(February 11, 2015 at 12:26 pm)FatAndFaithless Wrote:(February 11, 2015 at 12:23 pm)NuclearJaguar Wrote: I think it's important as an atheist community to tackle this head on, and condemn this behaviour in other atheists, rather than running away from it and taking the "no true scotsman" mentality. That would be hypocritical, since atheism often criticises religous people for refusing to comment on the radicals.
Murder is murder, disliking a religion doesn't give you carte blanche to murder innocent people. My thoughts and condolences go out to the victims and their families.
I don't really see how we could possibly pull a "no true scotsman" though. The guy is an atheist, as much as Stalin or Bill Gates or me. There's no denying that. I'm more concerned about what the hell motivated him to take the lifes of three average innocent humans. If he held violent beliefs, not only anti-theistic beliefs but anti-theist beliefs (against theists themselves), that's a far clearer motivation for his actions than simply "i don't believe god exists".
Well just in case, I'd hate to see violent radical branches of atheism forming. Kinda defeats the point of being an atheist, considering a major principle of atheism seems to be opposing religious violent radicalism.
"Adulthood is like looking both ways before you cross the road, and then getting hit by an airplane" - sarcasm_only
"Ironically like the nativist far-Right, which despises multiculturalism, but benefits from its ideas of difference to scapegoat the other and to promote its own white identity politics; these postmodernists, leftists, feminists and liberals also use multiculturalism, to side with the oppressor, by demanding respect and tolerance for oppression characterised as 'difference', no matter how intolerable." - Maryam Namazie
"Ironically like the nativist far-Right, which despises multiculturalism, but benefits from its ideas of difference to scapegoat the other and to promote its own white identity politics; these postmodernists, leftists, feminists and liberals also use multiculturalism, to side with the oppressor, by demanding respect and tolerance for oppression characterised as 'difference', no matter how intolerable." - Maryam Namazie
