January 30, 2012

God is love... Not!



Millions of believers worship a god with the personality of a five year old. Jealous, angry, homophobe, sexphobe, racist and most of all an attention freak. But those are the things you wont hear in churches, temples, mosques etc. the only time when gods wrath is discussed is to instill fear and control over the believers. If you do certain things, believe in anything “other than” or dare to question, you will be punished. A typical mind control technique by cults and religion.
The excuses to cover or distort all the evil that god does in the bible, by believers (apologists) are almost endless. books of most if not all religions are filled with hate, racism, chauvinism, murder, rape, incest, and many times contradicting "facts" that make no sense in the real world.
Every religion (ok most. but definitely including the biggest ones- Christianity, Judaism and Muslim) preaches love, but under the mask and inside the book there is allot of hate.
Here are some segments from the bible that show “God is love”:

Bible Passages About Ritual Human Sacrifice 

Jephthah Burns His Daughter
"At that time the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he went throughout the land of Gilead and Manasseh, including Mizpah in Gilead, and led an army against the Ammonites.  And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD. He said, "If you give me victory over the Ammonites, I will give to the LORD the first thing coming out of my house to greet me when I return in triumph.  I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.
"So Jephthah led his army against the Ammonites, and the LORD gave him victory.  He thoroughly defeated the Ammonites from Aroer to an area near Minnith – twenty towns – and as far away as Abel-keramim. Thus Israel subdued the Ammonites.  When Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, his daughter – his only child – ran out to meet him, playing on a tambourine and dancing for joy.  When he saw her, he tore his clothes in anguish.  "My daughter!" he cried out.  "My heart is breaking!  What a tragedy that you came out to greet me. For I have made a vow to the LORD and cannot take it back."  And she said, "Father, you have made a promise to the LORD.  You must do to me what you have promised, for the LORD has given you a great victory over your enemies, the Ammonites.  But first let me go up and roam in the hills and weep with my friends for two months, because I will die a virgin."  "You may go," Jephthah said. And he let her go away for two months.  She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never have children.  When she returned home, her father kept his vow, and she died a virgin.  So it has become a custom in Israel for young Israelite women to go away for four days each year to lament the fate of Jephthah's daughter."   (Judges 11:29-40 NLT)

God Commands Burning Humans
[The Lord speaking]  "The one who has stolen what was set apart for destruction will himself be burned with fire, along with everything he has, for he has broken the covenant of the LORD and has done a horrible thing in Israel."  (Joshua 7:15 NLT)

Josiah and Human Sacrifice 
At the LORD's command, a man of God from Judah went to Bethel, and he arrived there just as Jeroboam was approaching the altar to offer a sacrifice.  Then at the LORD's command, he shouted, "O altar, altar!  This is what the LORD says: A child named Josiah will be born into the dynasty of David.  On you he will sacrifice the priests from the pagan shrines who come here to burn incense, and human bones will be burned on you."  (1 Kings 13:1-2 NLT)

He [Josiah] executed the priests of the pagan shrines on their own altars, and he burned human bones on the altars to desecrate them.  Finally, he returned to Jerusalem.  King Josiah then issued this order to all the people: "You must celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in the Book of the Covenant."  There had not been a Passover celebration like that since the time when the judges ruled in Israel, throughout all the years of the kings of Israel and Judah.  This Passover was celebrated to the LORD in Jerusalem during the eighteenth year of King Josiah's reign.  Josiah also exterminated the mediums and psychics, the household gods, and every other kind of idol worship, both in Jerusalem and throughout the land of Judah.  He did this in obedience to all the laws written in the scroll that Hilkiah the priest had found in the LORD's Temple.  Never before had there been a king like Josiah, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses.  And there has never been a king like him since.  (2 Kings 23:20-25 NLT)

Human Sacrifice
Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself.  As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.  In the time of their visitation they shall shine, and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;  (Wisdom 3:5-7 NAB The Book of The Wisdom of Solomon is mostly in Catholic versions of the Bible.)

