Atheism's dirty little secret
Atheists frequently argue that religion is the cause of most of history's wars and murders and genocide.
They wish. As the facts lead to the conclusion that it is actually atheism itself that is the real culprit.
The religious beliefs of history's great mass murderers is a profound embarrassment to the anti-religion theory. I'm referring, of course, to Mao and his successors (the greatest murderers of all), as well as his closest competitors- Joseph Stalin, and those who came after him. Pol Pot shared their atheism.
And atheism is the thing which most of history's greatest mass murderers have in common. Attempts by atheists to refute that rather obvious point are routinely rather lame. Even the apparent exceptions fail to provide support for the atheists' hypothesis. Hitler- though baptized a Catholic, and formally a neo-pagan- was actively hostile toward Christianity, though at times he was willing to use it as a vehicle to dominate German society. His attitude toward Judaism is, of course, a matter of record. The bottom line is that he seems, in the last analysis, to have been his own god- and certainly that of his followers.
The fact is that rarely has religion truly been the issue even in the religious wars of history. Thr Crusades- which were, by the way, essentially defensive wars against an imperialistic and expansionist Islam- were not merely wars between the adherents of different religions, but a clash of entire civilizations. The Arab-Israeli conflict is finally ethnic, rather than eing primarily religious- and "the Troubles" in Northern Ireland, though often portrayed as sectarian, have in fact been more economic than truly religious. A little over a decade after the American revolution, an ancestor of mine- a Presbyterian- commanded the Ulster front in Wolfe Tone's rebellion against the British. Nationality, not religion, was the true issue.
And in a sense, it remains so. It should be noted that ethnic differences of a kind also involved in the quarrel in Northern Ireland; while the majority in the Six Counties likely originated in the Six Counties, their ancestors moved back and forth between Ireland and Scotland over the centuries. The minority- who happen to be Catholic- usually have a more continuous Irish background. But religion tends to follow ethnicity in the Six Counties. Politics actually doesn't closely follow either; quite a few Catholics are Unionists!
Persecutions? Compared to those which have taken place in nations ruled by atheists, those carried out in the name of religion have actually been relatively few and relatively mild. Compare the murderous careers of Mao Zedong and Joe Stalin to the record of, say, the Inquisition or the vilest persecutions of which Protestants have historically been guilty, and you'll see my point.
What do we learn from this? The lesson seems obvious: rather than mindfulness of God being responsible for man's inhumanity to man, it tends rather to be the result of our forgetting Him. Historically, when mere human beings have aspired to God's job, they have pretty consistently made a botch of it.
Comments
Saddam's treatment of his people in Iraq makes him a 'Mother Teresa' by comparison.
In addition to the moral outrage, this legalized butchery in the U.S. has influenced the decision to ignore the illegal alien invasion, and harmed our immigration policy, foreign trade imbalance and the social security system, to name a few.
Furthermore I am beginning to agree with others that the GOP does not really want Roe v. Wade overturned, because the moral courage to bring this about would also call for a "Nuremburg trial" (and conviction) of hundreds of political leaders and major industrial enablers of abortion in our country.
I disagree with nothing you say about the immorality- or the shame- of the abortion holocaust. But first, let the point not be missed that we just lost our best shot since Roe was handed down to modify or reverse it when huge numbers of conservatives chose to either stay home or vote Democratic in the election earlier this month, making the confirmation of the final justice necessary for a conservative majority on the Supreme Court impossible at precisely the moment when John Paul Stevens was reportedly getting ready to resign.
The blood of the children aborted in the next few years will be on the hands of the conservatives who stayed home or voted Democratic on Nov. 7. I wish the Right would realize that "the Republicans" are the only party capable of advancing a conservative agenda in this country, and get busy in the primaries and caucuses if they don't like the way the party is behaving instead of whining like the Democrats due when they lose.
Don't blame "the Republicans." Blame those who blame the Republicans.
