The "atheists have killed more people" argument

Sorry ron I have tried to explain this to you many times and for whatever reason you cant seem to wrap your mind around agnostcism.

The following list includes all of the major labels — good, bad, and ugly.

• Atheist: Doesn’t believe a god or gods exist.
  
  
• Agnostic: Not sure [Inconclusive] whether a god or gods exist.
  
  
• Freethinker: Holds opinions based on independent reasoning without the undue influence of authority, doctrine, or tradition.
  
  
• Skeptic: Withholds judgment pending actual evidence.
  
  
• Humanist: Focuses on this natural world and this life. Sometimes used as a synonym for secular humanist. No, doesn’t worship humans.
  
  
• Secular humanist: A humanist who specifically adds, “I don’t believe in God.” Still doesn’t worship humans.
  
  
• Secularist: Used to mean someone who wanted to keep church and government separate. Now refers to a person who lives without religion.
  
  
• Antitheist: Believes religion poisons everything and prays (hopes) for a future without it.
  
  
• Apatheist: Doesn’t care whether there’s a God or not. Is annoyed that you asked.
  
  
• Accommodationist: An atheist who seeks common ground with the religious. Much hugging.
  
  
• Deist: Does not believe in God. Believes in “God.”
  
  
• Pantheist: Believes the universe and God are one and the same, but not exactly.
  https://www.dummies.com/religion/atheism-for-dummies-cheat-sheet/
• [emphasis added]

 

Deflection NO1 Do you believe a god exists? answer the question.

 

I would be a Deist. I believe in "God", not God.

I am reminded of this story.

Voltaire and a priest were watching a particularly beautiful sunset as sunsets often are in the South of France. Voltaire removed his hat. "How can anyone", he intoned, "see anything as truly magnificent as this and deny the existence of the Great Architect, the Eternal Designer logically and philosophically necessary to make something so intricate and so involved in every detail. I Believe in You, Great God, I Believe." He put his hat back on then continued, "....as for Mademoiselle his mother and Monsieur, His son, I am not so sure"

 

But Mao was a cult leader, and cultism, that type of communism, is a veritable religion unto itself. Religions are cults, as well. Here I'm defining 'cult' as a group of people, large or small, who surrender to a leader of some type. That leader may be a human, a deity, or a human representative of a deity or deities.

Of course, some will make a distinction between 'cults' and 'true religions', but I contend they are all cults, in the sense that we have groups of people surrending to humans or deities or humans claiming to be deities. It's the 'surrender' that makes it a cult, in my opinion. When you surrender, you are controlled by the leader, or, in the case of a deity, the doctrine, scripture, etc. In the case of a human as representative of a deity, it's a combination of surrender to the human and the doctrine.

Cult is the top of the thing, and below that, you got different cults, cults of personalities, cults of gods. Cults, in terms of latitude, there really is no difference between Maoism and Christianity, in that both are cults. With Christianity, all one does is replace a human with a God ( noting that Christ was a human ). Both have their flocks who surrender to their master. They are the same, really, though there 'belief systems' are different, but so are the belief systems different in the various 4000 religions that dot the human landscape -- the point is, in terms of latitude, they are the same, they exist on the same awareness plane. It's like some prefer Lincolns, others prefer Cadillacs, they are on the same plane. Of course, those who are religious will not agree with that point, but I can't help that. I am not trying to offend, I'm just giving an impartial unindoctrinated perspective.

They are all cults and thus your argument falls apart.

 

Only the last two of those contradict all the others. Only other conflict is apatheist and anti-theist. You could be all of the others at once, and many, possibly even most atheists are.

 

If your contention is that state worship is actually theistic, I can't really disagree. But its the state worshippers you need to convince, not me.

 

Asked and answered, obnoxious repeat NO1.