James Shaw

"God has had a busy summer," if you believe such nonsense.

"As God only knows, he was summoned to slaughter in the Holy Land, asked to end the killings of Muslims by Buddhist monks in Myanmar, and played both sides again in the 1,400-year-old dispute over the rightful successor to the Prophet Muhammad."

Total crazy?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/19/opinion/timothy-egan-faith-based-fanatics.html?emc=eta1&_r=0

Old Grey Beard Loc: Salt Lake City, Utah

How can you have a decent war without religion?
Chick McGee..... bob and tom radio

dljen Loc: Central PA

If Rick Perry is god's mouthpiece, we're all in trouble. I especially liked the last paragraph.

Thanks for sharing, James.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

Well...Atheists have been doing it for a LONG time...lol...in fact...MOST of the wars fought aren't based on any religious ideology at all...that's a big old canard in itself.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

Too bad the article keeps repeating the same old incorrect facts about the founding of this country...ho hum....another snoozer.

James Shaw

Love your Chick McGee statement.

djenrette Loc: Philadelphia

You could be right, but how do you explain the word "jihad" or "crusade" or the WWI German motto of "Gott mit uns" and "onward Christian soldiers" and "infidel"?

You may have a point that wars aren't fought on religious ideology --and I don't think that being an atheist is at all relevant here -- but I do believe that wars are sold to the poor fools who fight them as being some sort of holy cause. That is where religion is brought in.

According to one historian I've read, wars are fought because of overpopulation. Remember one of Hitler's mottos was the search for "lebens raum(sp?)" or "living room".

What do you think?

djenrette Loc: Philadelphia

The good thing about atheism is that no true atheist would feel a war was justified for religious reasons. That's progress!

James Shaw

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

magicray Loc: Tampa Bay, Florida

I can't think of one war that was fought in the name of atheism (lower case). Didn't you claim on many posts that atheism was indeed a religion? That would be a religious ideology according to you, right?

FramerMCB Loc: Northern, ID (formerly Portland, OR area)

Usually wars are fought almost exclusively either over political/philosophical ideology or money/resources/land/power/control. Period. Now, it's true that those who wanted the war(s) will use whatever means they have available to "sell" the idea of war or going to war as being about, or for, religious [tripe], but the true reason(s) often have to do with control and/or access to resources of some kind. Including power. Some wars have been started over one man's megolomania. It also matters who starts a particular war vs. who gets 'drawn' into it - responds to the aggressor(s). WWII was an example as was WWI... Probably the last true Holy War(s) were the CRUSADES. Although, to a certain extent, the Middle East is a boiling cauldron of 'warring' (some might argue religion is the reason) ethnicities. Very tribal region - that's what one who wishes to unravel the Middle East problem needs to really look at.