to make God foundation of their own lives. Unbelief unfortunately doesn't change reality.

Climate change is real, no matter how hard the skeptics laugh.

Jesus Christ is real, no matter how hard the skeptics laugh.

Dan8267 says

PeopleUnited says

You are wrong again. When a person says there is no God, they are implying there is no God to which they are accountable.

No. You're wrong. When I say there is no god, I mean there is no god. A person is immorally accountable for immoral actions. You don't need some supernatural sky daddy to motivate you to not do evil, unless you are fucking evil.

Dan you are actually starting to make sense. People are fucking evil. THAT IS EXACTLY WHY THEY NEED GOD!

Dan8267 says

PeopleUnited says

On the other hand, someone who truly fears God would not deliberately and habitually do evil because they would know that God will not let their evil go unpunished.

Your statement is empirically false. Just look at 90% of Christian history. Look at the torture, rape, and murder committed in the name of Christ. Hell, look at ISIS today. They believe in your god, the god of Abraham, and yet they commit atrocities all the time. Don't let reality get in the way of your fantasies.

No Dan, it is absolute truth. When a person lives their life in the fear of the Lord, they do not do those immoral things. The fear of the Lord would prevent them from torture, rape, murder.

When a woman who identifies as a Christian or Muslim or atheist commits sin, they are doing so not as a representation of their identity as a Christian, Muslim or atheist. They are sinning as an individual who does not fear God. You need to stop blaming Christianity for what "Christians" do and start recognizing that people do evil because they are evil. Every. Last. One.

And Islam encourages people to be evil.

In contrast, Jesus discouraged evil behavior and made it a point to teach his followers to reform and become better.

Dan8267 says

A quick death means Osama suffered nothing for his crimes.

First of all, Osama was suffering for his crimes. If nothing else, he bore the burden of knowing that he is responsible for countless deaths. Second of all, he lived under Islamic rule which is a prison in and of itself. And lastly, no wrong deed goes unpunished. Either Jesus will pay for your sin, or you will. In Osama's case, he chose to accept the tab himself.

Don't pull an Osama, trust Christ today.

TwoScoopsMcGee says

Here's a question. How many Muslims in the US have multiple wives?

I know there are tons in the UK and the Goverment looks the other way while throwing the book at non-Muslims who never finalized a separation but got married again 10 years later.

I better not find out the Government is chasing Mormon sub-groups for Bigamy while ignoring Muslims.

It is my understanding that polygamy is practiced in more than one subset of American culture. Hmong for example practice polygamy and there are many Hmong Americans.
http://hmongamerican.blogspot.com/2011/08/polygamist-marriages-in-hmong-culture.html

Probably the only reason for the crackdown in polygamy amongst Mormons is the due to bad will towards the cult of Mormonism/abuse in the homes of Mormons.

curious2 says

s Patrick and 2Scoops pointed out, the comparatively more secular western European and left-leaning populations appear more vulnerable to hijrah.

This is mostly do to the conservative left opening up borders for politically correct reasons rather than taking a hard stance against religion. It is precisely freedom of religion that causes the influx of religious immigrants who then try to spread their religion and attack those who aren't members of it.

curious2 says

Sam Harris explained a likely reason: most secularists fail to understand how the world looks to a sincerely religious person. I've been lucky to know many religious people, and I can tell you that they believe. To the secular left, a religious label seems like a fashion label, but to sincerely religious people, religion defines the origin and ultimate purpose of life itself.

This is exactly why the very notion of religion must be opposed.

Ultimately, you cannot oppose Islam effectively without oppose faith and the supernatural. These two irrational ideas are the core of Islam and every other religion. Effectively dismantling Islam means dismantling all faith and all belief in the supernatural. It requires replacing irrationality and mysticism with rationality and science. Sam Harris will tell you the exact same thing. It's a continuous spectrum of badness and minor evils enable greater evils. The Broken Window Theory is right. It's been empirically proved.

curious2 says

Here is the flag of Saudi Arabia. For those who can't read Arabic, it states the Shehada: "There is no god but Allah, Mohamed is his prophet." They underline that statement with a sword, like the sword they would use to cut off your head. They call atheists terrorists, because even questioning the fundamentals of Islam undermines the foundation of their government.