Child Sacrifice
And this became a hidden trap for mankind, because men, in bondage to misfortune or to royal authority, bestowed on objects of stone or wood the name that ought not to be shared.  Afterward it was not enough for them to err about the knowledge of God, but they live in great strife due to ignorance, and they call such great evils peace.  For whether they kill children in their initiations, or celebrate secret mysteries, or hold frenzied revels with strange customs…  (Wisdom 14:21-23 RSV)  The Book of The Wisdom of Solomon is mostly in Catholic versions of the Bible.  This passage condemns human sacrifice but acknowledges that it did happen by early God worshipers.

Humans are Fuel for Fire
As for you, son of man, prophesy: Thus says the Lord GOD against the Ammonites and their insults: A sword, a sword is drawn for slaughter, burnished to consume and to flash lightning, because you planned with false visions and lying divinations to lay it on the necks of depraved and wicked men whose day has come when their crimes are at an end.  Return it to its sheath!  In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you.  I will pour out my indignation upon you, breathing my fiery wrath upon you, I will hand you over to ravaging men, artisans of destruction.  You shall be fuel for the fire, your blood shall flow throughout the land.  You shall not be remembered, for I, the LORD, have spoken.  (Ezekiel 21:33-37 NAB)

Burn Nonbelievers
"Suppose you hear in one of the towns the LORD your God is giving you that some worthless rabble among you have led their fellow citizens astray by encouraging them to worship foreign gods.  In such cases, you must examine the facts carefully.  If you find it is true and can prove that such a detestable act has occurred among you, you must attack that town and completely destroy all its inhabitants, as well as all the livestock.  Then you must pile all the plunder in the middle of the street and burn it.  Put the entire town to the torch as a burnt offering to the LORD your God.  That town must remain a ruin forever; it may never be rebuilt.  Keep none of the plunder that has been set apart for destruction.  Then the LORD will turn from his fierce anger and be merciful to you.  He will have compassion on you and make you a great nation, just as he solemnly promised your ancestors.  "The LORD your God will be merciful only if you obey him and keep all the commands I am giving you today, doing what is pleasing to him."  (Deuteronomy 13:13-19 NLT)


Rape In The Bible

Rape is one of the most heinous crimes imaginable.  Yet few people know that the Bible often condones and even approves of rape.  How anyone can get their moral guidance from a book that allows rape escapes me.  Perhaps they have been lied to about the Bible and carefully detoured around all the nasty stuff in the Bible.
So grab your Bibles and follow along as I show you all the nasty rapes that your priests and preachers don't want to tell you about.  Note that in many places in the Bible there are references to "taking a wife".  Don't be fooled into thinking that these were voluntary marriages.  This first quote clearly shows that murder and force were used to "take" these wives. 

1) Murder, rape, and pillage at Jabesh-gilead  (Judges 21:10-24 NLT)
So they sent twelve thousand warriors to Jabesh-gilead with orders to kill everyone there, including women and children.  "This is what you are to do," they said. "Completely destroy all the males and every woman who is not a virgin."  Among the residents of Jabesh-gilead they found four hundred young virgins who had never slept with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.
The Israelite assembly sent a peace delegation to the little remnant of Benjamin who were living at the rock of Rimmon. Then the men of Benjamin returned to their homes, and the four hundred women of Jabesh-gilead who were spared were given to them as wives.  But there were not enough women for all of them.  The people felt sorry for Benjamin because the LORD had left this gap in the tribes of Israel.  So the Israelite leaders asked, "How can we find wives for the few who remain, since all the women of the tribe of Benjamin are dead?  There must be heirs for the survivors so that an entire tribe of Israel will not be lost forever.  But we cannot give them our own daughters in marriage because we have sworn with a solemn oath that anyone who does this will fall under God's curse."
 
Then they thought of the annual festival of the LORD held in Shiloh, between Lebonah and Bethel, along the east side of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem. They told the men of Benjamin who still needed wives, "Go and hide in the vineyards. When the women of Shiloh come out for their dances, rush out from the vineyards, and each of you can take one of them home to be your wife!  And when their fathers and brothers come to us in protest, we will tell them, 'Please be understanding. Let them have your daughters, for we didn't find enough wives for them when we destroyed Jabesh-gilead. And you are not guilty of breaking the vow since you did not give your daughters in marriage to them.'" So the men of Benjamin did as they were told.  They kidnapped the women who took part in the celebration and carried them off to the land of their own inheritance. Then they rebuilt their towns and lived in them.  So the assembly of Israel departed by tribes and families, and they returned to their own homes.

