Therefore we will speak of real communism, not of an ideology that it can not be practically applied nowhere.
Okays, So You have deliberately decided not to talk about the ideology of Communism. even though the topic for debate "Communism always leads to atheism, and atheism (generally) leads to communism" is about ideology . The topic does not say anything about Its consequences.
Yes, i am very strict about keeping to topics within debates. Something you are not.
Your attempt to shift the Goalposts fails.
I know about that, I never said that he was a communist but democratic socialist.
So are you acknowledging a difference between democratic socialism and Communism? If you are, those words will haunt you.
You should know that a person's place on the political spectrum is not decided simply by some support of a 'checklist' of organizations and ideas supported by that person. It is decided by their stances on things like personal freedom, economics, social policy, et cetera and the connections between them. Even then, it is a poor way to attempt to understand one's political ideology, as even people on the same side of the left/right scale can hold ideologies that are almost completely incompatible with each other. Consider two left-wing ideologies, say, communism and social democracy, for example: Communism is anti-capitalist and calls for a complete overthrow of the capitalist system, social democracy on the other hand calls for the capitalist system to be reformed via a mixed economy and progressive policies. Communist economic policies are incompatible with social democracy, as communists want to change the entire system and not just make it more tolerable or equal within the confines of the current system. Politics is much more complicated than just left and right, even if you bring the authoritarian-libertarian scale into the equation. I thought you, as a someone who supposedly understands politics ought to know this? yet your labeling of Dawkins as a communist in the making clearly shows that you do not understand, or do not wish to understand differences between left wing ideologies. Are you aware of just how much the Left is prone to fracture? Communism is only of one ideology of the left. there are many more. at any rate. Dawkins is liberal, and you calling him communist was just sad and pathetic.
quantity or quality?
if we analyze statistically, the number of communist atheists, from communist countries will be higher than then all the atheist you can list.
Here are the atheist Stats. for 2005 VyckRo. Like them or not.
1st figures are Belief in a god 2nd figures are Belief in a spirit
or life force Last figure is Belief in neither a spirit,
god or life force
Turkey 95% 2% 1%
Malta 95% 3% 1%
Cyprus 90% 7% 2%
Romania 90% 8% 1%
Greece 81% 16% 3%
Portugal 81% 12% 6%
Poland 80% 15% 1%
Italy 74% 16% 6%
Ireland 73% 22% 4%
Croatia 67% 25% 7%
Slovakia 61% 26% 11%
Spain 59% 21% 18%
Austria 54% 34% 8%
Lithuania 49% 36% 12%
Switzerland 48% 39% 9%
Germany 47% 25% 25%
Luxembourg 44% 28% 22%
Hungary 44% 31% 19%
Belgium 43% 29% 27%
Finland 41% 41% 16%
Bulgaria 40% 40% 13%
Iceland 38% 48% 11%
United Kingdom 38% 40% 20%
Latvia 37% 49% 10%
Slovenia 37% 46% 16%
France 34% 27% 33%
Netherlands 34% 37% 27%
Norway 32% 47% 17%
Denmark 31% 49% 19%
Sweden 23% 53% 23%
Czech Republic 19% 50% 30%
Estonia 16% 54% 26%
Eurobarometer poll. 2005.
Atheist Stats in communist countries are very easy to explain, It's forced atheism, which is of course bad and i condem it. But your theory that atheism generaly leads to communism, is actualy meant to be a broad theory which according to you ought to work even in democratic nations. It doesnt and that's why it''s flawed. You need to come up with something better.
Now, tell me how big is communism in each and every one of those countries in 2005 was by % of population? i need good stats before i
continue with that point.
Also, do you think that the overwhelming majority of atheists in places like South Korea and Japan support North Korea and China.
China is a capatalist society now, not socialist. its markets have been liberalised over the last 20 years. And north korea has all the elements needed to make a state religion.
have you graduated from a history university ? or is more a hobby?
im a History student. im planning to go to uni next year to study History. It is not a hobby.
First link they begin by saying that "the communists were not silly atheists" and everything is American propaganda. Only after they imposed this viewpoint, they start to say about, "communism is atheistic and Anti-Theist".
This is a tactic used in political discourse, and show dishonesty. Only after the middle of the video they clearly say that atheism was imposed in communist countries
No, they were discussing the fact that american propaganda in the 50s has led many to equate atheism with communism. They accept that communists were atheist but not all atheists are communist. You're not very good at context are you?
Seeing as the Atheist experience is one of those phone in talk shows, and seeing that they take callers from around the world. Give them a call next week and call the hosts Communists and liars. Go on VyckRo. I dare you. I double dare you. Such a conversation ought to be fun to watch.
And now onto the main course.
I'll provide some quotes, and I ask those who read it to imagine that this speech, is uttered by one of the three atheists I mentioned above (I mean youtube-atheist)
then check the source.
A whopper of a Genetic fallacy.
When i showed that Marxism is a pestilential Whore quote. You complained. yet you're fine with calling atheists on youtube communist just because they may say a few things that may sound a little like Lenin? Double standards for you i suppose.
and yes, your hatred for atheism does remind me of Hitler. but im not drawing conclusions.
"We were convinced that the people need and require this faith. We have therefore undertaken the fight against the atheistic movement, and that not merely with a few theoretical declarations: we have stamped it out."
Adolf Hitler, in a speech in Berlin on October 24, 1933
I bet you would love to stamp atheism out. But you're not a nazi.
also I want to ask that what is written in red to be considered, the possible future declaration of TF from the behalf of YT Atheist , on the "Muslim problem"
The "Muslim problem" as you put it does exist. like it or not. there are plenty of muslim fanatics out there.
http://www.jihadwatch.org/ and anyway. Most of those who have something to say about the muslim problem are neo-cons and right wingers. Geert wilders is often called Far-right because of his stance on muslims.
But lets have a look at some recent episodes involving these fanatical Muslims.
the first figure are those who have been killed. the second figure represents those injured.
2010.06.05 Afghanistan Kandahar 1. 15 Muslim terrorists set off a bicycle bomb, killing a bystander.
2010.06.05 Philippines Basilan 3. 0 Abu Sayyaf members kidnap and murder three villagers.
2010.06.05 Yemen Marib 3. 0 An al-Qaeda ambush leaves three locals dead.
2010.06.04 Iraq Mosul 2. 4 Terrorsts murder two civilians with a roadside bomb.
2010.06.04 Dagestan Makhachkala 1. 1 Muslim radicals shoot a rival imam to death in front of his mosque.
2010.06.04 Iraq Missan 2. 2 Two Iraqis are killed when Muslim radicals rocket an airport.
2010.06.04 Pakistan Miranshah 1. 0 A civilian is captured by the Taliban and shot to death.
2010.06.04 Pakistan Datta Khel 1. 0 An elderly man is beheaded by Religion of Peace zealots.
2010.06.04 Ingushetia Sagapshi 2. 21 A grocery store clerk is gunned down by Islamists who plant a bomb that then kills a rescue worker.
