Religion - An Assult on Human Rights
18 Comments
Author: Moxie
Tags: Apostate, Christianity, Human Rights, Infidel, Islam, religion
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Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled regardless of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political opinion, national or social origin, property, or birth. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights includes (for example) the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, equality before the law, and the right to education.
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights…”
—Article 1 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
An Affront to Freedom
While I may conceivably be somewhat biased in my opinion, it is apparent to me that religion is quite probably the number one offender of basic human rights. I have to wonder how the contemptuous disregard of basic rights and freedoms is so respectfully ignored when the offender resides in the “sacred” arena of religious belief. Why is religion free from prosecution when it infringes upon the rights of women, children and homosexuals? Why is it taboo to examine, criticize and prosecute religion for its crimes against humanity? Why do many otherwise human rights supporters, suddenly become hush when faced with the evidence and reality that many religions blatantly disregard these universal human rights and freedoms?
In the western world we enjoy a pluralistic multicultural society. Wonderfully, our countries are home to people of all walks of life and in many cases these countries have become a haven for those who wish to escape the tyranny of their homeland. The values that our society is built upon are those of equality and freedom and are what attract so many to our countries and enrich our way of life. Yet why is it that in the free world we condone or silently ignore the same tyranny that we fought to abolish as it sweeps across our boarders and begins to cast its ugly shadow in our own communities? Why is it that when this tyranny rears its ugly head in the name of religion, we sweep the stories under the rug, and continue to show respect to the religions that stand as an affront to our hard-won rights and freedoms?
Not Just “Radical” Islam
Some may be aware that the religion of Islam is enemy number one when it comes to abusing human rights and freedoms. But many will also believe that this is only “Radical” or “Fundamentalist” Islam. While it is true that radical or purist Islam sects, made popular by the events of 911 are the terrifying forerunners of the oppression of all human rights and freedoms, what many don’t understand is that the very basic teachings of the Koran are that of the oppression and subjugation of women. The following are some examples of “main-stream” Muslim belief:
The Koran says that a woman’s word is only worth half that of a mans, it teaches that she must make herself available to her husband sexually at all times regardless of her own personal wishes. A Muslim woman wears the Burka because she would be guilty if a man should look at her bare flesh and become sexually aroused, in fact she would ‘deserve’ any abuse that she may receive. The very word Islam means submission. A Muslim woman is given to her husband by her father. She is not considered an individual, she is considered property and has no choice in the matter. A Muslim man may say three times “I divorce you”, and he will become divorced from his wife, but the reverse is not possible for a woman. If a woman should dishonor her family by being the victim of rape, this would be considered her fault and she would be punished. Punishment could range from a severe beating to what is called an honor killing, a situation where her father and brothers would murder her for the honor of the family. Honor killings happen constantly in Muslim countries as well as in the western world and can result from a woman’s assumed or accused sexual dishonor, from a woman refusing to marry the man her father chose for her, for divorcing her husband, or for renouncing Islam and becoming an apostate.
In some Muslim countries under Sharia law, any kind of sexual misconduct or deviancy is punishable by death, namely stoning. Should a man be found guilty of this crime he would be buried up to his waist. Should he be able to free himself, he will be spared on account of “Allah’s intervention”. The same pardon would theoretically be granted to a woman should she escape, but is virtually impossible, since the law dictates that she be buried up to her neck. The same is true for anyone who is found out to be a homosexual. Though if he should escape, he is most often caught, subdued, and stoned to death anyways.
The most unpardonable offense that a Muslim may commit is becoming an apostate. An apostate is someone who abandons or renounces their faith. Such a person in a Muslim country would either be murdered (an honor killing), or would be abandoned and left to fend for themselves. In many of the third-world Muslim countries this is a punishment that for a woman almost certainly means death.
But Islam does not only concern itself with its own, it is obsessed with world-wide domination. The Koran advocates the conversion of all non-Muslims to Islam and in the case that conversion is rejected, death is the punishment. The Koran instructs that infidels should be killed when found and Muslim imams confirm this message. While it is the radical Muslim groups that enact these brutal commandments, it is a great number of the moderate/main-stream believers who support their actions in principle. I am not saying that every Muslim approves, and I have great compassion and pity for half the Muslim population (women) who are also victims, but a great proportion of the 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide agree that infidels should be converted or eradicated.
