Should Atheism be a tool to take direct action against religion or is it just limited to a shared disbelief in higher beings?
For me personally,i've always had anti-religious views but have never taken any more direct action other than debating with believers.In this connected age we live in i think there will be new opportunities to not only raise awareness of atheism as a way of life,but surely there must be new opportunities to rid mankind of this stupidity?
Today in France 12 people were murdered because of (i presume) their atheist views ie they satirized a fictional character,religion eh,who needs it...
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Well acting just like they will make us no better than an extremist. We should be the better person, not drop to their standers.
Maybe i wasn't quite clear,by direct action against religion,i'm not advocating violence.There are many ways to tackle it through the use of media,discredit them,anti advertising,stopping new generations joining their ranks by using some of the methods the church use to brainwash and subjugate the masses.IMO it should be about targeting the young before they can develop the bigoted views of their elders,how about anti religion video games.OK that last bit was a bit tongue in cheek but i'm sure you get my drift.
More killing in the name of religion. This is gut-wrenching.
To stop this insanity is critical and must be undertaken by us all...theist and non-theist alike.
This is the kind of lunacy that religion fosters. Religion is poison and it boggles the mind how people can be so brain-dead believing in it. Remember this lunatic: http://www.biography.com/people/jim-jones-10367607
This drawing is actually offensive and it involves in most of the major religions expect islam
http://www.theonion.com/articles/no-one-murdered-because-of-this-image,2... (NSFW)
totally brainwashed, ignorant lost people, killing dozens of people just in the name of religion is just mind-boggling. lets hope these bloodthirsty gangs will soon be cracked down to pay the blood they shed.
One kind of direct action is dragging the theology to court in some way.
One it is against the law the theology changes and a new denomination is formed :)
It helps a lot to show how easy god changes his mind :)
They seem to be doing a good job of that without our help,bunch of repressed kiddy touchers that so many turn out to be,and thats just the ones that got caught.Iceberg springs to mind.
I agree that everyone who are against the insanity of religion need to do more, in every moral way possible. Passing new laws for secularism, but also actual laws prohibiting the bad parts of religions. Removing tax redemption for religious organisations. Spreading awareness in all ways possible, empowering women in cultures where they are not allowed to get education, drive vehicles, use cellphones or even dress normally.
The people who commits these atrocities are the strongest case that can be made against religion. As tragic as events like these are, they have the exact opposite effect that the fanatics want:
More people are awakened and become anti-theists, secular laws are passed, hatred against their religion increases, the interest in taking military actions increases.
Just like the case of the attack on the World Trade Center, this raises awareness. It is unfortunate that it's this kind of brutal bitch slap that is required for people to wake up. And still, many don't react to such events, other than to be a bit appalled and whining about it at their lunch break, to then just carry on in their moderate religious life. Perhaps go to church and pray a bit...
Well said Pragmatist,i would also add that we need some sort of outreach program so that Atheism is promoted as an option from an early age.The young are the future and we can only empower them to make the changes that most of us won't be around to see.
I also see a role for Atheists to do something positive for the world,so we can be seen as a positive influence on the lives of those less fortunate,ultimately undermining the church and its "missionary" work.
If a bunch of Atheists turned up in an African village and helped build an irrigation system,the chances of those people turning to gods would be greatly reduced and even more so in the following generations,provided atheism is offered as an option,i doubt any religion on the planet currentl offers an alternative to their narrow agenda.
Atheism is limited, but not exclusive. Atheism may only be a disbelief in deities, but it can include anti-theism and other positions that do help undermine theism, it is actually one of the foundations for them.
The magazine only expressed their views and they have the right to do it just like the right of religious people to express their belief, but no one has the right to kill anybody due to his belief.