Comment

Comment by Wyatt on April 8, 2012 at 4:41pm

Note, we should never turn a blind eye to the truth.  We must examine the facts.  If we have overwhelming evidence to believe something is true, we must not be afraid of stridency in spreading the word.  However, the private religious beliefs of historical figures are difficult to substantiate.  In many cases, all we have to go on are ambiguous public statements, secondhand accounts, and rumors.   We can speculate.  But the record of a person's actions is more substantive.  And it is pressing that we look around the world today and see how organized religion, among other things, has sought to undermine our education system, discourage rational thinking, and impose primitive and unconscionable doctrine on modern society.

Comment by David Philip Norris on April 8, 2012 at 4:31pm

Joan: Nonsense! You're never "too old" for anything of the intellectual variety. :-D

Comment by Joan Denoo on April 8, 2012 at 4:24pm

@ John D Oh! that is why I couldn't understand him. I'm too old to try again. 

Comment by David Philip Norris on April 8, 2012 at 4:10pm

John D: Agreed!!

Comment by Claudiu Mihael Terenche on April 8, 2012 at 3:59pm

My grammar is not relevant! It seems like you never read Nietzsche.

Comment by Wyatt on April 8, 2012 at 3:57pm

I detect a postmodernist lurking somewhere here...  At any rate, I think the Hitler issue is probably a bit of a red herring.  Let's keep in mind that being an atheist simply means lack of belief in a god or gods.  It should be distinguished from positive disbelief in god/gods.  There is no logical reason to assume that atheism necessarily has any bearing on one's moral character.  The real issue seems to me that organized religions tend to discourage critical thinking and natural inquisitiveness by conditioning children to believe improbable things unquestioningly, to to have "faith" rather than examining the evidence.  I think we can all agree that evidence-based reality is preferable to unquestioning faith in an ancient and primitive holy text.

Comment by Claudiu Mihael Terenche on April 8, 2012 at 3:50pm

David Philip Norris 

Hitler didn't used Nietzschean philosophy. Do not mistake arianism with ideology of Superhuman. Those are two different things. Do you really read Nietzsche that you come with that conclusion, or you heard from others and repeated by yourself?

Comment by Wyatt on April 8, 2012 at 3:21pm

"Posting a few of my thoughts on related issues."

Comment by David Philip Norris on April 8, 2012 at 3:20pm

Denise, there is a difference between patronising someone and asking them to be reasonable. If you are unable or refuse to tell the difference, then I have no interest in engaging with you.

In all due respect, you people are the reason that atheism isn't advancing in the world. By raising straw men like Hitler to attack, you are promoting atheism as a negative worldview and stunting its growth and proliferation by not standing for anything. It's one thing to crusade against the negative influence of religion in the world, but another entirely to become so mired in trying to cast religion as the archvillain that our movement fails to gain critical mass or direction. Religion is still alive and strong in the world, and we are failing to do anything about it. The best we can come up with apparently is snide and snarky remarks.

Comment by Meddlesome on April 8, 2012 at 3:12pm

@chris tidman. Please do some basic research research, Hitler was in no way a Darwinian. He always claimed to be a Catholic, His Inner Circle were all Christians of some description. If you care to read Mein Kampf you will find plenty of references to God and a Creator, but NONE to Darwin or Evolution.

Darwinism & Evolution does not support a Hierarchy of life forms, And never claims superiority for one species (or race) over another.

@Joseph P & @ Tim L & @Richard Ewald & @ Denise Thomas - Well Spoken.

@ David Philip Norris - Hitlers Nordic Occultism was an attempt to distance Christianity from Jesus the Jew; By Infusing it with Nordic Influences (This is why you get early 20th Century pictures of Jesus with Blond hair & Blue Eyes).

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