Atheism is the belief that there is nothing in existence that can be called God. This author has pondered the arguments of Atheists and their inclusion in the Religion and Spirituality section of this publication with some amusement. By and large, their arguments are antithetic.
The idea that Atheists, who have no belief in religion or spirits, should be part of anything called religion or spirituality is on its face ludicrous. The idea that any group which is opposed or hostile to any other 
school of thought should be included as part the same is absurd.
Science which for the most part, repudiates any notion that spirits exist, finds repugnant the idea that the Christian faith could be called science. Yet Atheism which renounces religion and spirituality, is recognized by its proponents to belong to the religious and spiritual category.
Other philosophies which hold themselves to be above and beyond religious thought, fit neatly into such a category as religion. Evolutionists for example, fancy themselves to be part of the science community. Even though their position has yet to be proven, (hence it is described as the theory of evolution) they put forth their proposition that life somehow magically appeared as if by random accident.
Given this perspective, they could reasonably be categorized as a religion, as one can only accept their hypothesis using faith in the unproven belief that their position is sound.
On occasion one may find a “Freethinker” who does indeed think freely, but such is rare.
The fruits of Christianity
The arguments propounded by Atheists that there is no God hold no water. Most often, their reasoning (if it can be called such) is that religion has done some harm to mankind. This much is true. That men can and will use anything, including religion, in a malicious fashion to further personal agendas is a fact of life. They do not however, focus upon the good that has been done in the name of God. There are more than one Christian groups that have cared for the weak and infirm. Christian charities have clothed the naked, fed the hungry and given aid to the sick.
The fruits of Atheism
What has Atheism given the world? One need only point to the failed economic system called Communism for the answer. Millions have been enslaved, tortured and killed by the Atheistic system known as Communism. Not satisfied with the mass slaughter of her own people in the Ukrainian Holodomor, the Russian Communists turned on her own in a "Great Purge ." In China, 30 million people were killed in her “Cultural Revolution.”
One can point to the Atheists inspired Reign of Terror following the French Revolution. Thousands met their end by the "National Razor" (AKA the guillotine) at the hand of mobs who had been manipulated by Atheistic exploiters who cared for nothing but the acquisition of political power.
… there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts
Atheism is a lie Atheists tell themselves. A better label for Atheists would be Theophobic. Their arguments, far from having any data upon which their conclusions can be based, rest on emotionally incontinent outbursts. Their writings are for the most part, polemic.
Far from proving the absence of God, they rail against God, his Bible and those who love him. This is evinced by their regular depiction of Christians as “god bots,” (presumably, people who believe in God in a robotic fashion as opposed to a reasonable one) and of our savior as “the mythical Cheesus” (mocking Jesus) or a “zombie” (because he rose from the dead). Their references to God as “the invisible sky fairy” are proof that, far from having no belief that he exists, they do believe that he exists and they hate him for it.
The Atheist’s stated belief is not rational as it is an irrational act to hate that which does not exist. Any belief system which relies upon juvenile, ad homonym attacks to support itself cannot be considered a intelligent system but is instead, an emotional one. Any philosophy which relies upon hysterical diatribes to make a point is difficult for a reasoned individual to fathom. Such a belief system is the province of the fool.
One could make an alternative case that Atheism is a religion in that it takes as much faith, if not more, to believe that there is no God. For the record, this author makes the claim that he has never purchased a left handed monkey wrench in Hong Kong. At the same time, he is unable to prove that such is the case. There may be no such device in Hong Kong, nor indeed anywhere. One can find no proof as to the lack of existence of anything as there is no evidence upon which one may build such a case. To accept this claim, one must have faith that the author’s statement is true. Perhaps for this reason alone, Atheism can indeed be called a religion, even though it be a religion of the fool.
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.
© 2010 Craig Portwood
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Comments
Very good article Craig, and so true!
I see Craig merely decided to rehearse his prejudice here, rather than do any unbiased research for this article.
"Even though their position has yet to be proven, (hence it is described as the theory of evolution) they put forth their proposition that life somehow magically appeared as if by random accident."
Are you kidding me Craig? What kind of cultural isolation do you live in that such arguments make sense? Are you suggesting that any scientic theory (Newton's Theory of Universal Gravitation, Einstein's Theory of Relativity) is some not proven because you do not understand that words can have different meaning in different context?