Yes, Islam is worse. Christians managed to get "In God we trust" imprinted on our money. That's not nearly as evil and wrong, but it is wrong and it does enable greater evils that ultimately lead to decapitating people. Societies don't become utopias overnight, but they also don't become dystopia overnight. Both take time and moving along that spectrum. The only effective way to fight Islam and the next vile religion is to continuously move the world towards the rational side of that spectrum. Every time you move even the more rational societies even further towards rationality, it has a pulling effect on the entire rest of the world. The reverse is also true. Safe bastions for irrationality move the entire world, every society regardless of its current location, a bit further towards the irrational end of the spectrum.

The world is a complex system. The only way to improve a complex system is gradually and continuously in small pushes. Big pushes don't work. This has been proven time and time again. An excellent book on this is On the Logic of Failure. Everyone should read that book. It details many example of the failures of systems built on the fallacies that the pro-Christian side is using.

Perfect example of logic @FortWayne. That is why the God deniers ignored you. They ignore logic.

Never the less, well said my man! Well said!

FortWayne says

If religion is man made as you say therefore man is the source of all violence, not religion. That's just following your logic.

Strategist says

PeopleUnited says

But more to the point, what is the source of violence and hate Dan? Answer that and you will be demonstrating wisdom.

Religion and God is the source of virtually all violence.

Just remember, Christianity has had 1400 years to end Islam, and it has failed miserably. Islam is the fast growing religion. The approach of using Christianity to end or even contain Islam has simply failed. The approach doesn't work.

FortWayne says

You might want to consider who is blowing up Americans with bombs before you make statements like that.

Using bombs is only one of many ways to undermine America and democracy. Do you really think that antifa has no negative effect on America? Do you really think that the anti-man pseudofeminists actually in no way harm America? Hell, you constantly complain about the left, liberals, and progressives ruining America, and although you have no idea that those terms each refer to entirely different things, even you in your delusions have to realize that the Clintons never bombed America. Neither did Bernie Sanders. So are you saying that anything other than blowing up Americans goes?

PeopleUnited says

First of all, Osama was suffering for his crimes. If nothing else, he bore the burden of knowing that he is responsible for countless deaths. Second of all, he lived under Islamic rule which is a prison in and of itself. And lastly, no wrong deed goes unpunished. Either Jesus will pay for your sin, or you will. In Osama's case, he chose to accept the tab himself.

Don't pull an Osama, trust Christ today.

This is just plain stupid. If you believe that your dumb god will right all wrongs, then the court systems serve absolutely no purpose. Nor does killing an intruder who breaks into your house to rape your family. Yes, that's what Jesus would have you do. Turn the other cheek -- in this case ass cheek -- and don't life a finger to hurt the child of god who is raping your entire family. When he kills them and you, you all will be rewarded in heaven with eternal bliss, so being raped to death is a good thing. It brings eternal bliss sooner.

How fucking stupid are Christians who actually believe in Christ's teachings?

Either Christians believe in Christ's teachings in which case they are fools, or they don't believe in those teachings in which case Christianity does not promote morality no matter how "nice" the stories sound because no one believes them.

Dan8267 says

It is precisely freedom of religion that causes the influx of religious immigrants who then try to spread their religion and attack those who aren't members of it.

Dan is arguing that freedom of religion is what causes the spread of terrorism from Islamic nations (where there is no religious freedom) to Europe and The United States where in general religion is mocked 24/7 by people just like Dan himself. I suppose the solution Dan is to lock up all the believers and ban religion in the name of (Freedom?) peace and safety.

Brilliant.

PeopleUnited says

This is exactly why the very notion of religion must be opposed.

Ultimately, you cannot oppose Islam effectively without oppose faith and the supernatural. These two irrational ideas are the core of Islam and every other religion. Effectively dismantling Islam means dismantling all faith and all belief in the supernatural. It requires replacing irrationality and mysticism with rationality and science. Sam Harris will tell you the exact same thing. It's a continuous spectrum of badness and minor evils enable greater evils.

