Are Atheists Air Brushing History?, page 3

Quote-mine. The context here is making claims about the existence of gods/godesses/pink unicorns.

Quote mine from whom mel? Did you follow the link for that definition? It was from an Atheist Blogger, Austine Cline, who writes for About.com. He wrote a cute little piece of atheistic apologetics about how atheism never hurt a fly. I studied his avoidance tactics. I noticed how carefully he defined Atheism to avoid taking responsibility for what that view entails. That is just the "airbrushing" in advance...

There are implications to what you believe and what you don't believe.

He talks about the abuse of childhood innocence, predominately related to scaring kids with things like the hell concept. A form of mental abuse, filling kids with fear.

And that is his business how? To tell people how to raise their children?
Mel.... "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom." If Stalin had feared the Lord he wouldn't have treated people that way.

Still relying on the quote-mine. Of course 'true' atheists make claims. If I said that the sky was blue, would that make me a radical atheist because I should make no claims or denials?

Well sorry I was using the very conservative Atheist definition. Let's definitely switch over to yours. Atheism implies belief in something even if it's nothing! Since the color of the sky doesn't involve the dismantling of the entire moral framework of society, then no it doesn't qualify you. But Dawkins does want to do that hence RADICAL.

prove it.

I did-watch the pretty movie Dicky made. Ok maybe not all but look what he named his damn movie. He blames 911 on religious faith. Well the turn about is fair play and I blame Atheism (lack of religious faith) for Stalin and Mao. You want to have your cake and eat it too.

And to do this you show some rubbish quote? He was an agnostic. He stated that he was not an atheist even in the 'most extreme fluctuation' of his position.

Well I admit it is questionable. I think you can make a case either way.
I don't pay for the Google scholar service. But these papers address his more private disbelief.

Silvan Schweber, The Origin of the Origin Revisited,"Journal of the History of Biology 10, 2 (1977): 23334.

Ernst Mayr, "Darwin and Natural Selection", American Naturalist (MayJune 1977): 323.

Michael Ghiselin, The Individual in the Darwinian Revolution, New Literary History 3, 1 (1971): 122.

If you say so. Pity that most people in the US who accept evolutionary theory is a valid explanation of the origin of species are actually non-atheists.

Do you know any Atheist Creationists?

See it's one thing as a theory and another as world view. There's a huge difference. You can believe in evolution without embracing it as your world view.

No they didn't. I can't even be bothered showing Stalin's own words on this issue again. He had his own scientists with their own version of evolution which was non-darwinian - Lysenckoism. Mao also depended on it.

Using such pseudoscientific approaches in agriculture directly led to massive crop failures, and the famines that caused many of the deaths you are using in your sophistry.

You are an expert on evolutionists and the science Mel. I respect that. I am not talking about the intricacies of evolutionary theory but the ideas. If Stalin made his own version of evolution- it really does not affect the connection. When you take a creator out of the equation there is no basis for morality other than natural selection. Stalin then proceeded to naturally select some 20 million people to die.
wiki.answers.com...

Probably a crank quote you picked up from a crank website. You can read through Mao's work if you can find it, reference it:

Wow you act offended. Is Mao a friend of yours? He's a really nice guy I hear Mel. He naturally selected 49,000,000 - 78,000,000 people to die.
This is attrinbuted to Mao in more than one place:
"Chinese socialism is founded upon Darwin and the theory of evolution." Kampf um Mao's Erbe (1977)
bevets.com...

Going big on the canards tonight, whammy. Should take it easy. Can rot the brain. Easily deniable.

The leading communist states relied on a neo-lamarckian theory. Many theists accept evolution. Atheist =/= communist. But communist sometimes = atheist.

Oh but Marx was certainly an atheist. I think I did a fine job of connecting communism and atheism. They're two peas in a pod.

ABE: oh, and evolution doesn't say that life is the product of blind chance. It does say it was non-directed by things like gods. The 'blind' watchmaker is the proposal.

Right and Stalin didn't believe morality was defined by God but was "non directed" by the state. The 'blind' God.

However, there are other forms of communism, even christian communism.

Right so I shouldn't drag all communist down. I was talking about Stalin and Atheistic communism.

But it's funny how Dawkins does try to condemn all faith. And you defend it.

No it doesn't. Even if the theory of evolution was wrong, it is self-evident that violence and conflict are characteristic of nature.

And Religion explains why that is so. The world is temporarily in the hands of Satan- Evil - yeah evil -mel. That's what entropy is. That's why it's so tough. Without God fearing folks around Stalin would have taken over the whole damn world. An the heroes of the cold war were mostly Americans like Senator Jesse Helms. I know you have to hate him. But he's a big part of the reason we aren't speaking Russian.

All a major part of evolutionary theory says is that those who reproduce most successfully will come to dominate populations.

And Jesus says "He who is first will be last and he who was last will be first"
See there is going to be a day of reckoning. Remember science can't even answer the questions of a small child. "Why am I here?" "What is my purpose?" Be careful you might saw off the branch you're sitting on.

I think you are wrong by suggesting he said this was the case.

This is hilarious to me. He titled the movie "The Root of All Evil" How can I possibly be wrong?

Pity they make little headway to stop it. You had almost 1800 years to show that the philosophy of non-conflict will dominate society.

Well Historically America is largely a Christian nation with traditional values and we have stopped Stalin and Hitler. We have taken a stand. Based on values. Based on the value of human life. Not just the ones most likely to reproduce. Values that came from faith in God.

And what was the inquisition about might I ask? Wasn't anything to do with heresy was it? When you can show that Mao or Stalin killed for atheism, the comparison might hold. Communism =/= atheism not matter how much you try the logical contortions.

Soviet policy toward religion was based on the ideology of Marxism-Leninism, which made atheism the official doctrine of the Soviet Union. As the founder of the Soviet state V. I. Lenin put it:

Religion is the opium of the people: this saying of Marx is the cornerstone of the entire ideology of Marxism about religion. All modern religions and churches, all and of every kind of religious organizations are always considered by Marxism as the organs of bourgeois reaction, used for the protection of the exploitation and the stupefaction of the working class.[9]

Marxism-Leninism has consistently advocated the control, suppression, and, ultimately, the elimination of religious beliefs. In the 1920s and 1930s, such organizations as the League of the Militant Godless ridiculed all religions and harassed believers. Atheism was propagated through schools, communist organizations (such as the Young Pioneer Organization), and the media. Though Lenin originally introduced the Gregorian calendar to the Soviets subsequent efforts to re-organise the week for the purposes of improving worker productivity with the introduction of the Soviet revolutionary calendar had a side-effect that a "holiday will seldom fall on Sunday" [10]

linky

He burned Churches and killed enumerable Christians, it's a fact. Mao was probably worse. I am too tired; so more wiki

Criticism of atheism was strictly forbidden and could sometimes result in imprisonment.
The Soviet Union was the first state to have the elimination of religion as an ideological objective. Toward that end, the Communist regime confiscated church property, ridiculed religion, harassed believers, and propagated atheism in the schools. Actions toward particular religions, however, were determined by State interests, and most organized religions were never outlawed.

linky

[edit on 3/22/2008 by Bigwhammy]