What an affront to human rights! And yet it astonishes me to think that we sit back and politely respect the religious beliefs that would sentence free men to a world of tyranny or death.
To Be Fair…
In the interests of fairness, I would not wish to leave out any other group or religion to which this discussion applies. Christianity in its many forms has also been a key player in the haughty disregard of human rights and freedoms. Thankfully, Christianity is not Islam and has for some mentionable part outgrown its childish infancy, which included the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Witch Trials, etc.
But in our modern day Christianity still actively challenges human rights, whether it is within the church itself or in the political arena. Even in countries where church and state are supposed to be separate, the church does not stop trying to inflict its own set of values on the national populace. Issues such as gay marriage, abortion and stem cell research; to name only a few, are issues that should in no way be argued on the merits of a single religion’s values or moral set, but rather should be translated into issues of universal human rights and argued on those merits alone. Yet any time I pick up a newspaper, I read an article about some Catholic Bishop who is outraged at something.
Recently, here in Canada, a man who was a pro-choice activist was awarded the top civilian award: The Order of Canada. Henry Morgentaler, fought a lengthy legal battle to make Canada the first western nation to give unfettered abortion rights to women. Morgentaler, a Polish Holocaust survivor, was honored “for his commitment to increased health care options for women, his determined efforts to influence Canadian public policy and his leadership in humanist and civil liberties organizations”. But instead of celebrating this achievement, Catholic groups and Toronto archbishop Thomas Collins were outraged that this award could have been granted to such an individual, as if the religious ideals of the Catholic Church ought to govern all aspects of Canadian law. I am in no way arguing for or against abortion, that is totally beside the point. Rather, I think this demonstrates in a small way how Christianity seeks to invade the public multicultural realm of society and impose its own values on the basis of religious edict, not universal human rights.
The question of gay marriage is another topic which is only an issue because of religion. While marriage can be a religous ceremony it is can also be an entirely civic one, involving no mention or involvement of God or religion. However, many religions seek to prevent gay marriage based solely on their doctrinal values, thus infringing upon the rights of the individual. Does religion presumes to claim a monopoly on the institution of marriage? And if that is obviously not the case, why is gay marriage illegal in many states and provinces across the western world? If the state of matrimony can be achieved through secular means, devoid of any religious involvement, how can religion still presume to have authority over all of it? Why, in a free nation who supposedly upholds and promotes individual rights and freedoms, can its citizens disregard the infringement of these freedoms on its own citizens?
The Right to Question
The theme of this discussion is to look at why religion has a special place of honor in our society, and to question whether it should have rights that supersede the universal rights and freedoms of the individual. When religion is in so many ways an affront to human rights, why do we ignore it? Why do we politely excuse it? If it were a secular group who promoted the infringement of such freedoms, we would hear such an outcry in the news and media. But when it is religion, we are quiet and respectful. I have to think that the world has gone crazy to revere these tyrannical systems and I for one do not. You and I have the right to freedom of expression. I choose to question the religions that commit gross crimes against humanity. I will not place them within a protected realm nor will I grant them undeserved respect for the sake of “multiculturalism”. I am a humanist first and foremost. I do not look at race, sex or colour, but I do look at religion. I have the right to judge a religion who is responsible for murder and bloodshed, the subjugation and abuse of women, children and homosexuals. I have the right to have my own opinions and views without the fear of harm or death.
If this means that I am a Christian Apostate or a Muslim Infidel, so be it. I am a patriot of not one country alone, but of all free countries. I am a citizen of the human race and will use my voice to speak out for the rights of others. I will not cower to the threats and fear tactics of any religion. I will not respectfully ignore the human rights infringement within my own country or any other. As long as I have these rights I will cherish and fully exercise them. I may be one tiny voice, but the power of freedom is strong. One voice can become two and then three… there is already a large choir and I will lend my voice to it.
When it comes down to religious belief, I could care less what God anyone believes in. I don’t care how you dress, what you eat; whether you believe in a fatherly God, a host of deities, or the tooth fairy. What I do care about is how your religion imposes itself on the freedoms of myself and others, including innocent children.
Religion should not be above the law, it should not be above upholding human rights and freedoms, and it should not be above criticism. You and I have every right to say so.
(4 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
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Do not forget atheists. Many have been killed in the name of Communist regimes.