2010.06.04 Ingushetia Malgobek 1. 16 An attack on a shop by Islamic militants leaves one person dead.
2010.06.03 Turkey Iskenderun 1. 0 A Catholic bishop is stabbed to death by a Muslim who says it was Allah's will.
2010.06.03 Pakistan Quetta 2. 0 A man murders his sister and her lover for having 'illicit relations'.
2010.06.03 Thailand Pattani 1. 0 A Buddhist schoolteacher is gunned down by Religion of Peace proponents.
2010.06.03 Iraq Abu Ghraib 8. 0 Eight victims of a Shiite death squad are found in a mass grave.
2010.06.03 Iraq Sinjar 4. 14 Four people are killed when Islamic fundamentalist bombers target and liquor stores.
2010.06.02 Iraq Mosul 1. 0 Islamic militants kidnap a local soldier and slit his throat.
2010.06.02 Iraq Abu Ghraib 1. 3 A Jihad bomb blast leaves one Iraqi dead.
2010.06.02 Afghanistan Nawzad 4. 0 Two young boys are among four civilians taken out by Islamist roadside bomb.
2010.06.02 Afghanistan Marjah 4. 0 Four civilians are killed in their home during a Taliban ambush on a security patrol.
2010.06.01 Pakistan Karachi 1. 0 A Shia is brutally shot to death in a sectarian attack.
2010.06.01 Pakistan Mohmand 3. 0 Three civilians are gunned down by Taliban militants.
2010.06.01 Iraq Mosul 3. 1 Mujahid successfully kill three Iraqis with an incendiary bomb.
2010.06.01 Pakistan Muslimabad 2. 0 A woman and her new husband are murdered by her former in-laws in an honor killing.
2010.05.31 Pakistan Lahore 6. 6 Six people are killed when Islamic militants storm a hospital.
2010.05.31 Jordan Amman 1. 0 A 20-year-old woman is stabbed to death by her older brother in an honor killing.
2010.05.31 Ingushetia Malgobek 1. 2 Islamic militants kill an off-duty policeman at a gas station.
2010.05.31 Pakistan Quetta 2. 0 A prayer leader and his companion are murdered by sectarian rivals.
2010.05.31 Iraq Baghdad 2. 10 Jihadis gun down a man sitting in a cafe and successfully kill a civilian in a separate bomb attack.
2010.05.30 Iraq Mosul 1. 3 One civilian is killed in a shooting attack by Muslim radicals.
2010.05.30 Thailand Pattani 1. 0 A 50-year-old Buddhist is shot to death by four Muslims while sitting in a tea shop.
2010.05.30 Afghanistan Khost 19. 23 A Fedayeen suicide bomber takes out nearly twenty local recruits.
2010.05.30 Afghanistan Badakhshan 7. 1 Taliban fundamentalists murder seven local cops with a roadside bomb.
2010.05.29 Dagestan Kaspiysk 1. 2 Islamic militants send a police officer to Allah with a roadside bomb.
2010.05.29 Pakistan Lahore 3. 1 Three police officers are cut down by Islamic gunmen at a checkpoint.
2010.05.29 Iraq Mosul 2. 0 Terrorists gun down a farmer and his son in their field.
2010.05.28 Pakistan Karachi 1. 0 One person is killed when rival Islamic sects clash.
2010.05.28 Pakistan Lahore 98. 110 Orthodox Sunni terrorists stage a bloody grenade and firearms assault on two mosques belonging to a minority sect. Nearly one hundred worshippers are murdered.
2010.05.28 Pakistan Quetta 4. 0 Lashkar-e-Jhangvi gunmen take down four policemen at point-blank range.
2010.05.28 Pakistan Faisalabad 0. 5 Muslims fire into a Christian community, hitting five innocents.
2010.05.28 Somalia Mogadishu 3. 1 Two children are among three civilians blown to bits by Islamic milita bombers.
2010.05.27 Iraq Mosul 1. 11 Mujahid gun down a civilian and mortar a factory, woulding eleven people.
2010.05.27 Pakistan Bajur 3. 1 A married couple and their son are brutally gunned down in their home by Islamic fundamentalists.
2010.05.26 Russia Starvropol 7. 40 Two young girls are among seven killed when terrorists bomb a concert hall.
2010.05.26 Thailand Yala 2. 52 Islamic militants set off a bomb in front of a car dealership, killing two people.
2010.05.26 Somalia Mogadishu 6. 20 Six people are counted dead following an al-Shabaab militia attack around a city square.
2010.05.26 Iraq Mosul 3. 0 Three policemen are murdered by Mujahideen.
2010.05.26 Pakistan Lahore 1. 0 Terrorists murder a lawyer outside a courthouse with a grenade.
2010.05.25 Iraq Baghdad 15. 3 al-Qaeda radicals gundown fifteen people working at a gold market.
2010.05.25 Philippines Talipao 3. 3 Three members of a family are blown apart, when Abu Sayyaf members throw a grenade into their home.
2010.05.24 Iraq Ramadi 1. 0 Jihadis kill a young man with a bomb planted outside his kitchen.
2010.05.24 Pakistan Quetta 2. 15 Women and children are among the casualties when Sunni bombers target a Shia scholar.
2010.05.24 Iraq Mosul 1. 0 An elderly woman is murdered inside her home by Mujahideen.
2010.05.24 Iraq Mosul 2 .1 Religious extremists assassinate a secular lawmaker and his driver.
2010.05.24 Afghanistan Faryab 1. 2 Taliban terrorists assassinate an Afghan elder and peace advocate.
2010.05.24 Afghanistan Khost 6. 0 Six residents of a small village are shot to death in cold blood by Islamic fundamentalists.
