(July 6, 2012 at 8:07 am)CliveStaples Wrote: ???
You can kill for atheism. It's a worldview, an ideology--or at least there are belief systems that implement it, in the same way that theism is an ideology that various belief systems implement.
Under Communism, religion was a threat to the dominance of the state. So they eliminated it. If killing people to stamp out religion isn't atheist...well, I don't know what is.
He pretty much just explained why you can't really kill in the name of atheism. XD I don't think he could get any clearer. It's not much of a worldview because it simply is a negative. There is no title for people who do NOT collect stamps [A-stamp collectist?] or do NOT believe in Santa Claus [Aclausist?], the only reason the term "atheist" exists is because of how much of the population IS theistic. Worldview? Hardly. Atheism itself is not a worldview. Everything AFTER atheism, however, is. Communism is a worldview. Humanism is a worldview. Nihilism, materialism, capitalism, socialism, all worldviews. Atheism? Not hardly. Atheism = not-theistic. You might as well call a someone "not Eskimo" for all the specifics that entails.
And no, Leninist communism did not eliminate religion. In fact, later on, they sponsored a good deal of churches.
Leninist communism simply replaced "god" with "state." For all intents and purposes, it WAS a religion, complete with worship, iconic imagery, ritualistic practices, hymns, and fanaticism.