what does the future hold for atheists

8/3/2019 What Does the Future Hold for Atheists

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What Does The Future Hold For Atheists?

Organised religion is violent, irrational, intolerant, allied to racism, tribalism, and bigotry,invested in ignorance and hostile to free inquiry, contemptuous of women and coercivetoward children. Christopher Hitchens

Life for Atheists on planet earth will be very different in our future.Things are changing rapidly and will have already undergone significant change.Change is inevitable. The question is whether or not we are going to be agents of our

own change, or whether Christians and Muslim extremists will decide our future for us?Will those of us living in the United States of America be instead living in the UnitedChristian States of America?

This is not as far-fetched as one might imagine because the fundamentalist extremistsin the United States believe they will be divinely rewarded and America will be blessedby God for their obedience by electing fundamentalist Christian leaders. The currentRepublican lineup proves this in their rhetoric, as well as all the media attention theirbeliefs are getting.

In fact, they have stated that disobedience to God and the further secularization of the

United States will bring about divine punishment. They believe that we, as a Nation, willbe laid to waste for disobeying or abandoning God by allowing ungodly leaders to getelected. The most radical individuals believe that taking up of arms against the infidelwill be the only way salvation will come, and the only way to ensure the prosperity of theUnited States.

You might think I am being paranoid, here, but considering the hundreds of emails Ihave received from those claiming to be Christian and Muslim. Add to that the threatsproffered by these lunatics in response to American Atheists, Inc. suit regarding theWorld Trade Center Cross that were widely published in the Social Networks . Theywere very specific about the need for Atheists to be removed from the human race.

The thing is, if you convince enough people that it is perfectly acceptable to kill infidels,then infidels will be killed. There are no shortages of previously free, democratic nationsthat have fallen under theocratic rule with grave and detrimental consequences for theircitizenry who are out of compliance.

As Atheists, we need to step it up several notches. There are too many of us who arecontent to stay on the sidelines as dictionary only Atheists. I completely understand
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that there are many who cannot go public for a variety of reasons. Perhaps it wouldresult in the loss of a lifelong career, or the abandonment of family or almost certainassault or worse.

But the division amongst our own is disheartening. There is way too much infighting and

way too much of an exclusionary attitude amongst our respective groups andorganization. We need to be forming alliances or this will not end well for us.

Think of it in a military sense. In the military theatre there is a need for the cohesion ofall troops, regardless of their unit affiliation. To be effective, there needs the recognitionby every single soldier that M*A*S*H units, supply line units, mechanical units,communication units and even those who come to entertain the troops are a vital part ofa successful campaign.

But there is also a great need for those on the front lines. For those of us who putourselves in harms way. For those of us who speak plainly, stridently and without

reservation in every venue possible from our blogs, in magazines, by writing books,engaging in investigative journalism and appearing on the six oclock news. There is agreat need for those of us who organize protests and demonstrations and who will notgo quietly into that good night, but stand and fight against the abrogation of our civilrights and the trampling on of our Constitution.

Is this a call-to-arms? Is this an incite to violence? Well, before the blazing idiots outthere plaster the Internet with disingenuous headlines, I will make this as clear as Ipossibly can. Like most Atheists, I do not condone the use of violence under anycircumstances that fall outside the tenets of self-defense. I am not calling for physicalaction against anyone, nor am I even remotely or subliminally suggesting that we take

to the streets for the purpose of damaging physical property or engaging in any physicalcontact with anyone.

However, this does not mean that we should not take a cue from our military withrespect to organization and tactics. Make no mistake, we are fighting a battle. I and ifyou are passionate about our cause and there is little or nothing from preventing youfrom taking a public stand and getting involved on an activist level, then you need to doso, and do so with haste.

Contrary to what they would have you believe, religion is actually a very fracturedinstitution. There are nearly 40,000 separate Christian denominations, more than a

dozen or so different factions of Islam. Except for a few core beliefs, none of themagree with each other and they spend a vast amount of time trying to steal sheep fromeach other. This is none of our business. Sheep stealing is the business of shepherdsand there is enough infighting within these groups to keep most of them busy eatingtheir own.

So, you see, our fight is not with 2.1 billion believers, most of whom could care lessabout politics or Constitutional law. Our battles are with the fundamentalist extremists


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who would like to see us dead and gone, and with the right wing Dominionist nutjobswho are trying to turn our Nation into a theocracy that encompasses our legislative,

judiciary and executive branches of government; including our public school curriculum.They want all of us to live under the authority of their god.

It is for these battles that we must kick it up several notches and why those of us whocan, need to get involved in whatever level of activism we can.

It cant be all puppies, kittens and kumbaya, people.

Al Stefanelli Georgia State Director, American Atheists, Inc.


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Jan Chris Czar v V. Tilaon

The Discussion of the Categories and the Importance of Dialectics According to

Johannes Scottus or Scottus of Eriugena presents a philosophical method on the

Aristotelian categories as fundamental element of his philosophical system. Eriugena

(meaning Irish by origin) in this work discusses his belief that the world is a visible

manifestation only of a God, Theophanynot God, Himself. The categories are really

true of the material world only and cannot be predicated directly to God, as the Creator

of all things; it can only be applied to Him metaphorically.

The categories which refers to Aristotles metaphysical concept of substance and

the nine accidents are fundamental to Eriugenas thought because of the extreme

importance of dialectic in it. Dialectic for Eriugena is not only a special function of

language but a process of analysis and synthesis. He tries to make his work clear that

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