2010.05.24 Afghanistan Farah 5. 8 Five civilians riding a bus are blown to bits by Taliban bombers.
2010.05.23 India Sopore 1. 0 Islamic militants are suspected in the murder of a local official.
2010.05.23 Nigeria Jos 2. 0 Two Christians are hacked to death with machetes by passing Muslims.
2010.05.22 Thailand Narathiwat 2. 0 Two civilians are shot to death by Muslim terrorists.
2010.05.22 Somalia Mogadishu 20. 55 Twenty civilians are crushed and dismembered during an Islamic mortar attack.
2010.05.22 Pakistan FATA 1. 0 A tribesman, abducted the Taliban, is found dead.
2010.05.22 Pakistan Baizai 1. 3 A member of a peace committee is murdered in an Islamist ambush.
2010.05.22 Iraq Mosul 2. 4 Two Iraqis are taken out in a bomb blast.
2010.05.22 Russia Prokladnyi 3. 0 Two women and one man are gunned down in cold blood by suspected Islamic insurgents.
2010.05.22 Thailand Yala 2. 0 Two women, one of whom was pregnance, are murdered in cold blood by Mujahid gunmen.
2010.05.21 Iraq Muqdadiya 4. 1 Mujahideen invade a home and shoot four family members to death.
2010.05.21 Thailand Pattani 1. 0 Holy Warriors shoot a Buddhist nurse in the head as she is riding to work.
2010.05.21 Somalia Mogadishu 3. 5 Three civilians are killed during an al-Shabaab attack.
2010.05.21 Iraq Diyala 35. 69 A Fedayeen drives an explosives-laden minibus into a crowd of shoppers and cafe patrons.
2010.05.21 Pakistan Mir Ali 1. 0 Hardliners abduct and murder a local tribesman.
2010.05.20 Pakistan North Waziristan 2. 0 The Taliban strap explosives to two civilians and detonate them in a public execution.
2010.05.20 Iraq Mosul 3. 8 A Shahid suicide bomber takes out three Iraqis.
2010.05.20 Thailand Yala 1. 0 A Buddhist woman is gunned down in her grocery story by Muslim terrorists.
2010.05.20 Thailand Narathiwat 1. 0 Muslim gunmen murder a 56-year-old villager.
2010.05.19 Algeria Boumerdes 2. 18 An al-Qaeda roadside blast takes out two local soldiers.
2010.05.19 Russia Dagestan 3. 0 Muslim radicals gun down two local cops and kill a third with a bomb in neighboring Chechnya.
2010.05.19 Iraq Mosul 2. 1 Mujahideen gun down two local soldiers at a checkpoint.
2010.05.19 Iraq Mussayab 6. 19 Six people at a restaurant are blown to bits by Islamic bombers.
2010.05.19 Somalia Mogadishu 1. 0 An African peacekeeper is taken out by an Islamist bomb.
2010.05.19 Somalia Mogadishu 2. 0 Two children are killed when Islamic militia fire a mortar into their home.
2010.05.19 Philippines Basilan 2. 2 Abu Sayyaf militants ambush and kill two policemen.
2010.05.19 Thailand Yala 1. 0 A 46-year-old civilian is shot and then set on fire by Religion of Peace separatists.
2010.05.18 Pakistan Dera Ismail Khan 14. 17 A bicycle bomber blasts fourteen souls to Allah, including a small girl.
2010.05.18 India Poonch 2. 3 Two Indian soldiers are murdered in a Jihad ambush.
2010.05.18 Afghanistan Kabul 18. 47 At least eighteen people are massacred by a Fedayeen suicide bomber.
2010.05.18 Iraq Yathrib 2. 1 Islamic terrorists blow up two Iraqi women in their home.
2010.05.18 Afghanistan Kabul 1. 9 A Taliban rocket attack kills a US citizen.
2010.05.17 Pakistan Tank 1. 0 A pro-government tribal elder is murdered by Islamists on his way home.
2010.05.17 Iraq al-Bushaneen 1. 0 A cleric is shot to death in front of his family by Muslim radicals.
2010.05.17 Thailand Yala 1. 0 A Buddhist school administrator is murdered by Muslim assassins on his way to work.
2010.05.17 Thailand Pattani 1. 0 Three Muslims shoot a Buddhist public works official to death.
2010.05.17 Iraq Sadiyah 1. 0 al-Qaeda behead a rival cleric and hang his head from a utility pole.
2010.05.16 Afghanistan Kunar 3. 0 A pro-peace cleric is gunned down along with two family members by Islamic hardliners.
2010.05.16 Afghanistan Kandahar 1. 0 Muslim gunmen on a motorcycle murder a man sitting in his car.
2010.05.16 Afghanistan Heart 2. 2 Two Italian peacekeepers succumb to injuries from a roadside bombing.
2010.05.16 Somalia Mogadishu 16. 31 Sixteen civilians are killed during a vicious mortar attack by Islamic militia.
2010.05.15 Yemen Hibailin 1. 2 Suspected al-Qaeda assassinate a guard.
2010.05.15 Afghanistan Khost 4. 0 The Taliban kidnap and brutally slaughter four Afghan members of a wedding party, including the groom.
2010.05.15 Iraq Mosul 3. 0 A child, shepherd and mosque official are killed in separate Mujahid attacks.
2010.05.14 Afghanistan Ghazni 5. 0 Five private security guards are murdered in a Muslim ambush.
2010.05.14 India Srinagar 1. 5 One officer is killed when Islamists hurl a grenade toward a group of local cops.
2010.05.14 Iraq Mosul 1. 0 A tailor who makes military uniforms is shot to death by Mujahideen.
2010.05.14 Iraq Baghdad 4. 8 Four people are killed when terrorists detonate a bomb at a park.
2010.05.14 Iraq Jbala 0. 20 Twenty Shias are injured when rivals blow up their mosque.
2010.05.14 Thailand Narathiwat 1. 0 Islamists shoot a public health official six times in the chest and head.
2010.05.14 India Hyderabad 1. 0 Tehreek Galba-e-Islam terrorists on a motorcycle gun down a cop.
2010.05.14 Iraq Tal Afar 25. 108 Muslim terrorists stage a huge suicide bombing on a soccer game, leaving at least two dozen spectators dead.
2010.05.13 Dagestan Makhachkala 8. 4 Eight workers on their way to repair a cell phone tower are blown to bits by Islamic bombers.
2010.05.13 Iraq Baghdad 5. 12 Five Iraqis are sent to paradise by Mujahideen bombers.
2010.05.13 Pakistan Karachi 1. 0 A child is shot dead in a suspected sectarian attack.
2010.05.12 Iraq Baghdad 7. 22 Jihadis detonate a bomb outside a caf�, murdering seven patrons.
2010.05.12 Pakistan North Waziristan 2. 0 Tehreek-e-Taliban members kidnap and shoot two civilians to death.
2010.05.12 Afghanistan Kandahar 1. 0 Islamic militants claim credit for the targeted assassination of a prison official.
2010.05.12 Afghanistan Uruzgan 3. 0 A Fedayeen suicide bomber takes out three local cops.
2010.05.12 Pakistan Chaman 2. 2 A teenager is among two killed when Muslim extremists blow up a tanker truck.
2010.05.12 Pakistan Peshawar 3. 3 Islamic bombers send three seminary students to Allah.
2010.05.12 Somalia Mogadishu 1. 5 An al-Shabaab bombing leaves one person dead.
2010.05.12 Iraq Baghdad 9. 39 Nine Iraqis are brought down by two terrorist bombings.
2010.05.11 Iraq Baghdad 5 .16 A Christian community may have been the target of a double bombing that leaves five dead.
2010.05.11 Afghanistan Kandahar 1. 0 Islamic hardliners shoot a civilian to death inside his home.
2010.05.10 Pakistan Karachi 1. 0 A Shia doctor and father of two is gunned down in a sectarian attack.
2010.05.10 Pakistan Orakzai 9. 5 Islamic fundamentalists attack a local army post, killing nine defenders.
2010.05.10 Iraq Baghdad 114. 350 Suicide bombings at a textiles factory and a wave of other terror attacks on Iraqis, including at marketplaces and mosques, leave over one-hundred dead.