A true Christian who follows the Bible, not a denomination, will respect the rights of others, UNLESS the “right” violates the rights of others, or endangers people in some way.
marianne
http://heavenawaits.wordpress.com/
Marianne,
You seem like a nice and thoughtful person. I feel compelled to respond to your statements. The communist/fascist/socialist argument against atheists is probably the most common “defense” that religious apologists employ.
Perhaps it’s time to dig out your history books and have a little read before making these kinds of claims. Its a common and fallacious argument and one that quite honestly I tire of participating in. But just for you I’ll have a go, one more time.
Fascism, the precursor of National Socialism came out of the misery of WWI. Can it be a coincidence that fascism arose first and foremost in Catholic Countries? The Catholic Church was generally sympathetic to fascism as an idea (since it was anti-communism and anti-jew). Benito Mussoloini had just seized power in Italy when the Vatican made an official treaty with him. The Pope described him (Mussolini) as “a man sent by providence”. Under the terms of their “deal” Catholicism became the only recognized religion in Italy. So here we have the Catholic Church supporting a fascist regime to gain a government sanctioned religious monopoly. Italy is not the only example, there are many others.
People use Hitler as an example because he was apparently an Atheist, although this is arguable. The fact that there were unquestionably a great number of atheists that formed part of the allied forces speaks volumes to indicate that not all atheists supported Hitler, in fact the majority were disgusted with him and his regime. I could on the other hand, count a hundred cruel, religiously motivated tyrannical dictators who were responsible for equally heinous crimes against humanity. Hitler is not the poster boy for Atheism and it is insulting to anyone’s intelligence to use him as the sole example to represent dis-believe in god.
Again looking at the historical record, the cardinal of Austria announced his enthusiasm at Hitler’s takeover of his country. Catholic fascist organizations campaigned against French democracy and when the German conquest of France arrived, these catholic forces eagerly helped in rounding up and murdering French Jews and also assisted in the deportation of a huge number of French men to forced labour camps. Right after Hitler’s government took power they formed a treaty directly with the Vatican. Hitler announced that the new circumstances which had arisen from the treaty would be “especially significant in the struggle against international Jewry.” The Catholic Church chose to silently align itself with Hitler and his socialist regime to gain an ally in their long conflict with Jews and again to gain that golden ticket to claim a religious monopoly in Germany. If you want to read something that will really blow your mind, I suggest doing an internet search for the Letter Pope Pius XII wrote to Hitler in 1939, where he refers to him as the Illustrious Herr Adolf Hitler and wishes him and the German people “progress in every domain, with God’s help, to fruition.”
I could go on to talk about communism and how the likes of Stalin, Castro or Kim John Il seek/sought not to abolish religion, but to set themselves up as replacements for other gods. They use the same methodology of religion, but supplant the religious gods with their own form of idolatrous tyranny. Stalin’s inquisitors plundered the museums of Russian Orthodoxy to re-employ the old instruments of torture - borrowing from the history books of religious insanity. This kind of dictatorship does not represent Atheism, as these rulers were actually creating a new religion - one where they were worshiped.
The truth is that Communism, Fascism and Socialism were all in some way derived from or supported by religion. They wouldn’t have achieved the successes they had without the support of the Catholic Church or religiously motivated people.
To your latter statement, I wonder if you completely missed the point of my article. You say “A true Christian who follows the bible…. will respect the rights of others…” Do you mean to say that a true Christian is someone who ignores half of the Bible, selectively choosing which parts to believe and obey and which parts to ignore? Do you believe a true christian or a true muslim should follow their holy books when it comes to dealing with homosexuals? Jehovah’s Witnesses follow the bible and refuse blood transfusions causing the deaths of thousands who have refused blood treatment. Who decides what part of a holy book is true and what isn’t? Who decides what makes a TRUE christian? And who decides which religion and which holy book is the true one?
Just some things to think about….
Be well.
Hi moxie,
I think the tragedy here is that the catholic church rarely represented the teachings of Jesus. Once it kicked out the Jewish believers and lost its doctrinal roots, it became paganized. Once paganism entered the church, it became corrupt, so it became a dead religion.
Christianity is actually a personal relationship with God, and a virtuous and humble life is the evidence of this relationship.
