According to University of Hawaii political scientist Rudolph J. Rummel, the total number killed in all of human history is estimated to be about 284,638,000. Of that number, 151,491,000 were killed during the past 100 years. The single largest killer in all of human history is, by far, atheistic Communism with a total of 110,000,000. Over 1/3 of all people ever killed!
There is no such thing as "atheistic communism", it's an invention fabricated by the dishonest to try and tie atheism to events widely accepted as wrong where the connection is purely incidental. Have atheists killed people? Of course they have. But the deaths caused by atheists were no more a result of atheism than the holocaust was a result of Hitlers catholocism. Hitler didn't murder 6 million jews because he was catholic, he just happened to be catholic. Stalin didn't kill x amount of people because he was an atheist, he just happened to be an atheist. Of course, the same can't be said for the crusades, the inquisition, jihadists or the murder of Dr George Tiller. These killings are directly a result of a religious belief and the teachings of that religion.
I'm going to go with Stox on this one- there is a huge logical fallacy in that claim because you really have to look at the reason why those people were murdered, not whether or not the people killing were atheists.
Aren't you the hypocrite. You post story after story of some body having a religious background doing something wrong and when someone posts a story about atheists who kill millions of people, you leap to defend and separate your religion from their cause of action. You cant have it both ways. I know how you love Wiki links, so here is one that explains the various states enforcing Atheism as the state religion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_atheism Here is another link that spells out the story of religious persecution of Christians in the USSR. Stalin may have had other motives for killing some of these people but make no mistake about it. Atheism was not only Stalin's belief, it was the states stance on religion. I can almost hear him calling himself "Superior" to those weak minded people with belief in a "Magic Man in the Sky". With that kind of rationalization, one can justify almost any kind of action. Less than human. Add in the actions of various other "Atheist States", specifically the PRC under Mau, and you'll find belief in god is every bit as good a reason to kill someone as belief in the wrong god or lack of belief in god. Please stOx, come back on and tell us again how you are better than everyone else. Explain again how mass murder is OK when done by an Atheist because, as you falsely claim, it wasn't done in the name of Atheism.
Like i have said many times, i point out the wrongs done by the religious to demonstrate that they don't actually believe the shit they preach, they don't believe in an all knowing sky daddy, they don't believe in hell and they don't believe in judgment. Not that their religious beliefs caused them to do wrong. But i don't expect you to acknowledge that point, it would take integrity and honesty, things that you apparently don't possess even an ounce of. You mean a dictator doesn't want people to worship anything other than the dictator himself? who would have thought it!
Mr. StOx, aren't you the guy who started a thread of a Catholic priest abusing a child. And when some people argued that what he did had no backing in Christianity, you said that you would not seperate the act from the background of the person. Well, Joseph Stalin killed millions of Russian Christians JUST BECAUSE THEY REFUSED TO LEAVE THEIR FAITH If this does not qualify to be killings in the name of Atheism, then what would ??? If Taliban kill to convert Non-Muslims, It is Islamic Terrorism, and if a government that discourages religion ( or in other words promotes atheism ) kills faithful, its a classic example of killing in the name of Atheism. I hope you would not argue that what he did was not part of the atheism concept, because " the priest who abused the innocent child " did not do it because Bible ordered it.
I can say honestly that that is the reason you have stated at times for your postings. The fact is, your signature, your postings, and every word you put to print is anti-religious. Even if your claim of motive was true (to imply that most Christians do not adhere to the teachings of Jesus), one can conversely gather that you condone any of the same actions performed by an Atheist, as they would not be hypocritcal. Either way, you remain a hypocritical bigot. Again you defend your religion Atheism. "Its wasnt his status as an Atheist running an atheist state that caused these actions, it was his status as a dictator". Interestingly, the quotes I provided were from some of YOUR posts. Couple that with your stated desire to invade foreign nations for no other purpose than to rescue them from religious practices you feel are objectionable, and I'd say you qualify to attend the Stalin School of Good Ethics.
Yes i despise religion, abomination, I find it disgusting, corrosive, infantile and inherently oppressive - You act as if i try to hide it. Never the less, i still didn't say the catholic priests raped small children because they were priests or because they were christian, Just like i have never said Hitler killed 6 million Jews because he was a catholic.
Faiths do not kill. People kill. The number of killings done by a member of a specific faith is an outcome of political, financial, and cultural grounds, and is not correlated with the faith. Most people in the world are (practically) atheists, hence atheists make the most killings.
Totally correct Chaos, great post. If most people really followed their faith so many wrong doings in this world wouldnt happen, but with atheism anything goes because there are no rules. hitler wasnt catholic at all because he never truely followed the catholic faith. Stalin on the other hand was really an atheist because he followed his own rules, which essentially means no rules.
Here's the difference: - Communist killings are INDIRECTLY linked to atheism; the killings were conducted in the name of COMMUNISM. So the political ideology is at fault here; atheism was merely a subset of the communist system and by no means the banner under which killings took place. - Most christian / muslim killings are DIRECTLY linked to their religion; i.e. thou shalt believe my fairytales or thou shalt be beheaded. The killings were conducted in the name of religion, thus the religion is at fault.
Nonsense. In atheism, we rely on law, order, common sense and humanism. Hitler and Stalin may have been atheists, but that doesn't mean their crimes were done in the name of atheism. They were done in the name of race and politics. Atheism is the only belief system which truly grants equal rights and opportunities to ALL. Including gay people, black people and even religion. Religions are in one way or another always biased against those that do not follow some fairytale book to the letter. Prime examples are states like the US (no marriage allowed) and Iran (death), where gays are openly and constitutionally discriminated against.
It's funny that when someone posts anything about atheism you get to the post in minutes and defend yourselves. Like you defend yourselves, is like others defend their religions. If you wish for others to repect what you believe, then respect in return.
I just happen to be in this thread. I don't see your point really. And instead of providing moral judgement, it would be nice if you could contribute to the discussion instead.