It would be a major evil to ban religion in order to "prevent" terrorism. The opposition of religion is the definition of totalitarianism. Welcome to the conservative club Dan. You are their new president and spokesperson.Dan8267 says

Yes, Islam is worse. Christians managed to get "In God we trust" imprinted on our money. That's not nearly as evil and wrong, but it is wrong and it does enable greater evils that ultimately lead to decapitating people. Societies don't become utopias overnight, but they also don't become dystopia overnight. Both take time and moving along that spectrum. The only effective way to fight Islam and the next vile religion is to continuously move the world towards the rational side of that spectrum. Every time you move even the more rational societies even further towards rationality, it has a pulling effect on the entire rest of the world. The reverse is also true. Safe bastions for irrationality move the entire world, every society regardless of its current location, a bit further towards the irrational end of the spectrum.

Dan is arguing that imprinting the words "In God we trust" on coins/bills is not only evil, but a slippery slope that leads to decapitation.

Brilliant.

I suppose next you will argue that Bibles should be banned because people who read them are more likely to vote, and in fact allowing people to read Bibles might cause them to vote Republican.

PeopleUnited says

The only way to scientifically test your hypothesis would be to remove God from the equation and see if people develop moral behavior.

People who have God don't meet my moral standards. That should answer your question.
You know, PeopleUnited, you seem like some kind of a preacher. A few years ago i used to go to Hawaii for business. Not many radio stations on the Big Island, so i started listening to the religious stations. I thoroughly enjoyed it. You know why? because it was hilarious. I enjoyed laughing away while i drove. You sound just like one of those preachers.

Dan8267 says

If you believe that your dumb god will right all wrongs

No, God will not right all wrongs. What comic books are you reading? There are still consequences for sin. The promises God made to those who don't believe will be fulfilled.

Don't put words in my mouth. It doesn't suit you.

The point is that Osama was living under condemnation of his own sin. Killing him may have been for the greater good, but it was not justice. There is no way for Osama to repay the world for his sins. Just as there is no way any man or woman can repay the world for their sins.

Strategist says

PeopleUnited says

The only way to scientifically test your hypothesis would be to remove God from the equation and see if people develop moral behavior.

People who have God don't meet my moral standards. That should answer your question.

You know, PeopleUnited, you seem like some kind of a preacher. A few years ago i used to go to Hawaii for business. Not many radio stations on the Big Island, so i started listening to the religious stations. I thoroughly enjoyed it. You know why? because it was hilarious. I enjoyed laughing away while i drove. You sound just like one of those preachers.

Thanks, and I'm glad you enjoyed your time in the islands. They are some of the marvels God's creation. And apparently the people who live there recognize it, hence your blessed experience with the preaching there.

Dan8267 says

Either Christians believe in Christ's teachings in which case they are fools, or they don't believe in those teachings in which case Christianity does not promote morality no matter how "nice" the stories sound because no one believes them.

Christians are fools. This much is true.

Acts 17:18
Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also began to debate with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" while others said, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was proclaiming the good news of Jesus and the resurrection.

Acts 26:24
At this stage of Paul's defense, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, "You are insane, Paul! Your great learning is driving you to madness!"

1 Corinthians 1:18
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1 Corinthians 1:19
For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."

1 Corinthians 1:21
For since in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

1 Corinthians 1:23
but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,

1 Corinthians 1:25
For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.

1 Corinthians 2:3
I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.

1 Corinthians 3:18
Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in this age, he should become a fool, so that he may become wise.

2 Corinthians 6:8
through glory and dishonor, slander and praise; viewed as imposters, yet genuine;
Treasury of Scripture
We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are honorable, but we are despised.

PeopleUnited says

Thanks, and I'm glad you enjoyed your time in the islands. They are some of the marvels God's creation. And apparently the people who live there recognize it, hence your blessed experience with the preaching there.

You are welcome. Going to Hawaii turned me into a nature lover and a hiker. Now i want to see the whole beautiful world that nature created. Hundreds of millions of years of evolution right before our eyes. What a sight.
I'm sure you agree.

Dan8267 says

Islam is the fast growing religion.

Primarily by threat of violence towards anyone who dares question its authority let alone its prophet.

Christianity on the other hand has failed because it has left its first love, which is Christ. You are right to indict Christians for failing to follow Christ (assuming you are innocent of this wrongdoing yourself). You are wrong for blaming Christ for the failures of people who claim His name in vain.

Strategist says

PeopleUnited says

Thanks, and I'm glad you enjoyed your time in the islands. They are some of the marvels God's creation. And apparently the people who live there recognize it, hence your blessed experience with the preaching there.