Obviously these women were repeatedly raped. These sick bastards killed and raped an entire town and then wanted more virgins, so they hid beside the road to kidnap and rape some more. How can anyone see this as anything but evil?

2) Murder, rape and pillage of the Midianites    (Numbers 31:7-18 NLT)
They attacked Midian just as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed all the men.  All five of the Midianite kings – Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba – died in the battle.  They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.  Then the Israelite army captured the Midianite women and children and seized their cattle and flocks and all their wealth as plunder.  They burned all the towns and villages where the Midianites had lived.  After they had gathered the plunder and captives, both people and animals, they brought them all to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to the whole community of Israel, which was camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho.
Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the people went to meet them outside the camp.  But Moses was furious with all the military commanders who had returned from the battle.  "Why have you let all the women live?" he demanded.  "These are the very ones who followed Balaam's advice and caused the people of Israel to rebel against the LORD at Mount Peor.  They are the ones who caused the plague to strike the LORD's people.  Now kill all the boys and all the women who have slept with a man.  Only the young girls who are virgins may live; you may keep them for yourselves.
Clearly Moses and God approves of rape of virgins.

3) More Murder Rape and Pillage   (Deuteronomy 20:10-14)
As you approach a town to attack it, first offer its people terms for peace.  If they accept your terms and open the gates to you, then all the people inside will serve you in forced labor.  But if they refuse to make peace and prepare to fight, you must attack the town.  When the LORD your God hands it over to you, kill every man in the town.  But you may keep for yourselves all the women, children, livestock, and other plunder.  You may enjoy the spoils of your enemies that the LORD your God has given you.
What kind of God approves of murder, rape, and slavery?

4) Laws of Rape   (Deuteronomy 22:28-29 NLT)
If a man is caught in the act of raping a young woman who is not engaged, he must pay fifty pieces of silver to her father.  Then he must marry the young woman because he violated her, and he will never be allowed to divorce her.
What kind of lunatic would make a rape victim marry her attacker?  Answer: God.

5) Death to the Rape Victim   (Deuteronomy 22:23-24 NAB)
If within the city a man comes upon a maiden who is betrothed, and has relations with her, you shall bring them both out of the gate of the city and there stone them to death: the girl because she did not cry out for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbors wife.
It is clear that God doesn't give a damn about the rape victim.  He is only concerned about the violation of another mans "property".

6) David's Punishment - Polygamy, Rape, Baby Killing, and God's "Forgiveness" (2 Samuel 12:11-14 NAB)
Thus says the Lord: 'I will bring evil upon you out of your own house.  I will take your wives [plural] while you live to see it, and will give them to your neighbor.  He shall lie with your wives in broad daylight.  You have done this deed in secret, but I will bring it about in the presence of all Israel, and with the sun looking down.'
Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord."  Nathan answered David: "The Lord on his part has forgiven your sin: you shall not die.  But since you have utterly spurned the Lord by this deed, the child born to you must surely die."  [The child dies seven days later.]


Murder in the Bible

The act of murder is rampant in the Bible.  In much of the Bible, especially the Old Testament, there are laws that command that people be killed for absurd reasons such as working on the Sabbath, being gay, cursing your parents, or not being a virgin on your wedding night.  In addition to these crazy and immoral laws, there are plenty of examples of God's irrationality by his direct killing of many people for reasons that defy any rational explanation such as killing children who make fun of bald people, and the killing of a man who tried to keep the ark of God from falling during transport.  There are also countless examples of mass murders commanded by God, including the murder of women, infants, and children.
The following passages are a very small percentage of the total passages approving of murder in the Bible.  They are divided here into three parts: 1) Capital Punishment Crimes, 2) God's Murders for Stupid Reasons, 3) Murdering Children, and 4) Miscellaneous Murders.  This list is long, but it barely scratches the surface of all the murders approved of in the Bible.