2010.05.09 Iran Tehran 5. 0 The Islamic Republic executes five political prisoners, calling them 'enemies of Allah.'
2010.05.09 India Ganderbal 1. 0 Hizb-ul-Mujahideen murder the young brother of a former militant in his home in revenge for his leaving.
2010.05.09 Iraq Mosul 1. 0 An elderly man is shot to death in front of his home by terrorists.
2010.05.09 Philippines Cotabato 1. 9 Militant Muslims are suspected of tossing a grenade into a rival mosque, leaving at least one dead.
2010.05.08 Iraq Amirli 3. 5 A mother and her son are among three killed when Islamic terrorists plant a bomb in a home.
2010.05.08 Afghanistan Herat 4. 0 Talibanis behead four Afghans.
2010.05.08 Iraq Mosul 3. 2 A woman is among three people gunned down in separate Mujahideen attacks.
2010.05.07 Pakistan Ghazi Kot 4. 1 Religious extremists machine-gun four local cops taking shelter from the rain inside a shed.
2010.05.07 Somalia Shabelle 4. 10 Four hospital guards are shot dead by Hizbul Islam members while working their post.
2010.05.07 Iraq Rashad 3. 4 Three Iraqis are taken down in a suspected al-Qaeda ambush.
2010.05.07 Iraq Mosul 1. 0 A 16-year-old boy dies from gunshot wounds to the head, suffered during an Ansar al-Islam kidnapping.
2010.05.07 Dagestan Derbent 1. 5 A woman standing on a railway platform is shredded by a Jihad bomb.
2010.05.06 Pakistan Cantt 1. 0 A civilian is murdered by a Shahid suicide bomber.
2010.05.06 Pakistan Bahawalnagar 1. 0 A 15-year-old teenager dies from shrapnel injuries after militants throw a grenade into his home.
2010.05.06 India Rafiabad 2. 0 Two security personnel are killed when Mujahid open fire on them from a house.
2010.05.06 Iraq Baghdad 2. 4 Jihadi bombers take down two locals at a town square.
2010.05.06 Thailand Yala 1. 0 A 52-year-old man is shot to death by Mujahideen while sitting in this truck
2010.05.05 Iraq Mosul 1. 0 A college student is kidnapped and murdered by Ansar al-Islam.
2010.05.05 Iraq Ameriya 4. 0 Four people, including a rival imam are murdered by Sunni gunmen.
2010.05.05 Iraq Mosul 2. 1 Islamic terrorists gun down two Iraqis in cold blood.
2010.05.05 Afghanistan Nimruz 4. 15 A woman is among four Afghans murdered by a Fedayeen assault on a government building.
2010.05.05 Somalia Mogadishu 1. 0 An anti-Islamist journalist is kidnapped and slain by his abductors.
2010.05.04 Iraq Mosul 3. 0 Freedom fighters gun down a pharmacist, woman, and rival imam in separate attacks.
2010.05.04 Afghanistan Kunduz 3. 0 Three civilians are captured and executed by the Taliban.
2010.05.04 Somalia Xarardheere 1. 0 Islamists pull a 57-year-old Christian father of three from his home and execute him for running an underground church.
2010.05.04 Somalia Hawa Abdi 1. 0 A man is assassinated by Islamic gunmen as he leaves a mosque.
2010.05.03 Afghanistan Khost 1. 2 A civilian is blown to bits by a Shahid suicide bomber.
2010.05.03 Iraq Kirkuk 1. 0 An accused sorcerer is shot to death outside his home.
2010.05.03 Iraq Sharqat 2. 4 Jihadi bombers take down two Iraqis.
2010.05.02 Pakistan Swat 1. 3 A young woman is killed when religious extremists throw a grenade into her home.
2010.05.02 Afghanistan Paktia 8. 14 Religion of Peace hardliners massacre a busload of women and children with a roadside bomb.
2010.05.02 Somalia Kismayo 2. 12 Two people are killed when Muslim terrorists toss a grenade into a rival mosque.
2010.05.02 Iraq Mosul 4. 171 Four people are killed, and over one-hundred injured when Islamic bombers target buses carrying young Christian students.
2010.05.01 Russia Nalchik 1. 29 Muslim radicals set off a bomb at a race track, killing an elderly veteran of World War II.
2010.05.01 Pakistan Swat 3. 12 Three innocents are incinerated by a suicide bomber at a shop.
2010.05.01 Iraq Mosul 1. 0 Sectarian Jihadis gun down a teacher leaving a mosque.
2010.05.01 Iraq Baghdad 3. 2 Three Iraqis are killed by a car bomb.
2010.05.01 Somalia Mogadishu 45. 70 Forty-five people die from shrapnel and burn injuries when Islamists bomb a rival mosque.
2010.04.30 India Batamaloo 1. 0 Angry Muslims stone an innocent civilian to death over the cancellation of a religious march.
2010.04.30 Pakistan Karam Kot 1. 0 The body of a brutally slain intelligence officer is found three weeks after being kidnapped.
2010.04.30 Pakistan Karachi 1. 5 Islamists murder a civilian with a bomb attached to a motorcycle.
2010.04.30 France Strasbourg 0. 1 A Jewish man is stabbed in the neck and hit in the face with an iron bar by a Muslim yelling about a Zionist conspiracy.
2010.04.30 Iraq Garma 3. 10 Three patrons are killed when Islamic militants toss a bomb into a marketplace.
2010.04.29 Iraq Baghdad 1. 0 A car bomb at a rival mosque leaves one dead.
2010.04.29 Iraq Baghdad 8 .20 Suspected fundamentalists bomb a liquor store, killing eight civilians.
2010.04.29 Somalia El Bahay 6. 10 Six people are taken out by an al-Shabaab attack on a village.
2010.04.29 Dagestan Kazbekovsky 2. 17 Two local cops are blown to bits by a Fedayeen suicide bomber.
2010.04.28 Pakistan Peshawar 4 .15 A Shahid suicide car bomber plows into a group of Pakistanis, killing at least four.
2010.04.28 Afghanistan Khost 12. 0 Islamic hardliners murder a dozen civilians, mostly women and children, with a roadside bomb.
