(August 13, 2015 at 4:47 pm)Cephus Wrote:(August 13, 2015 at 4:23 pm)Parkers Tan Wrote: Indeed, but it's fair to say Stalin reinstated tolerance for the ROC for cynical reasons; the country was being shattered by German hammerblows in 1941, and the government needed support from every quarter of civic society.
It doesn't matter why he did it, it only matters that he did it. The religious don't want to acknowledge that, or aren't even aware of it, because it interferes with their oppression narrative.
I get what you're saying, that they are dissimulating, but from the atheist perspective, it very much matters why he did that. He wasn't being generous, and we shouldn't give the impression we think he was, in order to avoid the inevitable "aha!".
As Abaris has pointed out, history is a very complicated and nuanced study. Appealing to the simple-minded thinking of religionistas in order to score points demotes us to their rank. We should exemplify the thinking we wish to encourage, even when we cannot garner points in argumentation about it.