Capital Punishment Crimes


Kill People Who Don't Listen to Priests
Anyone arrogant enough to reject the verdict of the judge or of the priest who represents the LORD your God must be put to death.  Such evil must be purged from Israel.  (Deuteronomy 17:12 NLT)

Kill Witches
You should not let a sorceress live.  (Exodus 22:17 NAB)

Kill Homosexuals
"If a man lies with a male as with a women, both of them shall be put to death for their abominable deed; they have forfeited their lives."  (Leviticus 20:13 NAB)

Kill Fortunetellers
A man or a woman who acts as a medium or fortuneteller shall be put to death by stoning; they have no one but themselves to blame for their death.  (Leviticus 20:27 NAB)

Death for Hitting Dad
Whoever strikes his father or mother shall be put to death.  (Exodus 21:15 NAB)

Death for Cursing Parents
1) If one curses his father or mother, his lamp will go out at the coming of darkness.  (Proverbs 20:20 NAB)
2) All who curse their father or mother must be put to death.  They are guilty of a capital offense.  (Leviticus 20:9 NLT)

Death for Adultery
If a man commits adultery with another man's wife, both the man and the woman must be put to death.  (Leviticus 20:10 NLT)

Death for Fornication
A priest's daughter who loses her honor by committing fornication and thereby dishonors her father also, shall be burned to death.  (Leviticus 21:9 NAB)

Death to Followers of Other Religions
Whoever sacrifices to any god, except the Lord alone, shall be doomed.  (Exodus 22:19 NAB)

Kill Nonbelievers
They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul; and everyone who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.  (2 Chronicles 15:12-13 NAB)

Kill False Prophets
If a man still prophesies, his parents, father and mother, shall say to him, "You shall not live, because you have spoken a lie in the name of the Lord."  When he prophesies, his parents, father and mother, shall thrust him through.  (Zechariah 13:3 NAB)

Kill the Entire Town if One Person Worships Another God
Suppose you hear in one of the towns the LORD your God is giving you that some worthless rabble among you have led their fellow citizens astray by encouraging them to worship foreign gods.  In such cases, you must examine the facts carefully.  If you find it is true and can prove that such a detestable act has occurred among you, you must attack that town and completely destroy all its inhabitants, as well as all the livestock.  Then you must pile all the plunder in the middle of the street and burn it.  Put the entire town to the torch as a burnt offering to the LORD your God.  That town must remain a ruin forever; it may never be rebuilt.  Keep none of the plunder that has been set apart for destruction.  Then the LORD will turn from his fierce anger and be merciful to you.  He will have compassion on you and make you a great nation, just as he solemnly promised your ancestors.  "The LORD your God will be merciful only if you obey him and keep all the commands I am giving you today, doing what is pleasing to him."  (Deuteronomy 13:13-19 NLT)

Kill Women Who Are Not Virgins On Their Wedding Night
But if this charge is true (that she wasn't a virgin on her wedding night), and evidence of the girls virginity is not found, they shall bring the girl to the entrance of her fathers house and there her townsman shall stone her to death, because she committed a crime against Israel by her unchasteness in her father's house.  Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst.  (Deuteronomy  22:20-21 NAB)

Kill Followers of Other Religions.
1) If your own full brother, or your son or daughter, or your beloved wife, or you intimate friend, entices you secretly to serve other gods, whom you and your fathers have not known, gods of any other nations, near at hand or far away, from one end of the earth to the other: do not yield to him or listen to him, nor look with pity upon him, to spare or shield him, but kill him.  Your hand shall be the first raised to slay him; the rest of the people shall join in with you.  You shall stone him to death, because he sought to lead you astray from the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.  And all Israel, hearing of this, shall fear and never do such evil as this in your midst.  (Deuteronomy 13:7-12 NAB)

2) Suppose a man or woman among you, in one of your towns that the LORD your God is giving you, has done evil in the sight of the LORD your God and has violated the covenant by serving other gods or by worshiping the sun, the moon, or any of the forces of heaven, which I have strictly forbidden.  When you hear about it, investigate the matter thoroughly. If it is true that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, then that man or woman must be taken to the gates of the town and stoned to death.  (Deuteronomy 17:2-5 NLT)