You are welcome. Going to Hawaii turned me into a nature lover and a hiker. Now i want to see the whole beautiful world that nature created. Hundreds of millions of years of evolution right before our eyes. What a sight.

I'm sure you agree.

It is true, there is immense beauty in nature. But nature is not a creator. It is merely a reflection of the Creator.

PeopleUnited says

It is true, there is immense beauty in nature. But nature is not a creator. It is merely a reflection of the Creator.

Have you ever considered converting Muslims to Christianity? You have talent, and you would be doing the world a big favor.

PeopleUnited says

Christianity on the other hand has failed because it has left its first love,

If you think this is a reflection of secularists, I can assure you it isn't nor is it new. No one was harder or more condemnatory towards fellow Christians than our Christian Sunday school and training union teachers of 65 years ago. That was the first place I heard the mantra "many people don't want to believe in Christianity because of the actions they see from professing Christians". I believe even no less an eminence than Ghandi said "I would be a Christian except for all the other Christians". Of course that isn't true, Ghandi was never going to be anything but a Hindu. It's a convenient dodge, but the Christians I personally know could never be used as bad examples for someone on the fence as to whether or not to become a Christian and I doubt that is true in your personal experiece as well, it's just a popular trope, and I'm sure you can give examples galore of high profile Christians who did not set good examples of Christ. The point is, you are not going to be charged with any of the sins of those erring Christians, only your own.

PeopleUnited says

Dan is arguing that freedom of religion is what causes the spread of terrorism from Islamic nations (where there is no religious freedom) to Europe and The United States where in general religion is mocked 24/7 by people just like Dan himself. I suppose the solution Dan is to lock up all the believers and ban religion in the name of (Freedom?) peace and safety.

Wow, that's a complete fucking lie. I state that cultural adherent to "freedom of religion" prevented European nations from restricting immigration that resulted in terrorist attacks, and you claim that I believe in arresting and imprisoning every religious person. So then, if I state that I don't believe in that, you'll agree with me then, right? Because otherwise you'd be a complete fucking hypocrite.

Well, I don't believe in arresting or imprisoning people because they are religious. I await your apology.

I believe that you teach the next generation science, you oppose religious nonsense by exposing it for the nonsense it is every time it is brought up, and you don't give special legal privileges to religions like exception from laws or taxes. Oh shit, that makes me just like Hitler.

Well, PeopleUnited says

The opposition of religion is the definition of totalitarianism.

No, it's not anymore than the opposition of rape or murder or human sacrifices is the definition of totalitarianism. Oh, and by the way, the United States frequently does and has always opposed religion. After WWII, the U.S. made the emperor of Japan admit to all his followers that he is not a god. That is religious opposition. Our government literally ended a religion.

The U.S. also ended polygamy in the Mormon religion, attacked the Branch Davidians, outlawed witchcraft, and forced people to serve in the military who had religious objections to contributing to war in any way, shape, or form. Our government at all levels frequently strip searches and body cavity searches people who have religious and objections to such searches. There has never been freedom of religion in the United States, just state-sponsored religion.

The only way to protect freedom is to oppose religion. Just like the freedom to murder is mutually exclusive with the freedom to live, religious freedom is mutually exclusive with all other freedoms. Both Islam and Christianity prove this every day.

PeopleUnited says

Dan is arguing that imprinting the words "In God we trust" on coins/bills is not only evil, but a slippery slope that leads to decapitation.

I did not say slippery slope. A slippery slope argument is that one minor thing quickly results in a far greater extreme. I argued that minor evils make greater evils easier. This is exactly the argument behind the police's Broken Window Theory.

And don't tell me that you'd be OK with "In gods we trust" printed on currency, or pictures of Hindi gods on our legal tender. So you are hypocritical for supporting this evil.
PeopleUnited says

I suppose next you will argue that Bibles should be banned because people who read them are more likely to vote

Name one time I've ever proposed banning a book or a bad idea. Come on you lying sack of crap, name one time. I've always states that you don't brush bad ideas under the rug. You attack bad ideas, show that they are bad, and fight them with good ideas. Everything you have said is a lie, and that demonstrates the weakness of your position.

When one side does nothing but lie while the other side does nothing but state the truth, it's not hard to determine which side is right.

