From: Horse (horse@darkstar.uk.net)
Date: Wed Oct 13 2004 - 01:18:40 BST
Hi Platt
On 11 Oct 2004 at 8:15, Platt Holden wrote:
> Hi Horse,
>
> > I can't see that Dawkins is doing anything of the sort. He is merely
> > pointing out the obvious. That science has an infinitely better track
> > record than religion in respect to the use of violence. Religious bigots
> > have slaughtered thousands, at the very least, in their quest to impose
> > their beliefs on others. How many have been killed by bigots and zealots of
> > science in order to promote science as a dominant belief system?
>
> I apologize for not making my view clear. Dawkins supports a belief system
> which denies the existence of God. Communism and humanism are belief
> systems that also deny the existence of God. Godless belief systems have
> slaughtered millions to impose their belief systems on others. In fact,
> during our lifetimes atheist communist dictators Stalin, Mao Tse-tung and
> Pol Pot have alone slaughtered some 88 million souls. Even if you count
> Hitler and Tojo as religious bigots, the total they killed doesn't come
> close to the number butchered by nonbelievers. That's why I objected to
> Dawkins' sanctimonious support of his pagan belief system.
I'm not sure I follow the reasoning here as I can't see why either Science or Humanism
should be included with Communism. And as with Science, I don't know of any
attrocities committed in the name of Humanism. Have there been any?
Both Communism and Fascism have been associated with attrocities as has Religion.
Wouldn't it be better, using your own reasoning, to lump Communism, Fascism and
Religion together as belief systems which have been, and still are, responsible for the
deaths of millions and thus of very low Quality. At the same time, Science and
Humanism (which to the best of my knowledge has not had attrocities associated with it)
should be considered as very high Quality and praised accordingly, given their high
degree of intellectual content and DQ nature. This would make more sense to me.
A couple of minor points. As far as I know Dawkins is a Humanist and not a pagan -
many aspects of Paganism (those lumped under the term) are strongly associated with
Religion (think Wicca).
Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge organisation were trained and supplied by both the UK and the
US (SAS on the part of the UK and the US Special Forces). Both the US and the UK
supported Pol Pot during the years of the 'Killing Fields'. This is a matter of record and
not just some crazy conspiracy theory - Thatcher admitted using the SAS to supply and
train the Khmer Rouge to the UK parliament in 1989.
See ya
Horse
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