Kill People for Working on the Sabbath
The LORD then gave these further instructions to Moses: 'Tell the people of Israel to keep my Sabbath day, for the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant between me and you forever.  It helps you to remember that I am the LORD, who makes you holy.  Yes, keep the Sabbath day, for it is holy.  Anyone who desecrates it must die; anyone who works on that day will be cut off from the community.  Work six days only, but the seventh day must be a day of total rest.  I repeat: Because the LORD considers it a holy day, anyone who works on the Sabbath must be put to death.'  (Exodus 31:12-15 NLT)



Murdering Children


Kill Sons of Sinners
Make ready to slaughter his sons for the guilt of their fathers; Lest they rise and posses the earth, and fill the breadth of the world with tyrants.  (Isaiah 14:21 NAB)

God Will Kill Children
The glory of Israel will fly away like a bird, for your children will die at birth or perish in the womb or never even be conceived.  Even if your children do survive to grow up, I will take them from you.  It will be a terrible day when I turn away and leave you alone.  I have watched Israel become as beautiful and pleasant as Tyre.  But now Israel will bring out her children to be slaughtered."  O LORD, what should I request for your people?  I will ask for wombs that don't give birth and breasts that give no milk.  The LORD says, "All their wickedness began at Gilgal; there I began to hate them.  I will drive them from my land because of their evil actions.  I will love them no more because all their leaders are rebels.  The people of Israel are stricken.  Their roots are dried up; they will bear no more fruit.  And if they give birth, I will slaughter their beloved children."  (Hosea 9:11-16 NLT)

Kill Men, Women, and Children
"Then I heard the LORD say to the other men, "Follow him through the city and kill everyone whose forehead is not marked.  Show no mercy; have no pity!  Kill them all – old and young, girls and women and little children.  But do not touch anyone with the mark.  Begin your task right here at the Temple."  So they began by killing the seventy leaders.  "Defile the Temple!" the LORD commanded.  "Fill its courtyards with the bodies of those you kill!  Go!"  So they went throughout the city and did as they were told."  (Ezekiel 9:5-7 NLT)

God Kills all the First Born of Egypt
And at midnight the LORD killed all the firstborn sons in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn son of the captive in the dungeon. Even the firstborn of their livestock were killed.  Pharaoh and his officials and all the people of Egypt woke up during the night, and loud wailing was heard throughout the land of Egypt. There was not a single house where someone had not died.  (Exodus 12:29-30 NLT)

Kill Old Men and Young Women
"You are my battle-ax and sword," says the LORD.  "With you I will shatter nations and destroy many kingdoms.  With you I will shatter armies, destroying the horse and rider, the chariot and charioteer.  With you I will shatter men and women, old people and children, young men and maidens.  With you I will shatter shepherds and flocks, farmers and oxen, captains and rulers.  "As you watch, I will repay Babylon and the people of Babylonia for all the wrong they have done to my people in Jerusalem," says the LORD.  "Look, O mighty mountain, destroyer of the earth!  I am your enemy," says the LORD.  "I will raise my fist against you, to roll you down from the heights.  When I am finished, you will be nothing but a heap of rubble.  You will be desolate forever.  Even your stones will never again be used for building.  You will be completely wiped out," says the LORD.  (Jeremiah 51:20-26)
 (Note that after God promises the Israelites a victory against Babylon, the Israelites actually get their butts kicked by them in the next chapter.  So much for an all-knowing and all-powerful God.)

God Will Kill the Children of Sinners
If even then you remain hostile toward me and refuse to obey, I will inflict you with seven more disasters for your sins.  I will release wild animals that will kill your children and destroy your cattle, so your numbers will dwindle and your roads will be deserted.  (Leviticus 26:21-22 NLT)

More Rape and Baby Killing
Anyone who is captured will be run through with a sword.  Their little children will be dashed to death right before their eyes.  Their homes will be sacked and their wives raped by the attacking hordes.  For I will stir up the Medes against Babylon, and no amount of silver or gold will buy them off.  The attacking armies will shoot down the young people with arrows.  They will have no mercy on helpless babies and will show no compassion for the children.  (Isaiah 13:15-18 NLT)

And the list goes on and on. But you get my point. God is love… not!



