Pope Criticizes Atheism
Pope Criticizes Atheism in Encyclical
Save us all?
Pope Benedict XVI strongly criticized atheism in a major document released Friday, saying it had led to some of the “greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice” ever known. In his second encyclical, Benedict also critically questioned modern Christianity, saying its focus on individual salvation had ignored Jesus’ message that true Christian hope involves salvation for all.
Pope Benedict, criticized atheism in his “Spe Salvi” (Part III, 42),
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20071130_spe-salvi_en.html
but one, at the very least, could characterize his critique as lame, since he presented absolutely NO evidence on his claim that “atheism led to some of the greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice ever known” [42]. Also, his view that the 19th, and 20th, atheism (as if there are many different kind of atheisms) is a type of “moralism”, and just a reaction to world sufferings and injustices, is utterly false. Atheism is also the simple skeptical stance on the claim that there is a god, or gods”. But, even if we assume that atheism was a reactionary stance against suffering, injustice, etc, what the Pope doesn’t tell us, is “who” (= religion, church, etc) to a large degree was one of the main perpetrators of suffering, injustice, etc; a claim that one doesn’t have to try too hard to find evidence evidence, through out history, to support it.
Furthermore, it is not clear at all how God, religion, justice, and hope, are related to improve our world [31],[43],[44]. Does religion reduces crime, hunger, wars, etc? Where is the evidence?
To the contrary, and leaving historical arguments aside, recent publications to several journal show evidence that support the contrary, or at the very least debunk several myths that religion, or prayer, etc, are in any way beneficial to society, individuals, etc. For example, has the Pope seen those:
http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/2005/2005-11.html
or (a bit more technical)
http://home.uchicago.edu/~psheaton/workingpapers/religionandcrime.pdf
which address issues on whether religion is something healthy for a society, and whether religion is a crime deterrent?
Another good study, which clearly the Pope ignores, is the following:
http://www.amazon.com/Atheists-Groundbreaking-Study-Americas-Nonbelievers/dp/1591024137/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201031668&sr=1-2
which clearly shows, in the US, “who” (= atheists) is more likely to have less racial and ethnic prejudice, hostility toward homosexuals, etc. So, how exactly is it that we are the source of the problem in the society?
Finally, it is kind of ironic, when this particular Pope with his suspicious past as an ex-member of the Nazi Youth, the Army, etc
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7576505/
to take such an arrogant stance and attribute crimes, injustices, and sufferings, on other people and ideologies, when evils caused by ideologies he endorsed in the past are still unsurpassed.
The Pope, the head of a bankrupt ideology (not a philosophy) that endorses and promotes claims with no evidence, he also does just that. He claims things that are not supported by any evidence, and therefore cannot convince any rationally thinking human being.
Michael
Comment by aristidou75 — January 22, 2008 @ 4:50 pm