In a recent speech at Georgetown, Tony Blair equated atheists to religious extremists and urged the deluded (i.e., faithful) to unite against us. Seeing this sort of bigotry from someone of Blair's prominence is disturbing.
Isn't he preaching to the choir just a little? Is he running for office again?
Last time I looked, all of the vilification, demonisation and denigration of atheists that Christians will ever need is already built into the big three judeo Christian doctrines - including the mostly fictional text of their 'loving' god character. Hyper-pragmatic syncretic religious meme-shoving Christians like Blair prove their real motivations when they speak of uniting with theists of other 'faiths' whom they would normally malign: it's all about power and influence for Mr Blair. The refrain attributed to Seneca never made more sense:
"Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful." - Seneca (ca. 4 BC –AD 65)
He tries on the old equivocation of atheism and religious nuttiness routine, which ignoramuses (and politicians) have been pedalling to other ignoramuses for decades:
""Arguing that there was “no hope” from atheists who scorn God, he said the best way to confront the secularist agenda was for all faiths to unite against it.
Every good reality-as-truth loving atheist person needs to stand against devisive, delusive, annihilatory, bigotted, demeaning, arrogant, patronising fools like Mr Blair, who just like all religionists, are happy to sell people a problem disguised as a solution if he thinks it will control them and give his kind power.
Seriously - yet another world leader who goes home and talks to his imaginary friend?
that really upsets me to know that someone of his stature doesn't understand what an Atheist actually is. It really shows how far we really need to go.
We as Atheists, need to be more outspoken about our beliefs and take stands against this type of talk among Theists.
It's true. The people who are persecuted generally have to fight the standards. Not to mention that it's older women who perpetuate the practice by forcing it on younger women.
I'm hopeful about it.
I know the feeling well (no pun, either).
There are exceptions to most every rule, after all, which is why the refusal to acknowledge, much less investigate, such exceptions makes no sense.
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