Which is why dictatorships embrace religion as both a crutch and a hammer. Or any other moral stance disconnected from reasoning.
Huh?
I think you got it wrong.
Communism is also atheism (read on Marxism)
Stable democracies are tolerant for both religion and science. As God is logos, it means reasoning cannot be separated from faith.
I hope your terrible encounters with some religious weirdos(I know, plenty here in Taiwan) do not hinder you from further exploring into faith and religionš
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Hereās something that also bothered me. First why do we not hold facistism with the same contempt as communism. Did we not see communist experiment (although perphase something I can see worth arguing worth trying) kill hundreds of millions!?!
And also, why do we not hold some of the things you can make a very strong case for as an result of atheism like atheists hold religion, especially the judeo Christian faith that developed western society. During the atheist awakening, minds like Nietzsche, Marx, and even dostoevsky all saw what atheism could lead to. A nihilistic atheist society giving way to a brutal totalitarian government.
U mean here in Taiwan ppl bash communism more than they bash fascism? Or?
Fascism appears right leaning, but uses the same strategies fas the left. (nazis is a socialist party, and KMT knows how to control the media and education just as well as the Chinese communist). And if anyone thinks DPP is the savior, history is just doomed to repeat.
Sure, we can have another whole discussion about how Judson Christian values did us wrong(in another thread maybe?), but it is evident that Judeo Christian societies do turn out to be the best, most stabilize countries in the course of history. Just look at refugees pouring into Europe and South Americans trying to cross US border. Even Chinese politicians with families launder their money to US and Canada and hold foreign passports and flee their lousy communist state. Israel is the only stable, progressive country in the Middle East, hum I wonder whyš¤
By the way, early DPP members, pro Taiwanese independence civilians are mostly ppl of Christian faith and have their influences and inspirations from western civilizations&values. Taiwansās most beloved presidentęē»č¼is also a man of deep Christian faith. Maybe coincidenceš¤
We got our share of dictators in Central America who praise the Lord on Tv and call themselves their advocates while with that same mouth give the orders to burn down families and shoot down children in stadiums. You think only Taliban use religion as excuse/coat?
Oh and that is happening now, not 20 or 30 years ago.
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No in general. Communism seems to always get a pass and people and intellectuals in academia seem to still be drawn in by the promises of it without much backlash. Claim youāre openly a fascist and be prepared to get the Hitler speech.
Because their culture and moral values arenāt founded by the judeo Christian faith unlike in Europe and in the original founding fathers of the America who at the very least were deists. It was brought over and you can make a compelling arguement used to conquer, I donāt think itās a coincidence how it is also used now.
Hereās how I differentiate:
You need to go back to the founders of religions. Ex. Jesus and the Buddha were hipsters and Muhxxxxx was a warlord. The Bible and Buddhist scriptures all reveal towards a peaceful end, but Islam holy books are well,manual for terrorism.
Iām not going to throw Christianity or Buddhism into the dumpster just because I see dictators claim they are Christians or Buddhist monks going into violent conflict with Muslims. But when I see terrorists from religion of peace on the move again, itās totally compatible with their religion.
But I do believe Christians should be held accountable for poor evangelization, failure to reach out to people, misrepresenting the Christian faith; especially among clergies, sex scandals should be investigated for sure and bring healing back to ppl.
Hitler was a nationalist, but also a lefty.
I guess the extreme on both sides eventually meet up and marry each other. U can also say that thatās the case for KMT and communist China.
I understand that. Iām just saying it baffling to me that communism is held in a favorable light still in many circles when the other extreme is automatically shunned as evil. Not saying either is good. Just an observation
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Before you can safely shit on an ideology, you have to destroy its power. Thatās the difference between Nazism and Communism. One of these is still a going concern and the other is not.
People rationalize their double standards all sorts of ways, but this is how it really works. Winners get respect, regardless. Losers get dissed, regardless. Peel away all the hypocrisies and this is what lies beneath.
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Iām not sure what this has to do with anything? Are you saying the stating an observation and a very legitimate argument that the judeo Christian faith is at its core one of the basis of how western civilization developed is me saying using the Bible is how a government should be ran? Thatās not what Iām saying at all.
All I am saying is that religion has always been used for a purpose. It is not innocent nor slways good. The core values can be distorted and become morally wrong. From the Romans, to the Spaniards using it to āconquerā the new world, to shaping laws allegedly based on it, it is a weapon. It should be examined and questioned, not praised as a foundation.
Caesar to Caesar and all that jazz.
Here in Taiwan we have the pro unification and mafia fronts sheltered in Matsu and other deities temples. Economic power and social reach under temple guise
Isnāt it fun to see how ultra progressive and original those logical, intelligent, anti-God atheists are with the whole church/state separation idea by always repeating āGive back to Caesar what is Caesarās and to God what is Godās.ā
very accurate observation.
even the devil believes in God.
The Roman Empire is no longer a going concern. But thereās always some rent-seeking bastard demanding ever more of your tax money while trying to evade accountability.
Jesus didnāt care because it was just money. He had bigger fish to fry. Atheists donāt have bigger fish to fry, and money is in fact important.
People these days who tell you to render unto Caesar are either Christians or Caesar wannabes. Maybe both. No other possibility that I can see. So if theyāre not Christiansā¦
ā¦or even if they areā¦
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Even Christ loathed the temple merchants. Those were the targets of his greatest ire, aside from trees that gave no fruit. There is a lesson in there.
You mean he didnāt like merchants? Donāt understand your reference/lesson.
Jesus didnāt like the merchants conducting business in the house of his Father (the temple). They could do it elsewhere, just not there. Thatās the simple analysis, imho.
Temple merchants = people making business in teh house of worship.
Exactly what you said. These people were selling offerings and profiting from faith. Hence the justified anger. He warned us.
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Is it a crutch and a hammer? Or a hammer and sickle?
The goddess of Reason didnāt do so well for the French Revolution.
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