Religion is man made. Atheism is just as bad, because man becomes god, and runs things his way, which is usually selfish.
blessings
marianne
Religion has been a force for evil, or damage, and suppression, no doubt
But lets talk about your argument a little
you say “GAY MARRIAGE, ABORTION, ETC, ARE human RIGHTS”. SINCE WHEN? AND BY WHOS DECREE? YOURS? THEIRS? How is you setting that as a standard for all humans any different than someone saying they are NOT rights. I dont think they are rights. Just the opposite, they are crimes. So, who is right? Me? You? Who gives us that authority to self determine what is right and what is not? Just, ourselves? If so, then hands off the Muslim men and their Burkas, and hands off the pedophiles, and hands of the gay marriage and hands of anything that anyone decides is right?
In your scenario, I assume, we all are our own God , so to speak, and decide what is right and wrong for ourselves, correct? Or, our society does, correct? What makes your opinion better than mine, or the guy next to me?If we are all evolved animals, so to speak, I certainly have no loyalty to you or your opinion, nor to a God’s morality, correct?
So, what is the outcome of this kind of thinking?
The world we live in. Where religion, christian, muslim,atheist, etc, for the most part, choose their own morality, depending on upbringing, the land they live in, current trends in culture, or just plain selfishness and desire to have what we want, fuck who we want, rid ourselves of babies if they are a burden, and fuck the other guy. Right? Thats the case, whether its motivated by a belief in a particular religion, or, in your case, a lack of. Your view of homosexuality is” wrong” to me, and most of the earths inhabitants, statistically, no matter how cool it is currently in the US and europe. The majority of nations on earth disagree with you. Since there is no universal standard, ( there cant be, if we all have freedom to choose our own standards), then, the idea of Gay rights is absurd as the idea of Burkas to you.
See, in your commentss, you open the pandora’s box , and condemn those who disagree with your standards, as if you, Moxie, know whats a right and not a right, for the HUMAN race. If you really belive this, then you cannot look down on those who choose religion, opression, or any other form of standard they cchoose, as it is thier RIGHT isnrt it? Or do you have specila knowledge of whats really right and wrong, and they dont? How do you ccome to this conclusion, if yoou do/ Becasue you feel disgusted by thier mistreatment of women, for example? is that the criteria? Well, then Gay marriage is disgusting to many, if not the majority, of people. Why should those opposed to it think your view of a right is correct? They are disgusted too.
This all shows me, and many people, that there is an inherant NEED, and I believe, existence, of universal standards. Just as there are laws of physics, there are laws of morality, invisible, yet impossible to ignore with out repurcussions. We see this same consistancy in natural laws. Deplete the ozone, create global warming. erase species with pollution, upset the balance of life on earth to the top of the food chain. Morality is no different. It has boundaries. It has a healthy center, to which we gravitate if we want to be healthy and less distressed.We do not control that set of laws any more than we control the laws of nature. But, of course, we think we do, just as in nature, dont we?
We simply cannot exist, or co exist, with your type of thinking, any more than the thinking of the so called assault on human rights done by religions
As far as the gentleman who commented below, on the bible etc, if you believe the bible, you do NOT believe men were around 100 million years ago, so your point is mute. Those who do believe that, and claim to believe the Bible as well, are not up to speed on what the Bible actually says and teaches. Not a disrespect, just a fact. Its says God created man, whole, perfect, not cavemen who then grew into man, or any other life form that evolved into man. Whether you agree with that or not, is another discussion, but it is what is written.
My opinion
And by the way, Gays have the same rights as any other human in this country. No one is legally stopping them from their gay lifestyle, they can vote, do whatever they want.The only reason we even know someone is gay is becasue they make a point of making us notice and accept thier sexual choices., otherwise, i wouldnt know , nor care. Because homosexuality is a sexual act, a lifestyle choice, and, this country does not tolerate that kind of intolerance. If some are unfairly targeted, that of course would be the same as unfairly targeting anyone for anything unfair, and would be wrong. . So, in no way does a gay man or women not have rights. they just dont have the right for me to accept them no matter what. I do not. And I dont have to. Thats my right to choose, isnt it? I dont hate, I dont interfere, I dont not socialize in day to day life. i just dont agree with that aspect. And why should I? According to your philosophy, I have the right to question, and decide for myself.
Marriage, despite your definition, is a religious ceremony primarily, and especially in this country, which is founded on a christian ethic, in which God ordained the first marriage, and we are told to follow suite by committing ourselves to our mate, and God, in marriage. in all religions, for the most part, it involves a vow to God, the strongest of vows, to most people that are religious.
