pcb : Since when were modern Samaritans specifically religious?
They’re just people who care for others, just as likely to be atheists as not.

Remember that in the bible story, the whole point about them was that Samaritans were NOT Jewish, but acted from pure goodness.

M

someone of a different belief system is a very convenient bogeyman for the hawks in all modern governments

This couldn’t be more true.
It’s a lot easier to build public support for killing people and destroying their countries if you can convince that public that the people your killing are irrational, unreasonable nutjobs that should be feared. Focus on the differences and dehumanise them as far as possible.
It doesn’t need religion to stir this up – it comes just as easilly from an intolerance, fear or hatred of the other side’s religion or culture.

So it’s not always people who “want more power” that start war, it’s “people who want more power and can gain mass support from their citizens by using religion as the easiest justification”

It does happen, but is a bit over-simplistic. Modern wars are as likely to be motivated by a desire to destabilise, disrupt or destroy a potential rivals power base, often without a desire to replace them and take that power over. And any ideology can be used, political or economic as easily as religious.

nealglover – Member
Atheists are generally the most peaceful people on earth, in fact they perhaps live their lives closest to the religious rules of being nice to each other because all they have to please is other people, not a god.
Apart from those that take so much pleasure in being soooo superior and telling people “of faith” how stupid they are.

For believing in “sky faries” or whatever the current cool put down is.

There is a very, very big gulf between calling deities sky fairies and blowing up an embassy.

It’s a lot easier to build public support for killing people and destroying their countries if you can convince that public that the people your killing are irrational, unreasonable nutjobs that should be feared.

they could make this much harder by not reacting like they have, for example, over that stupid film.
That is not to say i disagree with you but there is some truth to be spun rather than a complete falsehood.

nealglover – Member
Atheists are generally the most peaceful people on earth, in fact they perhaps live their lives closest to the religious rules of being nice to each other because all they have to please is other people, not a god.

Apart from those that take so much pleasure in being soooo superior and telling people “of faith” how stupid they are.
For believing in “sky faries” or whatever the current cool put down is.

There is a very, very big gulf between calling deities sky fairies and blowing up an embassy.

There is also a very big gulf between [not] “being nice to people” and blowing up an embassy

Wouldn’t you say.

There was no mention of “blowing up an Embassy” in anything I posted or Quoted.

So not sure why you brought it up really.

However the Arab-Israeli Protestant-Catholic/IRA-UDI conflict, although strongly nationalistic is also heavily coloured by the inextricably linked religions, so religion can be a massive influencing factor in war and a major block to the peace process as those of other religions are seen as less human or to have less worth than the righteous who have god on their side, so why negotiate.

Sorry, I meant consulate. The US consulate in Libya was attacked and a man died. The claimed reason for the attack was religious. There is quite a difference between that and an atheist saying that they think religion is silly, which I don’t think anyone can say is really so bad.

but what about the singing and the clapping…?

“I will pay whoever kills the makers of this video $100,000,” the [Pakistan railway ]minister said. “If someone else makes other similar blasphemous material in the future, I will also pay his killers $100,000.

“I call upon these countries and say: Yes, freedom of expression is there, but you should make laws regarding people insulting our Prophet. And if you don’t, then the future will be extremely dangerous.”

Now remember folks we need to tolerate religious freedom.
Nasty bad atheists
Imagine if an aethist said this about a book or preacher that offended
them