9 comments:

  1. I find the comparison of the Abrahmic god to a five year old offensive. I have 3 children, and have been around plenty of five year olds, they are nowhere near that bad.

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    1. LOL. you are right. not children, or adults can be that bad.

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  2. You title this blog "Atheism IS Love" yet the topic of each post is anti-religion (specifically the Abrahmic faiths). The spiteful tone comes across as far from loving! Yes, there has been a history of violence played out in the name of God. Yes, God commanded the Israelites to decimate entire cities. Yes, Christians have taken the call to defend our Faith as a literal call to arms. Yes, Muslims have sought to purge evil from the face of the earth by killing non Muslims.

    Atheists are far from bloodless though. Josef Stalin attempted to purge religion from Russia by means of violence. He leveled churches, exiled or killed priests, and who can forget his purges that took the lives of close to 1.5 million people. Pol Pot had somewhere between 1.5 and 3 million people executed in Cambodia. In our present day, countless believers are persecuted and even murdered by the officially Atheist government of China.

    We could counter with stats of who hates whom more and how many people have killed or been killed throughout history. Or, we could all quit trying to lay blame with each other for what's wrong with society and work together for the common good. So, my challenge for you is this:

    From now on instead of posting NEGATIVE blogs that depict your HATRED of religion, focus on posting POSITIVE blogs that highlight the good things Atheists are doing (or have done) in the world. Surely Mother Teresa wasn't the only person working with the poor in Calcutta! Since Atheists are all so full of love, surely there is a completely Atheist organization [and it would have to be completely Atheist- otherwise I would say the religious members of the group inspired and influenced the good works] doing something to alleviate the suffering in this world! If you truly believe that Atheism IS Love, show me how!

    Stop with the petty "God told them to kill... the Christians had the Inquisition... but 9/11 was religiously inspired" arguments against religion. Those [elementary aged] arguments are incendiary but have little intrinsic value. During the 1940's the US government rounded up the Japanese living here and put them in interment camps. Do those actions make America a terrible nation that should be eliminated so that "true freedom" could ensue? No. They are deplorable actions that a few men in power inflicted upon a group of people they blamed for Pearl Harbor. Are those events an indictment of ALL Americans at that one time and for the subsequent generations?! Of course not! Is it still a part of our history? Yes. The brilliance of the study of history is that we can learn from past mistakes and try not to repeat them in the future. I can't go back and change the fact that the Israelites wiped out Jericho. I can't go back and change the fact that the Catholic Church officially sanctioned the Inquisition and Crusades. You can't go back and change the fact that Stalin and Pol Pot murdered millions either.

    What we can do is live in the present and work toward the future. I'm sure that in another 500 years, future generations will be able to pick apart our societal flaws and examine them under the microscope of history. What may seem like a big deal to us now might look silly in the next century. To quote Nostra Aetate (on the relationship of the Catholic Church with other religions): "this sacred synod [Vatican II] urges all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding and to preserve as well as to promote together for the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom."

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  3. I had to break this up into two responses because of the character limit. Here is the continuation of my previous comment:

    Perhaps you were going to work your way through the rest of the Bible to get to the quotes about living in peace with our neighbors. I can only hope so. It's okay to be an Atheist and still recognize the GOOD religions have done for the world. It won't make you any less Atheist to read the New Testament and see all of the positive virtues the writers encourage Christians to espouse. I know we don't always live up to the expectations set by those writers, but at least we try. I'd rather have a bar to try to clear than no bar at all!

    I leave you with St. Peter's exhortation to the Church, "Finally, all of you, be of one mind, sympathetic, loving toward one another, compassionate, humble. Do not return evil for evil, or insult for insult; but, on the contrary, a blessing" (1 Peter 3:8-9a).