Today, that part of it is secularized in the agenda for Gay marriage, but, as you say on your site, just because someone says a thing, doesnt mean its true. marriage is, and always has been, about a man and a woman, and God. At least in christian, Musilim, well, pretty much any country. Just because you have abandoned the idea of God, doesnt change what things were and are.
I would argue that6 religion, when not corruptly used, is a force for good. Just because some dont agree with what another thinks is wrong, does not mean we just allow anyones idea or behavior that they accept. This has already been tried, by every culture. Rome- the only thing left for us to do to reach Romes’ self destructive and horrific legacy is to allow pedophilia to be as common as homosexuality, which it was, and was protected under LAW, and to sanction murder in arenas for entertainment. Ancient Babylon- Temple prostitution was a legal requirement for every girl. They, the women, approved of it. Sacrifice of children, etc. This is disgusting to you? WHY? It wasnt to them, and the Moxies of their day. They would use your very argument to support their right to sacrifice and sell their children as sex slaves. And, just as “wrong” things are done by non religious governments, socialism, etc. Its all the same. Human selfishness and arrogance, under the guise of religion, or not, its all the same.
You see the slippery slope
Im sure to get many rants about my comments. i welcome real, intellectual exchange.
I do enjoy your blogs, and think you are wonderfully intelligent
i just disagree.:)
thanks
sbg
s
So is God good? Kai Nielsen argues that to say God is good and his morals are just we have to have a standard of good and evil to hold up against to see if he is or isn’t good. One could argue that for this reason morals do not come from any holy book or deity. Could we not apply this same reason to how we view what is moral or a human right in society? Shawn just because you don’t like the idea of homosexuality does not mean that you are not stopping a human right to marriage when saying marriage is only between a man and woman. Marriage has for some time in this country not been primarily a religious institution. Look at Vegas or even at court house marriages. They happen and most countries in the western world do not have the issue with homosexuality that the US has. Denmark and a few others have legal gay marriage and it has not harmed society in the least, if anything it has allow those who have spent lifetimes together to better express their devotion for one another. Look to why humans what marriage and that should tell you if it is a human right or not. Why does a religion want women to wear burkas or head scarves in the church? Is it about control or is it something else? If it is about control then we need to seriously question it, if not then it is a safe bet it is a human expression that should be considered for the rights side.
And excuse me if I find that paganism is not a corruption of the catholic church, but more the other way around and protestantism is a corruption of catholism in a lot of ways.
Lets be clear in understanding Moxie’s point. She is not saying that all religious people do evil and she is not saying that all atheists are good. In my view she is attacking those who do evil in the name of religion. Those who use doctrine to defend evil acts, to discriminate against others and to even kill.
Nobody does evil in the name of atheism. It is not a way of life, it has no guidelines to follow. Atheist individuals can do bad things but there is not atheist doctrine. There are not atrocities committed in the name of atheism. Communist Russia which many called an atheist state, simply outlawed religion because religion had power. They never committed atrocities in the name of atheism, though they did commit atrocities. Atheists do not hold inquisitions and round people up who have dissimilar beliefs. They do not on mass discriminate against women or gays. I am certain some atheists do discriminate, but as individuals not as a collective representation of atheism.
Lets remember that atheism is the lack of a god belief. That is all. It is not a set of principles which bind people together into a group. Atheists can differ in every other aspect of their lives. They just don’t think there is a god.
Atheists have a special responsibility to be moral in their treatment of other people. Most religions subscribe to the view that in some form of afterlife the wrongs against people will be set right.
In the view of a Christian, let’s say, the murder victim who pleads for her life before being killed will be welcomed in an afterlife by a caring god . By the same token, the perpetrator will be punished for his crime in hell if not on earth. The Christian idea of justice after death consoles her family and friends.
The same victim, in the view of the atheist, goes into oblivion and there is never really a justice meted out to the perpetrator (if not done on earth).
Thus, the crime is more grave (to the atheist who has thought about it) because in commiting the murder, the perpetrator has taken EVERYTHING that the victim has or ever will have. On the other hand, the atheist will feel freer to commit grave crimes so long as he escapes punishment in this life on earth, believing there will be no retribution for him anywhere else.