While you're at it, blame the immigration hawks, who in refusing to recognize the utter impossibility of even putting a dent in the immigration problem through enforcement measures alone and totally opposing carrots to go along with the stick have not only
alienated what soon will be the largest bloc of American voters- and one which was rapidly becoming a socially conservative Republican bloc- but may well have guaranteed that a Republican President and Senate will never coincide again in our lifetimes. The little snit so many on the Right through on Nov. 7, in short, may have made Roe save in perpetuity.
Ideologues seldom have the slightest inkling of how to use power, or achieve it. They have just as little inkling why their agenda never gets anywhere.
Secondly, talk about Nuremberg trials- however morally appropriate- is silly, over-the-top rhetoric. Most pro-choice folks are confused about the ethical issues involved, and have never had occasion to think the matter through.
Many, to be fair, are already deeply troubled by abortion (the overwhelming majority of the American people both says that they support Roe, and oppose the legality of abortion for the reasons that nearly all abortions in the United States are in fact performed), and are farapt to respond to quiet reason far more readily than name-calling and grenade-throwing.
Politics is the art of reaching out across divisions and disagreements and finding common ground on which to build, not bridge-burning and overheated rhetoric. All that does is undercut the efforts of less self-destructive folks who are trying to achieve the very things you want to achieve.
I seriously doubt that conservatives would vote Democratic, since that would be equivalent to voting FOR treason. If conservatives indeed "stayed home" rather than voting FOR Republicans (or the RINO imitations), that cannot be considered equivalent to voting FOR Democrats. It is merely indicates a failure of the Republicans to legislate for voters the complete opportunity to vote either for or against a particular candidate for a political office.
"...the utter impossibility of even putting a dent in the immigration problem through enforcement measures alone."
"Utter impossibility"? Nonsense. This is not to say that the immigration invasion can be 100% solved by enforcement alone, or even with political, legal, and probably military action, not only against the invaders but those 'fifth column' industries and individuals who encourage and enable the illegal alien invasion. It will involve a change in attitude by U.S. citizens. That, realistically, will not be 100% either.
"Ideologues seldom have the slightest inkling of how to use power, or achieve it."
The same ad hominem smear was probably used against abolitionists and it has been used against pro-life groups, and those fed up with immigration laws too long ignored.
"talk about Nuremberg trials- however morally appropriate- is silly, over-the-top rhetoric."
It's no more silly than 1942 talk about the first Nuremberg trials. It needs to be brought out now so that whether a year or a decade or whenever abortion is overturned, there will be an accounting from pro-abortion leaders.
There simply is no compromise on abortion. An agreement to cut abortions by 50% doesn't mean the agreement is 50% morally acceptable. It only means that a moral acceptable limit is now half the previous number away.
In any election, an intelligent voter takes the best deal he can. I repeat: conservative voters who stayed home enabled the new Democratic majority to refuse confirmation to the justice who would have enabled the repeal of Roe.
In case you missed the point somehow, I am pro-life! The term "ideologue" is not an ad hominem of any kind, but rather a reference to voters who will do all manner of damage to causes they support in a tantrum about the people who are the best available choice not having given them all they might have wanted.
I repeat: enforcement measures alone will accomplish zip. The border is simply too long and too geographically
varied for it to be humanly impossible to prevent huge numbers of determined illegals from getting across, no matter what we do. I'm glad, though, that you recognize that other things also need to be done. Any realistic approach to immigration reform will involve both carrots and sticks. Too bad the immigration hawks have already probably alienated the Hispanic vote for a generation, not through wanting immigration reform but precisely through their over-the-top rhetoric.
In a nation in which the overwhelming majority of Americans favor legalized abortion in at least some circumstances, to talk of Nuremberg trials is simply silly- especially when the key to changing their minds is persuasion. That kind of rhetoric doesn't help with such a goal. And to equate morally serious if disastrously mistaken pro-choicers with Nazis is not only less than thoughtful, but again an example of self-defeating, over-the-top
rhetoric.
And it's not a question of there finally being compromise on abortion. It's a manner of winning the fight, rather than turning people off with the kind of rhetoric you're engaging in. And in the meantime, it's a matter of saving the lives of as many babies as possible.
If that means achieving mere restrictions on abortion while continuing to fight for its abolition, it would be nothing less than morally obscene to take what you can get and then fight on for more.