The application of the word Theory, to a scientist, in the case of Evolution, refers to its status as an established fact, as opposed to "hypothesis", an unproven explanation.
Your straw man arguments about Atheism are likewise as uninformed.
Your article sounds as though you are afraid of what Atheists can do. Why should you be? As a fellow believer, I can assure you that any attack on God's people will be met with retribution. If anything, you should be welcoming an Atheistic attack/ban on religion, as Dawkins and Hitchens suggest!
Yawn. More typical dishonesty from the rabidly religious. It seems there is no end to the number of christians willing to bear false witness and sentence themselves to their mythical "hell".
Claiming that atheism is inextricably linked with communism is like saying the same about christianity and Nazism. It's a false argument by liars who have no argument, liars who depend on false equivalencies to make their poorly thought out point.
Communism is a dogmatic ideology. Religion is a dogmatic ideology. And both behave exactly the same - when religion dominates, it commits mass murder and exterminates competing ideologies, just as communism does.
@TWJ:
I can make the same statement that you do not personally know Jesus Christ or you would not make such statements. I have learned much about the Atheists mentality from the articles published by them at Examiner.com and from their comments left in response to my articles. Do some research yourself. If these people who hold themselves up to be representatives of your “religion” are wrong, tell them of their fault.
I stand by my criticism of Atheism.
@ rmoore:
Definition of the word theory:
1 : the analysis of a set of facts in their relation to one another
2 : abstract thought : speculation
3 : the general or abstract principles of a body of fact, a science, or an art <music theory>
4 a : a belief, policy, or procedure proposed or followed as the basis of action <her method is based on the theory that all children want to learn> b : an ideal or hypothetical set of facts, principles, or circumstances —often used in the phrase in theory <in theory, we have always advocated freedom for all>
5 : a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomena <the wave theory of light>
6 a : a hypothesis assumed for the sake of argument or investigation b : an unproved assumption : conjecture c : a body of theorems presenting a concise systematic view of a subject <theory of equations> synonyms see hypothesis
A theory is a supposition, not a proven fact.
@P Smith:
Your comments are supposition not based upon fact. This is typical of the Atheist. The arguments I put forth are mirrors of those used by Atheists against Christianity. I guess you guys can dish it out but you just can’t take it. If my arguments are false then so are those of the Atheists.
Every Communist leader without exception has been an Atheist.
It is interesting to note that no Theophobe yet responding to this article can refute my claims. Instead, I see ad homonym attacks, assumptions unsupported by fact and sophistry.
Yawn indeed.
BP, You maybe need to read your definition of Theory again, it seems you missed its first use.
"1 : the analysis of a set of facts in their relation to one another"
Theories actually explain how FACTS are related, or work together. So I suppose you are right that a Theory is not a fact, it's actually multiple facts used to explain phenomena.
You maybe surprised to learn that Gravity too is only a Theory.
It appears your retorts to the comments on this board serve as fact that you have selective reading/understanding because you clearly only referenced definitions 2, 4a, 6a & 6b of the term "Theory". It's completely ironic that you contradict yourself in you own posting to refute someone else.
Oh, and it is popular belief (belief is better then fact, right?) that Hitler claimed Christianity.
"My feelings as a Christian points me to my Lord and Savior as a fighter. It points me to the man who once in loneliness... "
-Adolf Hitler, in a speech on 12 April 1922 (Norman H. Baynes, ed. The Speeches of Adolf Hitler, April 1922-August 1939, Vol. 1 of 2, pp. 19-20, Oxford University Press, 1942)
@ the one with the vulgar acronym,
It is not the facts that are speculative but the conclusion drawn which is supposition and not fact.
Also, Hitler was a Catholic. I do view Catholicism as a cult. Protestantism is likewise a Catholic cult. Read "The Two Babylons" by Alexander Hislop and educate yourself.
@Dan Robbins
You assume much. My article makes no such claim and I have no such fear. I merely bear witness. The conclusion is yours alone. I am not responsible for your conclusions.
I could mirror your argument and say that your response sounds as though you fear the idea that my argument is true. Of course, that is not my perception and to pursue that line of reasoning is fruitless. I bear witness.
Glad I saw this. There is much truth in this. Perhaps some may be convicted.
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