2010.04.28 Iraq Baghdad 6. 18 Jihadi bombers manage to take down six Iraqis along a city street.
2010.04.28 Pakistan Quetta 1. 0 A Christian man is gunned down by suspected Muslim militants as he is washing a car.
2010.04.28 Thailand Pattani 1. 2 A 41-year-old female health volunteer is shot in the head by Muslim rebels.
2010.04.28 Yemen Damaj 4. 0 Shiite rebels kill four people in two separate attacks.
2010.04.27 Iraq Baghdad 4. 2 A family of four is obliterated by sectarian bombers.
2010.04.27 Iraq Baghdad 2. 12 Two local soldiers are killed when Jihadis fire mortars from a residential neighborhood.
2010.04.27 Somalia Mogadishu 2. 8 Islamists attack a rival mosque, killing two.
2010.04.27 Somalia Afgoi 1. 0 A respected humanitarian worker is shot to death by suspected Hizbul Islam.
2010.04.27 Afghanistan Kandahar 3. 35 A Fedayeen suicide bomber sends three airport workers to Allah.
2010.04.27 Iraq Kirkuk 1. 1 Jihadis take down a student in a drive-by attack.
2010.04.26 India Budgam 1. 1 Islamic militants gun down a local cop.
2010.04.26 Iraq Fallujah 3. 2 Three Iraqis are taken out by Jihadi bombers.
2010.04.26 Iraq Baqubah 2. 7 Two people are murdered in separate Mujahideen bomb blasts.
2010.04.26 Afghanistan Kunduz 3. 4 Three people die from a Taliban rocket attack.
2010.04.25 Thailand Pattani 1. 4 Islamists fire on a garbage truck, killing one worker.
2010.04.25 Afghanistan Zabul 4. 12 A suicide bomber detonates at a bazaar, blowing four innocents straight to Allah.
2010.04.24 Somalia Mogadishu 2. 2 al-Shabaab Islamists kill two government soldiers with a landmine.
2010.04.24 Iraq Mosul 3. 0 Two civilians and one defense volunteer are gunned down by Muslim militants.
2010.04.24 Iraq Baghdad 3. 19 Jihadis bomb a marketplace, taking down three Iraqis.
2010.04.24 Pakistan Akwal 3. 1 Three guards are gunned down when Taliban terrorists attack NATO tankers.
2010.04.24 Nigeria Jos 5. 0 Three Christians stabbed to death and two others hacked to pieces with machetes by a Muslim mob.
2010.04.23 Iraq Baghdad 69. 303 Devoted Sunnis slaughter nearly seventy Shiite Iraqis in at least five deadly bomb blasts at mosques, homes and a shopping district.
2010.04.23 Pakistan Datta Khel 7. 16 Religious extremists ambush a Pakistani military convoy, killing seven.
2010.04.23 Pakistan Miranshah 4. 0 Four captives are butchered by Islamic hardliners, two of whom are beheaded.
2010.04.22 Iraq Souz 1. 3 Terrorists set off a bomb at a home, killing a resident.
2010.04.22 Thailand Narathiwat 1. 0 A young man is gunned down by Muslim radicals at a nightclub.
2010.04.22 Pakistan Charsadda 4. 0 The Taliban spray a car with automatic weapons, slaying the four occupants.
2010.04.21 Iraq Baqubah 3. 14 Jihadis bomb a restaurant near a school, a teacher and student are among three who die from shrapnel.
2010.04.21 Thailand Pattani 2. 52 An Islamic insurgent throws a grenade into a group of policemen.
2010.04.21 Somalia Mogadishu 5. 0 Five construction workers are kidnapped and beheaded by Islamic fundamentalists.
2010.04.21 Iraq Baghdad 2. 0 Two victims of sectarian violence are found dead.
2010.04.21 India Jammu 1. 0 Mujahideen shoot an Indian police officer to death.
2010.04.21 Pakistan Khyber 1. 4 A woman is killed, and her four children injured, by mortar shell fired by suspected militants.
2010.04.21 Thailand Pattani 1. 0 A 56-year-old man is murdered by Muslim gunmen.
2010.04.21 Thailand Narathiwat 1. 0 Islamists shoot a 20-year-old man to death in his home.
2010.04.21 Pakistan Sargodha 1. 1 Two young Christian brothers (ages 12 and 14) are beaten with an iron rod by a Muslim yelling religious slurs. One dies.
2010.04.20 Dagestan Makhachkala 3. 0 Islamic militants ambush two policemen with automatic weapons.
2010.04.20 Pakistan Hangu 4. 12 Four locals are blown to bits by Sunni bombers.
2010.04.20 Iraq Hit 3. 0 Three Iraqis are murdered by a roadside bomb.
2010.04.20 Iraq Tarmiyah 5. 0 Three young children are beheaded along with two women in a home by suspected al-Qaeda.
2010.04.19 Pakistan Peshawar 1. 15 A young boy is killed when a Fedayeen suicide bomber attacks a school.
2010.04.19 Afghanistan Kandahar 1. 0 A popular politician is assassinated by hardliners at a mosque.
2010.04.19 Iraq Baqubah 2. 2 Jihadi bombers take down two civilians.
2010.04.19 Pakistan Peshawar 25. 48 About two dozen patrons at a market are sent to Allah by a Holy Warrior in a suicide vest.
2010.04.19 Afghanistan Kandahar 3. 4 Three children are brutally killed when Islamists set off a bomb hidden in a donkey cart.
2010.04.19 Nigeria Riyom 4. 0 Four Christian farmers are murdered in their field by Muslim terrorists.
2010.04.19 Pakistan Landikotal 1. 1 Islamists send a mortar into a school principal's home, killing a woman and injuring her daughter.
2010.04.19 Pakistan Swat 2. 3 Two villagers sitting outside a shop are gunned down by Mujahideen.
2010.04.19 Afghanistan Kabul 2. 6 A suicide bomber kills two soldiers at their base.
2010.04.18 Iraq Bartala 1. 0 A member of the Shabak religious minority is kidnapped and murdered.
2010.04.18 Pakistan Peshawar 7. 26 A child is among seven people blown into pieces by a Shahid car bomber.
2010.04.18 Iraq Mosul 4. 0 Three women are among four civilians shot to death in their home by Mujahideen.
2010.04.18 Iran Urmiye Prison 2. 0 The Islamic republic tortures to Kurdish prisoners to death on the same day.
2010.04.18 Somalia Mogadishu 16. 24 Islamists murder sixteen people with a landmine and mortar attack on an airport.
2010.04.17 Iraq Basra 1. 2 Islamists gun down a woman and injure her husband and son.
2010.04.17 Pakistan Kohat 41. 62 Two suicide bombers, dressed in burqas, blow up forty-one refugees lining up for food at a displaced persons camp.
