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US church shooter was ‘creepy atheist” who disliked religious people

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It was wrong.
Why did you need to make a thread about this?
Most atheists won't go round killing people just like most Catholics priests won't "have fun" with their choir boys.
Original post by seaholme
There is no ideology of atheism. The news is alleging this guy killed people because of the ideology of the victims. Christianity actually has an ideology - a set of ideas, rules etc. - which can be accepted or rejected. Atheism does not, it's just a single statement which is that the person who is atheist does not believe in god. Important distinction. In principle this guy killed those people not because atheism told him to(!), but because he hated people who were different from him.

Assuming the news reports about him are true. It also sounds like he was having a life crisis for several other reasons.


The same ideology as him is no ideology. My bad though, I didn't make the clear. I should have said he killed them because of their ideology being different to his.
Original post by GonvilleBromhead

A god, not contemporary organised religion. This study is more suggesting the human development of the brain capacity has led them to view stuff they can't explain as the acts of a 'God' because of the human understanding of cause and effect and of their own limitations. Whilst interesting, I don't see how it rejects the statement that humans are not automatically inclined to religions (although it does require the qualifier that I was speaking in terms of modern religions as opposed to the incorporeal concept of religion). The two relevant passages for me are "But people living in cities in highly developed countries were less likely to hold religious beliefs than those living a more rural way of life, the researchers found" and "One of the studies, from Oxford, concluded that children below the age of five found it easier to believe in some “superhuman” properties than to understand human limitations." which tells me that it isn't applicable to the same extent to our society AND that it is a 'theory of the gaps' that is it stems from an inability to comprehend which in today's world is far smaller due to science etc. None of this suggests humans are innately dis positioned to religion in its current format, rather that the human brain has developed to fill the gaps as logically as it can manage. I'm sure you aren't suggesting that Quetzalcoatl and Allah are equivocal or natural understandings.


All those studies show humans are inclined to religion. What kind of misdirection did you try and employ when you said "contemporary, organised religion"? No one was talking about that before. I talked about the Neanderthals, what is contemporary about such? Your modern religions retort is a cop out.
Original post by QE2
1. Atheism isn't an ideology
2. Even if it was, there is nothing in it that could possibly be used to justify killing people for not being atheists
3. There is no evidence that he killed those people because they weren't atheists. (It now appears that it may have been the result of a domestic dispute).


My bad, I meant that they did not have the same ideology as him, as in "no ideology". They followed Islam.

It doesn't matter if there is something in that religion, if he was an actual member of it, he couldn't have committed it without those beliefs. Atheism is not the cause but it is linked to it.
Original post by StudyJosh
All those studies show humans are inclined to religion. What kind of misdirection did you try and employ when you said "contemporary, organised religion"? No one was talking about that before. I talked about the Neanderthals, what is contemporary about such? Your modern religions retort is a cop out.


In a debate about athiesm as opposed to religion it is obviously implied the conversation is about religions that actually exist not just the concept. That's like me saying 'oh what a cop out to judge labour based on its actual manifesto, don't you know the founding principles?'. Why would I be discussing neanderthals in relation to Islam as separate from atheism - unless you're trying to imply something (I know you aren't I just get bored and running prima facie logic to make outrageous claims amuses me).

Point being if I'm discussing a terrorist act that happened recently I'm obviously discussing it in light of atheism and religion in the modern era. Goes without saying. Hence the distinction.
Original post by StudyJosh
humans are inclined to religion


Humans are also inclined to catch diseases, go hungry, fight wars and lie to one another. They are also able to see that these are problems and try to develop society away from them. Thankfully, we have made great strides in developing rational thought and science to wean ourselves off the scourge religion. Let's hope we can do as well with some of the others.
Original post by Good bloke
Humans are also inclined to catch diseases, go hungry, fight wars and lie to one another. They are also able to see that these are problems and try to develop society away from them. Thankfully, we have made great strides in developing rational thought and science to wean ourselves off the scourge religion. Let's hope we can do as well with some of the others.


I never claimed a natural inclination is a good thing. I simply refuted the claim made.
Original post by GonvilleBromhead
In a debate about athiesm as opposed to religion it is obviously implied the conversation is about religions that actually exist not just the concept. That's like me saying 'oh what a cop out to judge labour based on its actual manifesto, don't you know the founding principles?'. Why would I be discussing neanderthals in relation to Islam as separate from atheism - unless you're trying to imply something (I know you aren't I just get bored and running prima facie logic to make outrageous claims amuses me).

Point being if I'm discussing a terrorist act that happened recently I'm obviously discussing it in light of atheism and religion in the modern era. Goes without saying. Hence the distinction.


But the concept of religion encompasses these religions as well

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