Strategist says

Have you ever considered converting Muslims to Christianity? You have talent, and you would be doing the world a big favor.

More likely, they would convert this easily brainwashed fool to Islam, but even if the reverse happened, the coverted Christians would start bombing people in the name of Christ like this asshole.

A Missouri man – driven by anti-abortion and anti-Islamic beliefs –– will spend more than five years in federal prison for burning down a mosque and twice attempting to firebomb a Planned Parenthood clinic in Joplin, Mo.

Stout, who calls himself a “conservative Christian,” told investigators that “he didn't like the religion of Islam” and doesn’t “believe in abortions based upon his religious and personal beliefs,” the Joplin Globe reported Wednesday.

Christianity: Professing Christians do bad things contrary to founder's teaching - Christianity is bad.

Islam: Professing Muslims do bad things following examples of the founder - only a tiny minority of Muslims are extremists, Islam is a peaceful religion.

Atheism: Professing atheists (Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, etc) do bad things - atheism should not be blamed. Those who do bad things are simply bad people.

Different yardsticks for different theism.

Both Christian and Muslims have done terrible things in the name of their religion. Both religions should be judged badly. The "God Hates Fags" sign, has something to do with the belief in god.

Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot did not kill in the name of atheism. There has never, ever been an atheist holy war in the history of the world. Those despots killed in the name of power. You might as well argue that people with mustaches are evil because of the mustache and Stalin and Hitler prove this to be true.

There is a difference between an intrinsic property and a coincidence. Only an idiot cannot understand this. If a person murders another person while wearing a blue shirt, that does not mean blue shirts turn people into murderers. When Fort Wayne calls homosexuals an abomination because he read that in the Bible, that most certainly does intrinsically relate to his religion. Is anyone so fucking stupid that they cannot tell the difference?

Dan, atheism is directly responsible for persecution of Christians by Marxists.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Christians_in_the_Soviet_Union

"Soviet Marxist-Leninism policy consistently advocated the control, suppression, and ultimately, the elimination of religious beliefs, and actively encouraged atheism in the Soviet Union"

Gade says

Dan, atheism is directly responsible for persecution of Christians by Marxists.

1. Quoting Wikipedia does not prove anything. Wikipedia is a propaganda device and nothing more. It's impossible to take someone who quotes it seriously.
2. The Soviets tried to eliminate competition for power, no different than Henry the VIII breaking with the Catholic Church to gain power.
3. There is absolutely nothing about disbelieving in supernatural gods that mandates killing political enemies and establishing totalitarian regimes.
4. In contrast, when the Bible says "homosexuals are abominations and should be put to death", Christians follow through precisely because of their religion.
5. When the senator heading the committee on climate change policy believes that climate change is false because his god promise not to destroy the Earth in a flood, that is Christianity directly threatening our well being.

If I were to play your game, I'd say that every single Christian was a pedophile since many Christian clerics have been so. If you can extrapolate mass murder based on a few atheists despite the overwhelming examples showing atheists are less violent than theists, then I can certainly extrapolate pedophile from many Christians committing the act. Do you really want to play that game? Are you willing to concede that pedophilia must be intrinsic to Christianity because I can name far more priests who are pedophiles than you can name atheists who were communist revolutionaries committing mass murder? If not, your argument is hypocritical.

It makes perfect sense that people who unquestioningly believe in a holy book would violate other people's rights when that holy book tells them those people are abominations. There is nothing in atheism that is even remotely equivalent to that. You are simply wrong.

Dan8267 says

I state that cultural adherent to "freedom of religion" prevented European nations from restricting immigration that resulted in terrorist attacks.

failure to recognize terrorism is part of the Islamic religion is the problem, not "freedom of religion "

Dan8267 says

Well, PeopleUnited says

The opposition of religion is the definition of totalitarianism.

No, it's not anymore than the opposition of rape or murder or human sacrifices is the definition of totalitarianism. Oh, and by the way, the United States frequently does and has always opposed religion. After WWII, the U.S. made the emperor of Japan admit to all his followers that he is not a god. That is religious opposition. Our government literally ended a religion.

Rape, murder and human sacrifice are violence. Religion is a set of beliefs. It is not oppression to outlaw violence. It is oppression to outlaw a set of beliefs. It is like making thoughts a crime.