2010.04.16 Pakistan Quetta 10. 35 A suicidal Sunni detonates in a crowd of Shia protesters outside a hospital, "sending at least ten to Allah."
2010.04.16 Iraq Baaj 2.0 Islamists kidnap two men and shoot them in the back of the head.
2010.04.15 Thailand Pattani 2. 1 Muslim militants shoot three people, including a pork vendor.
2010.04.15 Iraq Samarrah 14. 0 The bodies of fourteen kidnapping victims of a Sunni terror group are found in a mass grave.
2010.04.15 Yemen Shabwa 2. 1 Separate al-Qaeda bomb blasts leave two people dead.
2010.04.15 Pakistan Mingora 2. 0 Teenage Talibanis gun down two people in broad daylight.
2010.04.15 Afghanistan Kandahar 6. 16 A half dozen innocents are sent to Allah by Shahid suicide bomber.
2010.04.15 Nigeria Boto 2. 0 A Christian pastor and his wife are abducted by Muslims and burned to a crisp.
2010.04.15 Iraq Mosul 4. 0 Three women are among four civilians shot to death in their own home by Mujahideen.
2010.04.15 Turkey Istanbul 1. 0 An entire family is involved in the 'honor' suffocation of a 2-day-old out-of-wedlock infant.
2010.04.14 USA Marquette Park, IL 5. 2 After quarrelling with his wife over Islamic dress, a Muslim convert shoots his family members to 'take them back to Allah' and out of the 'world of sinners'.
2010.04.14 Indonesia Jarkata 3. 156 Muslims enraged by a rumor of a revered scholar's tomb desecration attack security forces, hacking at least three to death.
2010.04.14 Thailand Narathiwat 1. 0 Islamic radicals murder a village defense volunteer by slashing the back of his head and letting him bleed to death.
2010.04.14 Iraq Baghdad 2. 6 A Sunni cleric is cut down by Religion of Peace rivals outside his mosque. A separate al-Qaeda attack leaves another Iraqi dead.
2010.04.14 Iraq Mosul 2. 0 A nurse is among two civilians gunned down by Islamic terrorists.
2010.04.13 Pakistan Sargodha 0. 1 A Christian barber is badly beaten and sodomized by an angry mob for cutting a Muslim's beard (per request).
2010.04.13 Philippines Isabela 9. 7 Abu Sayyaf terrorists disguised as policemen attack a Christian town, shooting and blasting nine people to death and destroying a Catholic church.
2010.04.13 Afghanistan Kandahar 1. 0 An 18-year-old woman is brutally shot to death by an Islamic fundamentalist.
2010.04.13 Iraq Baghdad 3. 5 Suspected fundamentalists plant a shrapnel bomb at a liquor store shredding three patrons.
2010.04.12 Afghanistan Faryab 4. 2 Four police officers are murdered by Taliban bombers.
2010.04.12 Somalia Mogadishu 6. 10 Six Somalis are destroyed by coordinated al-Shabaab bombings.
2010.04.12 Iraq Baghdad 5. 12 A Fedayeen detonates along a city street, killing five innocents.
2010.04.12 Iraq Mosul 3. 15 Three Iraqis are taken out by a Shahid suicide car bomber.
2010.04.12 Somalia Mogadishu 1. 0 A university student is killed when Islamic militia mortar an airport.
2010.04.12 Afghanistan Kabul 3. 4 Three women die from trauma suffered during a Sunni mortar attack.
2010.04.11 Iraq Udhaim 3. 1 Three young brothers are dismembered by a terrorist bomb.
2010.04.11 Pakistan Mardan 1. 2 A police officer is killed by an Islamist ambush.
2010.04.10 Afghanistan Kandahar 2. 3 A bomb and rocket attack on a home leave two Afghans dead and a mother and two daughters severely injured.
2010.04.10 Iraq Mosul 2. 0 A 10-year-old child is among two people blown apart by Mujahid bombers.
2010.04.10 Russia Nalchik 1. 0 Muslim terrorists are suspected in the car bombing death of a police officer.
2010.04.10 Iraq Fallujah 1. 4 A woman is the only fatality when an Islamic bomb breaks up a family gathering.
2010.04.10 Iraq Qayara 3. 0 Three Iraqis are taken down by Jihadi bombers.
2010.04.10 Afghanistan Herat 3. 8 Three civilians are blown to bits by a Taliban bomb.
2010.04.09 Iraq Mosul 2. 0 Two Iraqis are murdered by Islamic gunmen along a city street.
2010.04.09 Ingushetia Ekazhevo 1. 0 A female suicide bomber walks up to a group of local cops and detonates, killing at least one of them.
2010.04.08 Nigeria Dakyo 2. 0 A teenager is among two Christians stabbed to death by Muslim attackers.
2010.04.08 Iraq Khalis 2. 0 Two civilians are shot dead at a marketplace by Mujahideen.
2010.04.08 Iraq Shabak 1. 1 Islamic militants invade the home of a Shabak religious minority member and shoot him to death.
2010.04.07 Afghanistan Jalalabad 1. 15 A Shahid suicide bomber murders a civilian.
2010.04.07 Algeria Boumerdes 1. 2 Fundamentalists kill a civilian along a busy street.
2010.04.07 India Kupwara 1. 1 Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists shoot an Indian soldier to death.
2010.04.07 Pakistan Hangu 2. 0 Two brothers are gunned down in their home by a religious extremist.
2010.04.07 Iraq Mosul 2. 4 Two civilians are murdered by Jihadi bombers.
And you wonder why Tf00t has a problem with Islamic extremists VyckRo?
So even though you havent provided any evidence that youtube atheists are communist. lets have a look at those quotes anyways.
We demand that religion be held a private affair so far as the state is concerned. But by no means can we consider religion a private affair so far as our Party is concerned. Religion must be of no concern to the state, and religious societies must have no connection with governmental authority.
the overwhelming majority of Atheists get their ideas of church and state seperation from the founding fathers of america. Not lenin. ever heard of the idea that you can approach similar conclusions from different ideological starting points? Clearly not.
Everyone must be absolutely free to profess any religion he pleases, or no religion whatever, i.e., to be an atheist
"¢Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance. - Article 18 of the Universial declaration of human rights.
http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtmlnow which is more influential to atheists? The UN or Lenin? Do you think that lenin influenced the declaration?
