Captain Scarlet Wrote:Thank you for your response. I don't claim to be unbiased; I clearly am, becuase I have strong views and I am human. It was also no attack on yourself as a theist, as I stated it was a purely a practical point. When theism is practised, it frequently leads to absurd and abhorrent moral perspectives, that a naturalist cannot commit themselves to on any rational basis. It is absurd to treat other homo sapiens differently based on colour of skin or sex or sexual orientation. It is abhorrent to vilify or murder women and/or doctors for supporting abortion. These perspectives are pushed by religious demagogues who wind up the theists that follow them. I accuse them of immorality, maybe you would too I do not know, but you cannot deny this happens and if you agree with me that it is immoral, then
you will also find it irrational and just a little scary.
Yes we are all human and getting things wrong is part of that experience but trying to attach or infer a greater propensity to err on every major moral or philosophical on the point of the person being atheist or Theist is becoming a new ism. I agree that trying to use the fact that you believe in God as the sole basis for a conclusion on many of the above topics is a bit lame and of course the unwillingness to listen to the case put against your belief just because the peron making it believes in God is just as lame. being an atheist or Theist does not mean you will be automatically on one side or other. But so often religion becomes the focus of the debate and of course the atheists would blame the Theists but oddly enough most thinking theist of which there are multitudes would contend its a tactic used by the opposition to try to avoid debating the real issues. I ramble now apologies.
Wiki Wrote:A demagogue (/ˈdɛməɡɒɡ/) or rabble-rouser is a political leader in a democracy who appeals to the emotions, prejudices, and ignorance of the poorer and less-educated classes in order to gain power. Demagogues usually oppose deliberation and advocate immediate, violent action to address a national crisis; they accuse moderate and thoughtful opponents of weakness. Demagogues have appeared in democracies since ancient Athens. They exploit a fundamental weakness in democracy: because ultimate power is held by the people, nothing stops the people from giving that power to someone who appeals to the lowest common denominator of a large segment of the population.
Do we need to have a thread on whether the only demagogues are Theists and are only operational in the fields of morality or can we just resist the urge to attach negative weasel words to the discussion that don't add anything to your point or the discussion.
