(August 25, 2014 at 2:27 pm)Michael Wrote: Well, I'm not saying all religions are equally just Diablo. But I don't see the atheist/Marxist record as particularly any better than the worst Islamic state; those systems would allow absolutely no dissent.
But even with Islamic states we should perhaps be prepared to look at the wider sweep of history: Islam has not always been intolerant.
I'm sure I don't need to point out that the democracies that you like so much are based on Judeo-Christian values. Not that I personally see modern America as a beacon for justice and peace; far from it. I see modern America as fermenting worldwide violence as it seeks to violently impose its will on other nations; much better were the days when America kept itself to itself. It would be a complete anachronism (not to mention just a huge historical error) to see them as atheistically secular at their foundations. An open question is how they would develop if they moved further away from those foundations.
I wasn't aware that Judeo-Christian values included democracy, equal rights and equality. Maybe you could show me those sections in the bible and the torah. Islam is certainy intolerant now, just ask all the gay men who have been hanged from the lampposts in Tehran, or the christians who are persecuted in Saudi.
Don't slag off America either: the US nuclear umbrella preserved peace in the world. Just ask yourself if you'd prefer China to be the global policeman.
Saying that atheism and marxist are equivalent is just plain wrong; just because marxism has been discredited doesn't mean that atheism is wrong. And I used the term secular.