Our Program is based entirely on the scientific, and moreover the materialist, world-outlook.
Do you think every materialist is like lenin? I dont. you need to serioulsy Remember VyckRo,
There is a differene between like and influenceFor example, Nazi Germany introduced very stringent anti-tobacco laws. Does that mean that Anti-tobacco groups today bear resemblance to the Nazis? No. The analogy is the same with materialism, Just because lenin was a materialist. does not mean that the likes of TF Is like lenin. Got it?
Our propaganda necessarily includes the propaganda of atheism;
"Propaganda" - TF is not a propagandist for anyone. Any historical mistakes he makes are un-intentional. He is not a historian. You need to remember that.
which the autocratic feudal government has hitherto strictly forbidden and persecuted,
two wrongs do not make a right.
We shall now probably have to follow the advice Engels once gave to the German Socialists: to translate and widely disseminate the literature of the eighteenth-century French Enlighteners and atheists.
Guilt by association. Nothing wrong with the idea, only the fact that Engels and Lenin were evil men.
The same religion-phobia in the communist and in the modern atheists, the same illusion that mankind once freed from from the "yoke" of religion will finally be free to build the"paradise on earth"
phobia
"¢ combining form extreme or irrational fear or dislike of a specified thing: arachnophobia.
, DERIVATIVES -phobic combining form.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/phobiax?view=ukCriticising religion (which is what most atheists do) does not equate to having a phobia. I asked you earlier what would constitute a valid criticism of religion in your eyes? you didnt answer, and that's very telling. So i will ask again.
Also, atheism is not a political system. (only in your world it is) so it's adhrents have no de-facto mandate to build a "paradise on earth". atheism by definition has no goal. You still haven't defined atheism yet. Im waiting for a definition from you, and my patitence is wearing thin.
it is political systems that try to build the "Paradise on earth"
Here we not speak only of som similar ideologies, who advocate the same things, but the same thing.
So similar quotes = similar ideologies do they? No, TF does not advocate a one party state. He does not advocate genocide. or any form of mass murder. He doesnt advocate communism. Sorry to report the facts.
The same madness, "Science is on our side" "there is a war between science and religion"
do you know why so many atheists think there's a war between science and religion. It's because so many Creationists vehemently oppose the fact of evolution. In the very religious totalitarian state of saudi-arabia. it cannot be taught because of religious reasons.
Also, Evolution has no literal biblical justification. the earth was made in 6 days according to genesis. you need to interpret genesis more metaphoricaly for a theist to start believing in evolution
"we do not hate religious people, but the oppression of religion"
I suppose you liked it when thomas hobbes was
falsely accused of being an atheist. in 1666? And i supposed you like it when Étienne Dolet was strangled to death because in 1542 he was falsely accused of being an atheist? and what about the death of Kazimierz Ã…ÂyszczyÅ„ski? Do you condem these deaths or glorify them? i condem them. I hope you do too. religion has a tendency to persecute even its own kind. What about the taliban? what about the middle east as a whole?
Lets not forget ...
It was theists who smashed planes into the twin towers.
It was theists who blamed it on the gays and liberals.
It was theists who beheaded infidels.
It was theists who picketed funerals of soldiers.
It was theists who picketed funerals of that lesbian couple murdered by firebomb.
It was theists who caused the Jim Jones mass suicide.
It was theists who caused the Heaven's Gate mass suicide (not the name)
It was theists who resort to car bombs.
It was theists who bomb abortion clinics.
It was theists who want to prevent condoms.
It was theists who want to stop the HPV vaccine.
It was theists who want to stop stem cell research.
It was theists who molested the altarboys.
It was theists who stood by and did nothing while the Holocaust happened.
It was theists who perpetrated the Holocaust.
It was theists who perpetrated the Salem Witch Trials.
It was theists who perpetrated the Spanish Inquisition.
It was theists who perpetrated the Auto da Fe.
It was theists who perpetrated the 'Troubles' in Ireland.
It was theists who escalated the bloodshed in Serbia/Bosnia-Herzegovina.
It was theists who escalated the bloodshed in Kashmir.
It was theists who continue the bloodshed in Israel/Palestine.
It was theists who ban and burn books.
It was theists who blow up the temples and mosques of rival sects.
It was theists who ordered Socrates poisoned.
It was theists who jailed Galileo.
It was theists who killed Giordano Bruno.
It was theists who ordered that Salman Rushdie be murdered.
It was theists who killed Theo de Raadt.
It was theists who made excuses for Slavery in the Confederacy.
It was theists who keep moving those paedophile priests to new parishes.
It was theists who moved all those Nazi war criminals to Colonia Dignidad.
It was theists who made Peter Popoff and Benny Hinn rich.
It was theists who got Reagan and both Bushes into office.
It was theists who starting the false flag campaigns on YouTube.
It was theists who starting the votebotting on YouTube.
It was theists who starting the DMCA abuse on YouTube.
It was theists who pray when they should be doing something constructive.
doesnt matter if different religions are involved. The fact is, Theists (those who believe in god) have been commiting attrocities and bad acts too (even on their own kind like Galileo). So atheism isnt the root of all evil. contrary to what you think, and i hope you condem each and every one of those.
in that they are preach by militants atheists, today
So are you fine with non-millitant atheists who do not preach the above or is that just another bad generalization of you?
Let me show you how the modern atheist thinks about millitant atheists.
A.C Grayling. He's more liberal than VyckRo would like to think. wrote:It is time to put to rest the mistakes and assumptions that lie behind a phrase used by some religious people when talking of those who are plain-spoken about their disbelief in any religious claims: the phrase "fundamentalist atheist". What would a non-fundamentalist atheist be? Would he be someone who believed only somewhat that there are no supernatural entities in the universe - perhaps that there is only part of a god (a divine foot, say, or buttock)? Or that gods exist only some of the time - say, Wednesdays and Saturdays? (That would not be so strange: for many unthinking quasi-theists, a god exists only on Sundays.) Or might it be that a non-fundamentalist atheist is one who does not mind that other people hold profoundly false and primitive beliefs about the universe, on the basis of which they have spent centuries mass-murdering other people who do not hold exactly the same false and primitive beliefs as themselves - and still do?