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    1. Tim, thank you for taking the time to comment your opinion, and intelligent argument my friend.
      Here is my reply paragraph by paragraph to your comment;
      Yes the name of the blog is Atheism Is Love, and I guess by showing the bad in organized religion, and the numbing effects it has on society, I have more to show the purity of atheism. It is an actual fact that less religios nations are much more advances than religious nations. In my (and many, if not all, Atheists) opinion if everyone on earth was an Atheist (as they are when born) life on earth would have been much more harmonious and advanced than it is now. I am not suggesting a la la land of perfection. Obviously bad people and bad things would still exhist, but we as humans would have been in a much better position of living on this planet than we are now. I do see religioun as poisn, and by bringing out all the negative things about religion I have a better and clearer platform to show that Atheism Is Love.
      Of course there are good things in organized religion. Its not all bad, but the way I see it, in every cult organization there are good things that serve the members of the organization.

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    2. Now about Stalin (and Hitler), the two names that many times come up from apologists against atheism.
      Atheist dictatorships are not brutal because of atheism, but because of political reasons as mentioned earlier. Atheism simply holds reason and rationality as superior to dogma. When an atheist dictator institutes atrocities it is not because it is a reasonable or rational thing to do, but because of dogmas that are held to, exclusive power grabs, and political ideologies. However, when religion is held to in these cases, it does give justification for atrocities.
      Many dictatorships are political religions: Religion has many qualities that are similar to totalitarian rule. According to Wikipedia these are some of the traits shared:
      - Suppression of religious beliefs, just as religions exclusively suppress belief in competing religious ideologies.
      - Absolute Loyalty to the state, party, leader (Fuhrer) or messiah
      - Fear is instilled from the top in order to maintain power and obedience
      - Externalize blame to another group for problems. North Korea blames its economic problems on the western world; Nazis blamed the Jews and other groups for theirs.
      - Cult of personality where the leader is displayed in posters, sculptures, etc. in a godlike or cult like manner.
      - Propaganda is used to reinforce loyalty in both religion and totalitarian regimes. False or warped information is disseminated through all forms of communication and the means of communication are themselves usurped by those in power.

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    3. On this issue Christopher Hitchens, who had himself visited North Korea, wrote about the strong associations of religion and a totalitarian state as he had witnessed first hand within North Korea.
      Many genocidal and brutal dictatorships have been, and still are, traditionally religious. Eastern religions cannot be let off the hook either. Zen Buddhism and Shinto were the religious beliefs of Hirohito's fascist government of Japan during World War II; the dictatorship in Burma is Buddhist; the forces in Sri Lanka that have been carrying out their current atrocities against the Tamils are themselves Buddhists; Lon Nol's army in Cambodia was Buddhist; the list goes on and on.
      Atheist dictatorships are not brutal because of atheism, but because of political reasons as mentioned earlier. Atheism simply holds reason and rationality as superior to dogma. When an atheist dictator institutes atrocities it is not because it is a reasonable or rational thing to do, but because of dogmas that are held to, exclusive power grabs, and political ideologies. However, when religion is held to in these cases, it does give justification for atrocities as shown very extensively in my earlier section addressing this issue.
      Holy texts demonstrate and prescribe horrible injustices and atrocities that have been held to by those in power. The same cannot be said of the works of Albert Einstein, Carl Sagan, John Lennon, Charles Darwin, Noam Chomsky, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine and Johannes Brahms (to name just a few), all of whom were atheists.
      The ethical philosophy of atheists and agnostics is humanism and is demonstrably a much better moral framework to live by than any religious doctrine. The United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rightsis a humanist document for how to treat people and is far better than anything that has come out of any holy text.
      So, as has been shown, the atrocities committed by totalitarian regimes, such as the communists and fascists have nothing to do with atheism and instead have strong religious tones associated with them.

