That's not how it works. These people did not kill in the name of atheism, they killed in the name of Communism. Communism is not atheism, nor is atheism communism, they are two entirely different beliefs in entirely different fields. I'm not sure why you're having difficulty with this. It's like saying that wood kills people because some guns have wood grips.
That's something I like about it too. The point I was trying to make though was that people of all faiths are going to fight for their faith.
What a silly article. Just because there are those of us who do not automatically believe in God via blind faith does not make us atheists. The article completely and/or conveniently neglects to mention the thousands, if not millions, of us agnostics that are out there; those of us who are open to the possibility of a higher power provided that there is solid evidence of there being such a Being. Most atheists are simply hypocrites anyway. Denying God is acknowledging that the concept of a God exists. This argument was resolved with the so-called "Satanists" decades ago, whom by going against God, they inadvertently galvanized the power of God through their own denial of Him and His works. Atheists sure can be stupid sometimes!
That's true to a degree. I honestly can't see atheists going to war with each other due to religious beliefs though. If you don't believe in any god you don't believe in any god; there's no real variation on this belief that could cause conflict. Religions on the other hand have huge internal differences and claims to divine power such as the Pope, the kings of England, and many others. It's easier for conflict between religious factions within a religion to rise because of the various interpretations of religious text. Atheist doesn't have this, it's simply a lack of belief. Other ideas that involve atheists can conflict obviously, but for atheism itself to conflict with itself, I'm not seeing how that would happen unless people went as retarded as they did in that South Park episode, which is completely within the realm of reason.
How can you say something doesn't exist without acknowledging the concept of that item? In what way is that hypocritical? Simply because you acknowledge the existence of a concept does not mean you believe in the concept.
Many people are wandering and you can't call them all atheists. Any particular person miss going to church for decades and then come back to their faith in their final years. There are many deathbed conversions, especially to Catholicism. I read the other day that even Castro is considering an 11th hour conversion to Catholicism: http://blog.american.com/2012/02/will-castro-convert-to-catholicism/ My guess is there are many hardened atheists who crack in their final days and open up their hearts to Christ and his Church. There are rumors that Voltaire converted to Christianity on his death bed, but of course atheists went to extreme lengths to cover this up, so we will never know. Here is a list of famous people who converted to Catholicism. The list has many names that might surprise you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_converts_to_Catholicism
I realize you don't but mocking others certainly isn't limited to atheists. And, if you wish to be accurate, you would say, "I will die believing...." instead of "I will die knowing...." If someone is a Christian because their is an "advantage" then do they really believe or are they simply hedging their bets. For me, believing isn't a choice.
My point is: why go through the trouble in making such a bold political statement -- "I DON'T BELIEVE IN GOD!" -- if not to simply get noticed like an attention whore? If a person doesn't believe in God, then fine. Believing in God is a personal matter between you and your own belief system anyway. By coming out and proudly stating that you don't believe in God, just shows everyone else that you acknowledge that the concept of God exists for you, yet you are simply living in denial.
So atheists are the only group in the world that doesn't have infighting? I find that hard to believe. Let me check... Wow, a 10-second Google search proved you wrong. Here's an article about atheist infighting: http://atheistethicist.blogspot.com/2012/01/reducing-atheist-infighting.html
No, for me it's more than belief. I know there is a God. I know there is a heaven and a hell. I have proof.
There are plenty of forms of athetism. Being agnostic is technically a form of athetism. I'm sure hard athetists would disagree with agnostics on god.
It makes sense to him because he really didn't think about it. Critical thinking, from what I can tell, isn't his strong suit.
Anyway, how many people have converted to atheism on their deathbed? I started a thread on this topic a few months ago and no one could come up with a single person that converted to atheism on their death bed in the entire history of mankind. And I did a Google search and didn't find any such person that way either.
The advantages of an atheist seem to be quite consistent with the advantages your faith appears to give you.
Agnosticism is rational because it refuses to stake out a position that can't be proven. Atheism is not rational because it denies that God exist without any proof that this is true. Atheism is guilty of the very crime they accuse theists of, believing something on faith. I do not believe God exists because of faith, though faith came. I first believed in God because his existence has been proven to me by my research. I would cite as just one piece of evidence the Shroud of Turin, which has never been explained by science. The concept that a "medieval forger" would think of imprinting a negative image on a cloth, hundreds of years before photography was invented, is a laughable theory. And no scientist has ever explained how that image got there, and not for lack of trying. My personal theory is that the image was put there by the bright light of Jesus' resurrection. Please recall that after the atomic blasts of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, images of people could be seen on the walls. The atomic blast had a bright light and I think this was the same process that put the image on the Shroud of Turin.
Living in denial? How so? Again simply because you acknowledge the existence of a concept does not mean you believe it. I don't believe in a god, yet I acknowledge the concept of gods exists. To deny that such a concept exists would be living in denial.
91% of Americans still believe in God or a Universal Spirit. Down from 94% in 1976. Go go go atheists! LMAO.
There is, I and 2 of my other buddies were there, and as the article mentions we're far from the only atheists to have served. There are many who are still out there serving today.
Easy answer, because atheism believes in only one God, man; therefore, as God, man can then rationalize anything. To attribute the excesses of one Church to the basis of any religion is to attribute to the religion, the fallibility of man, which is the pinnacle of atheism. Religion forms a basis for civilized society through historical experience. Many of the masses follow without knowing that what they are following is basically experience. To be atheist, means you will have to re-learn that experience and history continually.
