Originally posted by divegeester
Your argument is only really valid if; when religion is removed all these bad things stop. They won't of course.

Nevertheless, I would like to live in Sweden.

Originally posted by Suzianne
No, no, no, no, no.

Let's not put the cart before the horse here.

Many, if not most, inmates in this country found Jesus after they were incarcerated.

No no no no no. Let's not make unsubstantiated claims. Provide a reference. Or did you make that up?

Originally posted by robbie carrobie
But it was their atheism that motivated them to kill all those people and here you are telling us how religion does the very same thing, what are we to make of it other than your attempt to portray the religious as being cruel is equally applicable to the anti religious.

As regards your assertions with regard to crime i dare say that if those pers ...[text shortened]... a single crime. We cannot say the same for the empty deception that is atheism though, can we.

Where's your evidence to support your claim it was atheism which motivated the massacres of the Khmer Rouge?

Originally posted by robbie carrobie
But it was their atheism that motivated them to kill all those people and here you are telling us how religion does the very same thing, what are we to make of it other than your attempt to portray the religious as being cruel is equally applicable to the anti religious.

As regards your assertions with regard to crime i dare say that if those pers ...[text shortened]... a single crime. We cannot say the same for the empty deception that is atheism though, can we.

The Khmer Rouge were most certainly not motivated to kill by their atheism.

edit - respect to others raising this point, I hadn't finished reading the thread.

Originally posted by Proper Knob
Where's your evidence to support your claim it was atheism which motivated the massacres of the Khmer Rouge?

The Khmer Rouge also classified people by religious and ethnic background. They banned all religion and dispersed minority groups, forbidding them to speak their languages or to practice their customs.[citation needed] They especially targeted Buddhist monks, Muslims, Christians, Western-educated intellectuals, educated people in general, people who had contact with Western countries or with Vietnam, disabled people, and the ethnic Chinese, Laotians, and Vietnamese. Some were put in the S-21 camp for interrogation involving torture in cases where a confession was useful to the government. Many others were summarily executed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pol_Pot

Originally posted by avalanchethecat
The Khmer Rouge were most certainly not motivated to kill by their atheism.

edit - respect to others raising this point, I hadn't finished reading the thread.

Of course they were otherwise you will need to explain their killing of 30,000 Buddhist monks.

Originally posted by robbie carrobie
The Khmer Rouge also classified people by religious and ethnic background. They banned all religion and dispersed minority groups, forbidding them to speak their languages or to practice their customs.[citation needed] They especially targeted Buddhist monks, Muslims, Christians, Western-educated intellectuals, educated people in general, people who ...[text shortened]... to the government. Many others were summarily executed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pol_Pot

As someone who has visited Cambodia on two occasions I am well aware of all this. How does it support your claim that atheism motivated their killings? I could similarly claim it was Marxism, Socialism or just as equally agriculture which motivated the atrocities.

Originally posted by robbie carrobie
Of course they were otherwise you will need to explain their killing of 30,000 Buddhist monks.

No, I do not need to explain that. I know your grasp of logic is tenuous at best, but do you seriously think you just made actual sense?

Originally posted by robbie carrobie
The Khmer Rouge also classified people by religious and ethnic background.

So..... basically you've got nothing and it was a false accusation.

Originally posted by Proper Knob
As someone who has visited Cambodia on two occasions I am well aware of all this. How does it support your claim that atheism motivated their killings? I could similarly claim it was Marxism, Socialism or just as equally agriculture which motivated the atrocities.

You could claim that you were also a submarine commander however that fact of the matter is that they specifically targeted religious organisations. If this was not because of there atheism then you will need to explain why they did so because it goes quite beyond mere secularism. I say they did so because they wished to establish an atheist state, are you denying that?

Originally posted by robbie carrobie
You could claim that you were also a submarine commander however that fact of the matter is that they specifically targeted religious organisations. If this was not because of there atheism then you will need to explain why they did so because it goes quite beyond mere secularism. I say they did so because they wished to establish an atheist state, are you denying that?

Atheism is JUST lacking a belief in gods.

There is nothing there to justify killing anyone.

You cannot get from atheism to "we should kill people".

However, if you are trying to build a totalitarian state, and don't want any other authority
other than your own influencing the people. THAT can give you a motivation to attack
religions which claim and divide the loyalty of your people.

It's certainly true that there have been evil people who were atheists.

It's not at all true that they were motivated to do their evil BY atheism.

Originally posted by robbie carrobie
Of course they were otherwise you will need to explain their killing of 30,000 Buddhist monks.

You sound more and more like Hinds every day.

Originally posted by avalanchethecat
You sound more and more like Hinds every day.

and you like Suzzianne.

Originally posted by googlefudge
Atheism is JUST lacking a belief in gods.

There is nothing there to justify killing anyone.

You cannot get from atheism to "we should kill people".

However, if you are trying to build a totalitarian state, and don't want any other authority
other than your own influencing the people. THAT can give you a motivation to attack
religions which c ...[text shortened]... who were atheists.

It's not at all true that they were motivated to do their evil BY atheism.

I say they were motivated by their atheism to kill all those monks.

Originally posted by robbie carrobie
You could claim that you were also a submarine commander however that fact of the matter is that they specifically targeted religious organisations.

And educated people and artists and people who wore glasses and a whole lot more.

If this was not because of there atheism then you will need to explain why they did so because it goes quite beyond mere secularism.
Once again, there is no need for us to explain why. Your claim is simply not the default explanation for their behavior, so it is up to you to justify making the claim and not up to us to show that you are wrong.