      “People of faith often claim that the crimes of Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot were the inevitable product of unbelief. The problem with fascism and communism, however, is not that they are too critical of religion; the problem is that they are too much like religions. Such regimes are dogmatic to the core and generally give rise to personality cults that are indistinguishable from cults of religious hero worship. Auschwitz, the gulag and the killing fields were not examples of what happens when human beings reject religious dogma; they are examples of political, racial and nationalistic dogma run amok. There is no society in human history that ever suffered because its people became too reasonable. “
      - Sam Harris, December 24, 2006, Los Angeles Times

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    4. When you say that I am “posting negative blogs that depict my hatred of religion” it isn’t something I haven’t heard before from believers. When theists hear criticism about religion they see it as offensive and insulting. This is not an idle or superficially semantic issue. Critics of the infamous Danish cartoons of Muhammad argued that they were rude and insulting, but without specifying exactly how they should be interpreted as "insulting" or what sorts of alternatives should have been chosen. Plays and books have been censored on the claim that they are "insulting" to "religious sensibilities" — indeed, there are some who argue that there should be no free speech right to say, write, or do anything that "insults" these "religious sensibilities." Is this what people have in mind when they say that atheists shouldn't be "insulting" — that atheists shouldn't say or do anything which insults religious sensibilities? That's far too broad of a claim to be accepted or taken seriously. Atheistic critiques of religion cannot and should not be held hostage to the vague, unknown, and ever-shifting "religious sensibilities" of whomever might listen or read. It is a serious and ongoing problem for atheists that believers take any negative criticism — never mind very sharp criticism or even ridicule — of religious claims and dogmas in a highly personal manner. This can be understandable, given how important these beliefs can be for people, but it's not legitimate to shut down all such commentary on the assertion that it's "hatred" and therefore inappropriate, illegitimate, and out-of-bounds. There are of course better and worse ways of saying or putting things, but in the end religious believers cannot object to atheistic criticism of religion, religious beliefs, or theism by insisting that atheists stop being "insulting" and "moderate" their rhetoric.

      When you compare American history with religious history it doesn’t make sense at all. If anything it shows the problem with religion. What the US government did in the 40’s and laws that existed by the government are morally different than they are today. Slavery was legal once in America, now it is not only illegal it is considered absurd by any intelligent human being. In the bible slavery is still legit; “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. (Ephesians 6:5 NLT). The “word of god” though edited by theists, cannot be changed. You cannot believe in something so deeply and say some of the things in the book are only history. You cannot believe in some words from the bible and live by them, and some words that don’t make sense and seem ridiculous to live by in a modern society and say “oh, this part is history. We cant change history.”
      Political history is used as lessons. when it comes to choosing our leaders, and even how leaders behave. It is progressing and moving forward compared to any religion which is the same for thousands of years with the exclusion of the new edition that had to come out in order to catch up with the times “the new testament.”

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    5. I guess this argument can be endless, but to sum it up I wanted to say that it is important for me and all atheists to speak out and show the negative influence of all religions in our world. Its just like so few people who had the audacity and courage to speak up against slavery. for most people slavery was normal as owning a pet is nowadays.
      I believe that in 100, maybe 200, years from now religion will be a thing of the past. The younger generations around the world see the ridicule behind all the superstition fairy tales and moving away from it despite the strong beliefs of their parents and grandparents. It is already a fact that the world will be a better place if religion is absent. We as humans wont waste our energy, mind, resources and motivations on something that doesn’t exist.
      Some of the least religious societies on earth are Norway, Iceland, Australia, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, Japan, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the United Kingdom. According to the 2005 United Nations' Development Report they are also the healthiest societies, as indicated by life expectancy, adult literacy, per capita income, educational attainment, gender equality, homicide rate, and infant mortality. Denmark is a country with one of the largest populations of atheist/agnostic/non-believers. Yet they are ranked as the happiest nation in the world. Along with Sweden (another country with very large non-believer populations), they both rank as some of the lowest in violent crime rates in the world.
      The 2005 United Nations' Development Report, not surprisingly, shows that the 50 societies that ranked lowest in terms of the human development index are also the most highly religious. A Gallup poll of the most and least religious countries in the world showed that most of the countries listed as "Least Religious" were, in fact, the countries with some of the lowest murder rates per capita. Many of these countries also happen to have some of the world's highest living standards for their populations! Some of these countries include Japan, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Hong Kong. The United States has the highest incarceration rate of any other nation on earth.

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Your thoughts and comments are appreciated.
including hate comments from believers :-)