The pope, Benedict XVI, released an encyclical on Friday stating that atheism was responsibile for great cruelties and violations of justice. In fact, for some of the worst such wrongs in all of history.
He offered, as an alternative to athesims, well, actually, catholicism. I call "Bias!"
Italy's Union of Atheists, Agnostics and Rationalists (UAAR) said by taking such stands the Pope would push more people away from the Church.
"The existence of a billion non-believers in the world should be enough to make the Pope understand that man can live very well without God, but with reason," a statement said.
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Good thing the Catholic Church was never responsible for any great cruelties and violations of justice...it was those pesky atheists who were really behind the Inquisition and the Crusades and the Counter Reformation. And the Thirty Year War? Atheists, pretending to be the Hapsburg Emperor. And Hitler? Like all pre-War Bavarians and Austrians, he was raised by atheists. Hitler-Jugend? No Catholics in there!
Preaching to the converted? :)
In the Globe and Mail, the story about the Pope, Atheism has led to greatest cruelty and injustice (a wire story I had to find the link elsewhere), is on the page right after Thousands call for teacher's execution, on the British teacher in Sudan. Sometimes I wonder if the editors even read their own paper.
Crusades anyone? Actually, it is only very recently that any avowed Atheists have come even close to the kind of power needed to cause havoc in the world, but it's the religious fundamentalist nutters that are actually doing it.
Kettle, thou art black.
Gulags anyone? According to Chrisopher Hitchens, Lenin and Trotsky were committed atheists who carried out their agenda to eliminate religion because of their atheism. (p 273 GING)
Death toll from the implementation of the poicies of the atheistically based Dialectical Materialism, 100 Million, give or take. (The Black Book of Communism, Harvard University Press.)
I don't want atheists fanatics in charge anymore than theist fanatics.
basically, fanaticism is the problem. I believe atheist fanatics are actually of a religious nature. At least, they behave the same way.