North Korea 'executes Christians'

[Purple Rabbit]

that father-and-son thing

Don't confuse Nepotism with the doctrine of the Trinity.

Nepotism is about granting privileges to living relatives. Religious dogma is a formalized set of assertions not to be questioned. The former does not exclude the latter. In fact Kim il_sung has shown that they can enhance each other greatly.

Kim-il-sung constructed his own deification and has been able to transfer his deistic status partly onto his son. He established a cult of personality for himself that pervades North Korean state ideology (Juche). North Koreans frequently ascribe "supernatural" qualities to the late leader and worship of him is thought at school (see here for a report from a christian source). He is designated in the constitution as the country’s "Eternal President". North Korean defectors have been quoted as saying that North Korean schools deify both father and son.

worship of a charismatic leader even beyond his death

Michael Jordan, Barack Obama, Michael Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington etc.

Is Obama dead already? Missed that one. And yes, some of us confide in deification of their heroes. In fact it is very human to follow others who claim power in some area. You can see how easily that human weak spot can derail into blindness for critique and dogma.

Don't confuse the celebration of human accomplishment with worship of a divine being (who doesn't "lead" as you define) I had no idea that God was charismatic, or a leader.

If he is not your spiritual leader than whose rules are you following? The pope's?

dogmatic doctrine

One man's dogma is another man's......well you know what I'm getting at. Again, this could apply to anything, and if that's the case then anything can be a religion as you define it.

Sure, do something about it. Fight dogmatism.

denial of other religions, fierce suppresion of critique.

Sounds like Atheism to me.

Atheism, as strange as that may be to you, does not deny religions. In fact, atheists are generally very aware of religions and their influence and are very eager to debate the subject. As you can see on this forum it thrives on critique. But you are right to say that even an atheistic position can be part of a dogmatic system. You cannot turn that around however by saying that atheism itself signals dogmatism. Atheism is not an organized coherent movement but a position on theism. Atheism does not constitute by itself a political system or an institutionalized belief.

From what I can recall, Jesus said "If they are not against us, they are for us" in reference to a rival holy man who the disciples thought was a false prophet, Jesus rebuked them thereby stating once and for all; that he isn't the only source of salvation.

Well very nice. So what? The former US president, known for his devotion to christianity after a youth of frivolity, said "if you are not with us, you are against us" to lead us into war. So people say daft things all the time. What's your argument?

By the way, good luck criticizing your boss at work or a police officer, and see how fiercely you get suppressed.

Thank you.