The problem with Islam is that it has cruelties or injustices built into its theology. For example, it is a male religion: what do the 72 virgins in an afterlife have to say about being given as a reward to a man who has died for the faith? Another example, Mohammed sanctioned killing the people of other religions who are unwilling to conform to islamic law.
Religions are not equal (as some of the posts above imply they are).
On another issue, I wonder why— in talking about human rights—you chose to cite rules in the United Nations documents rather than the United States Constitution. The UN’s human rights list is a Johnny-come-lately in this matter, being only about 60 years old. The United States Constitution is well over 200 years old.
Moreover, everything about the UN was patterned on the ideas in the United States Constitution. The UN came into being just about the time the United States and its allies defeated the Nazis and Fascists and Japanese imperialism. There were few human rights laws before that except in England and the United States.
Great post. I am reminded of this quote:
“With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.” — Steven Weinberg
Yes, bad deeds are committed in the name of all sorts of ideas. Atheists however have no unifying belief system upheld by unsupported holy books and myths. An atheist can choose to be a moral person because it’s beneficial to society and human life… because it’s simply the right thing to do. Not because they seek a reward in heaven. A pious person is moral because they are told to be, under penalty of death or spending an eternity in hades. Conveniently, the big reward promised by God always seems to come after you die.
shawn,
Let me say immediately that homosexuality is NOT A CHOICE AND NOT A LIFESTYLE. If you had broadened your horizons at all and tried to talk to a gay person without pigeon-holing them, you would know that the majority of them would never have chosen to be gay if they could because of how much harder their life is because of people like you. No intelligent and rational person still believes that it is a choice. Who would choose it?
On to your next point: you CAN NOT COMPARE HOMOSEXUALITY TO PEDOPHILIA OR PROSTITUTION. Homosexuality is two CONSENTING adults, pedophilia is an older person having sexual relations with a child who is too young to understand what is going on and be able to make a decision as to whether or not they want to have sex with an older person. Can you not see how inherently different they are? We will never regress to Rome’s standards because we have intellectually matured after thousands of years, and can understand that what two consenting adults do together is up to them but what an adult and a young child do together is inherently wrong on a humanity level.
Same argument with prostitution. We can not compare a woman often forced to sell her body against her will to two people that care about each other.
Your points on gay marriage are weak and blind. Just because marriage used to be about a woman a man and god does NOT mean that is the way that it is now. There are many things we used to do that we do not anymore, because we have seen that they are wrong and degrading and unfair. Gay people will NEVER have the same rights as you and I until they can get married. They DO NOT have the same rights as all of us. Without getting married, they are barred from an obscene amount of rights and basic securities that come with an official marriage bond. You do not have the right to deny someone a GOVERNMENTAL procedure because of religious beliefs that people may OR MAY NOT share. No one bars atheists from getting married because they don’t include “god” in their ceremonies, because weddings don’t HAVE to involve the church! It is fair enough if you don’t want to have gay weddings in YOUR church, because your religion says that gay people shouldn’t get married. But you CANNOT say the same about a legal proceeding that has no ties to the church! It is not a matter of whether or not “you approve of their lifestyle” or not, because your approval DOES NOT MATTER AT ALL. If you came over to my house and said I don’t like you, I don’t like the way you live, and my god says I should hate you and you shouldn’t get married, can’t you see that that is not up to you? I have a right to get married because I am a human being that pays taxes and lives in this country. You can’t pass judgement on whether or not I am worthy enough to get married because your opinion of what my life is like doesn’t matter in the slightest. It’s MY LIFE that you have NOTHING to do with and I will do whatever the hell I want to! You wouldn’t like gay people controlling your life and your right to happiness because they have nothing to do with you and don’t know you at all and don’t have the right to tell you what you can and can’t do!
Gay marriage is NOT A CRIME because no one is being killed, no one is being raped, no one is being subjected to torture or to do something against their will or being threatened or stolen from or ANYTHING ELSE THAT WE CONSIDER A CRIME. We CAN make these statements and we CAN define crimes, because when two people love each other so much that they want to be together forever, they shouldn’t be discriminated against because of who they love.
@marianne
So you are saying that by being an Atheist it implies that a person will take the place of God and run things selfishly? I take personal offense to that. I’ve been an Atheist since attending a Catholic high school, and I have to say I’m in no way a selfish person who runs around doing what I please just because there are no other-worldly repercussions. In fact I have a high tendency to put the needs of my friends/family/coworkers above my own and hold myself to strong ethical standards. And from the other Atheists I’ve met, they are typically the same way.