Christians, among other things, mean by "fundamentalist atheists" those who would deny people the comforts of faith (the old and lonely especially) and the companionship of a benign invisible protector in the dark night of the soul - and who (allegedly) fail to see the staggering beauty in art prompted by the inspirations of belief. Yet, in its bleeding-heart modern form, Christianity is a recent and highly modified version of what, for most of its history, has been an often violent and always oppressive ideology - think Crusades, torture, burnings at the stake, the enslavement of women to constantly repeated childbirth and undivorceable husbands, the warping of human sexuality, the use of fear (of hell's torments) as an instrument of control, and the horrific results of calumny against Judaism. Nowadays, by contrast, Christianity specialises in soft-focus mood music; its threats of hell, its demand for poverty and chastity, its doctrine that only the few will be saved and the many damned, have been shed, replaced by strummed guitars and saccharine smiles. It has reinvented itself so often, and with such breathtaking hypocrisy, in the interests of retaining its hold on the gullible, that a medieval monk who woke today, like Woody Allen's Sleeper, would not be able to recognise the faith that bears the same name as his own.
For example: vast Nigerian congregations are told that believing will ensure a high income - indeed they are told by Reverend X that they will be luckier and richer if they join his congregation than if they join that of Reverend Y. What happened to the eye of the needle? Oh well, granted: that tiny loophole was closed long ago. What then of "my kingdom is not of this world"? What of the blessedness of poverty and humility? The Church of England officially abolished Hell by an Act of Synod in the 1920s and St Paul's strictures on the place of women in church (which was that they are to sit at the back in silence, with heads covered) are now so far ignored that there are now women vicars, and there will soon be women bishops.
One does not have to venture as far as Nigeria to see the hypocrisies of reinvention at work. Rome will do, where the latest eternal verity to be abandoned is the doctrine of limbo - the place where the souls of unbaptised babies go. Meanwhile, some cardinals are floating the idea that condoms are acceptable, within marital relationships only of course, in countries with high incidences of HIV infection. This latter, which to anyone but an observant Catholic is not merely a plain piece of common sense but a humanitarian imperative, is an amazing development in its context. Sensible Catholics have for generations been ignoring the views on contraception held by reactionary old men in the Vatican, but alas, since it is the business of all religious doctrines to keep their votaries in a state of intellectual infancy (how else do they keep absurdities seeming credible?), insufficient numbers of Catholics have been able to be sensible. Look at Ireland until very recent times for an example of the misery Catholicism inflicts when it can.
"Intellectual infancy": the phrase reminds one that religions survive mainly because they brainwash the young. Three-quarters of Church of England schools are primary schools; all the faiths currently jostling for our tax money to run their "faith-based" schools know that if they do not proselytise intellectually defenceless three and four-year-olds, their grip will eventually loosen. Inculcating the various competing - competing, note - falsehoods of the major faiths into small children is a form of child abuse, and a scandal. Let us challenge religion to leave children alone until they are adults, whereupon they can be presented with the essentials of religion for mature consideration. For example: tell an averagely intelligent adult hitherto free of religious brainwashing that somewhere, invisibly, there is a being somewhat like us, with desires, interests, purposes, memories, and emotions of anger, love, vengefulness and jealousy, yet with the negation of such other of our failings as mortality, weakness, corporeality, visibility, limited knowledge and insight; and that this god magically impregnates a mortal woman, who then gives birth to a special being who performs various prodigious feats before departing for heaven. Take your pick of which version of this story to tell: let a King of Heaven impregnate - let's see - Danae or Io or Leda or the Virgin Mary (etc, etc) and let there be resulting heaven-destined progeny (Heracles, Castor and Pollux, Jesus, etc, etc) - or any of the other forms of exactly such tales in Babylonian, Egyptian and other mythologies - then ask which of them he wishes to believe. One can guarantee that such a person would say: none of them.
So, in order not to be a "fundamentalist" atheist, which of the absurdities connoted in the foregoing should an atheist temporise over? Should a "moderate atheist" be one who does not mind how many hundreds of millions of people have been deeply harmed by religion throughout history? Should he or she be one who chuckles indulgently at the antipathy of Sunni for Shia, Christian for Jew, Muslim for Hindu, and all of them for anyone who does not think the universe is controlled by invisible powers? Is an acceptable (to the faithful) atheist one who thinks it is reasonable for people to believe that the gods suspend the laws of nature occasionally in answer to personal prayers, or that to save someone's soul from further sin (especially the sin of heresy) it is in his own interests to be murdered?
As it happens, no atheist should call himself or herself one. The term already sells a pass to theists, because it invites debate on their ground. A more appropriate term is "naturalist", denoting one who takes it that the universe is a natural realm, governed by nature's laws. This properly implies that there is nothing supernatural in the universe - no fairies or goblins, angels, demons, gods or goddesses. Such might as well call themselves "a-fairyists" or "a-goblinists" as "atheists"; it would be every bit as meaningful or meaningless to do so. (Most people, though, forget that belief in fairies was widespread until the beginning of the 20th century; the church fought a long hard battle against this competitor superstition, and won, largely because - you guessed it - of the infant and primary church schools founded in the second half of the nineteenth century.)
By the same token, therefore, people with theistic beliefs should be called supernaturalists, and it can be left to them to attempt to refute the findings of physics, chemistry and the biological sciences in an effort to justify their alternative claim that the universe was created, and is run, by supernatural beings. Supernaturalists are fond of claiming that some irreligious people turn to prayer when in mortal danger, but naturalists can reply that supernaturalists typically repose great faith in science when they find themselves in (say) a hospital or an aeroplane - and with far greater frequency. But of course, as votaries of the view that everything is consistent with their beliefs - even apparent refutations of them - supernaturalists can claim that science itself is a gift of god, and thus justify doing so. But they should then remember Popper: "A theory that explains everything explains nothing."
In conclusion, it is worth pointing out an allied and characteristic bit of jesuitry employed by folk of faith. This is their attempt to describe naturalism (atheism) as itself a "religion". But, by definition, a religion is something centred upon belief in the existence of supernatural agencies or entities in the universe; and not merely in their existence, but in their interest in human beings on this planet; and not merely their interest, but their particularly detailed interest in what humans wear, what they eat, when they eat it, what they read or see, what they treat as clean and unclean, who they have sex with and how and when; and so for a multitude of other things, like making women invisible beneath enveloping clothing, or strapping little boxes to their foreheads, or iterating formulae by rote five times a day, and so endlessly forth; with threats of punishment for getting any of it wrong.
But naturalism (atheism) by definition does not premise such belief. Any view of the world that does not premise the existence of something supernatural is a philosophy, or a theory, or at worst an ideology. If it is either of the two first, at its best it proportions what it accepts to the evidence for accepting it, knows what would refute it, and stands ready to revise itself in the light of new evidence. This is the essence of science. It comes as no surprise that no wars have been fought, pogroms carried out, or burnings conducted at the stake, over rival theories in biology or astrophysics.
And one can grant that the word "fundamental" does after all apply to this: in the phrase "fundamentally sensible".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... fundamenta