1. Atheist Apostle

Comment #24979 by False Prophet on March 9, 2007 at 2:58 pm

15. Comment #24361 by BeyondBelief on March 6, 2007 at 7:21 am
Here we go again, equating Atheism with Religion. Sam is an "apostle" for atheism. These are not accidental or random word choices, for a person writing to a religiously (dare I use the term) "literate" audience of believers.

2. Response to Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris

Comment #24974 by False Prophet on March 9, 2007 at 2:51 pm

Here's the difference between a moral atheist and a moral theist:

-A moral atheist has no trouble condemning Stalin as an evil, evil monster guilty of numerous crimes against humanity.

-A moral theist who otherwise would never harm another person or think of performing a violent act, can bend over backwards to justify an act of terrorism on the part of a suicide bomber or a sniper who kills family planning doctors.

It's not that religion encourages evil; it's that it allows good people to defend evil.

There's no evidence to support that religious people are more moral than non-religious people, and religion cannot explain how the world works without a bunch of useless handwaving. So what's it good for? A sense of community? Charitable works? Neither of those requires the existence of a fictional supernatural being.