On the flip-side, are you saying that religious people are not selfish or corrupt? What about evangelists who abuse their followers for money, or the Vatican and it’s hordes of gold and precious items and information. I have no facts to back it up, but I’ve heard that the Vatican has enough money laying around to end world hunger several times over. Plus, the pope, a MAN, is essentially the direct link to god for the catholic church, supposedly infallible. Putting a single MAN in such a position can breed only selfishness and corruption, and if you look at some of the things the current pope has said, well, it does all the talking for itself.
Homosexuality is a chemical imbalance in the brain, it may be curable sometime soon, but if people would rather not be gay, why do so many scream “discrimination?”
Marriage was meant to be done only once between a man and a women because it makes sense. Once would force the person to choose wisely-no divorce, between a man and a women so they could reproduce, role models, and security. The entire concept makes sense but if you want to destroy that go ahead, history is surely not an indicator of what has been right or wrong.
@ ElGeneral
I’m actually embarrassed for you concerning your comment (above). Your blatant ignorance and bigotry couldn’t be more offensive. I suggest you do some research specifically with reference to your opening sentence before you make such completely incorrect statements.
You’re welcome to express your own opinion but your comment about homosexuality is absolutely incorrect. This kind of ignorant view will not go unchecked here.
@ ElGeneral
I wonder if you know at least a little about biochemistry? Because the expression “chemical imbalance” sounds WTBT at my ears. I say that because when people don’t understand a weebit about biochemistry and therefore cannot explain it say “chemical imbalance”. It’s like explaining that diseases and death is caused by “sin”. Sounds stupid? Yes it is.
Bravo Moxie for your article. I PERFECTLY agree with you. Only difference with you: I’m a future scientist (finishing my studies in bilogy) and yes, atheist.
For those that don’t agree with Moxie, I strongly recommend
Richard Dawkins’ book: God Delusion.
Its time for humanity for pass though childhood to adulthood.
Shawn,
You are absolutely entitled to your opinions about what you call “lifestyle”. If you don’t like eg.: homosexuality, for whatever reason, maybe it grosses you out or because it goes against what you were taught, that’s your right that no one here would try to take from you. But they are not damaging anyone’s life.
When Moxie speaks of human rights, she is not speaking of pushing her beliefs upon people as to what should be morally acceptable, the point is the way these people are TREATED. Bigotry itself is not what is dangerous, it is the ACTS COMMITTED by the bigots, against whoever their hate is directed towards, that defines them as wrong.
Gays are highly unlikely to lynch your house for your opinions, bash you for intolerance or try to tell you who you can share a legal union with. But a paedophile is directly damaging the life of a child, religious extremists stoning people to death over ridiculous ancient rules are directly damaging their victims.
Human rights are not about opinions but about the way people are treated.
This is a selective view of religion at best. It is true that atrocities have been committed by Christians, Muslims, Jews, Catholics, Atheists, Mormons, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and more. It is also true that religion — (I will speak for Christianity here. Others may have more to offer) — has also been on the vanguard of fighting for human rights and freedom of speech for everyone.
Witness the movements within mainline denominations for complete acceptance of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered into full participation in church life. These movements have also made herculean efforts to give all marginalised folk full inclusion in society.
Witness the same movements working towards ending war, ending poverty, taking good care of the ecological environment and ensuring food security and adequate housing.
The impetus towards building community comes from somewhere. Religion tends to gather people together. I honestly do not understand from where or what Atheists, Freethinkers and Humanists form a basis for their values. I am not one of them. But, I can offer my open mind to listen to what they have to contribute to the common good, the flow of life and peaceful co-existence.
How exciting. I think of it basically like this:
‘God’, the ‘Universe’ ‘evolution’, read whatever deity you personally subscribe to, equipped us with free will and the ability to evaluate data to form opinions and make decisions. Therefore, keep it real simple and say that no human being should be allowed to interfere with other’s free will (or basic human right to exist as they wish and make decisions).
The collective human race has a responsibility to improve the environments and societies in which they live to make it better for their immediate situation and for future generations.
Your personal goal should be to leave the world a better place than you found it. Remember this when you wake up tomorrow morning.
And don’t even ask me about pre-determinism
move/rename 2) delete 3) move to chest 4) repair what action should i take to remove that virus
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