ATHEISTS ARE IDIOTS

Robert J. Firth

Chapter Two Part Two

Atheists have also cited data showing that there is a correlation between religious fundamentalism and extrinsic religion (where religion is used to serve ulterior interests) and authoritarianism, dogmatism, and prejudice. Again, these arguments best reflect Islam where, combined with historical events demonstrate the dangers of religion, such as terrorist attacks. Believers counter-argue that regimes espousing atheism, such as in China and Soviet Russia, have also been guilty of mass murder. The Greek word αθεοι (atheoi), as it appears in the Epistle to the Ephesians (2:12) on the early 3rd-century Papyrus 46. It is usually translated into English as “[those who are] without God”. In early ancient Greek, the adjective atheos (ἄθεος, from the privative ἀ- + θεός “god”) meant “godless”. It was first used as a term of censure roughly meaning “ungodly” or “impious”. In the 5th century BCE, the word began to indicate more deliberate and active godlessness in the sense of “severing relations with the gods” or “denying the gods”. The term ἀσεβής (asebēs) then came to be applied against those who impiously denied or disrespected the local gods, even if they believed in other gods. Modern translations of classical texts sometimes render atheos as “atheistic”. As an abstract noun, there was also ἀθεότης (atheotēs), “atheism”. Cicero transliterated the Greek word into the Latin atheos. The term found frequent use in the debate between ATHEISTS 28 early Christians and Hellenists, with each side attributing it, in the pejorative sense, to the other. The term atheist (from Fr. athée), in the sense of “one who denies or disbelieves the existence of God”, predates the word ‘atheism’ in English, being first found as early as 1566, and again in 1571. ‘Atheist,’ as a label of practical godlessness, we think, was used at least as early as 1534. The term atheism was derived from the French athéisme, and appears in English about 1587. An earlier work, from about 1534, used the term atheonism. Related words emerged later: deist in 1621, theist in 1662 deism in 1675, and theism in 1678. At that time “deist” and “deism” already carried their modern meaning. The term theism came to be contrasted with deism. Karen Armstrong, a British author who wrote twelve books on comparative religion, says that “During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the word ‘atheist’ was still reserved exclusively for polemic. (meaning argument) The term ‘atheist’ was an insult. Nobody would have dreamed of calling himself an atheist.” In the middle of the seventeenth century, it was still assumed that it was impossible not to believe in God; atheist meant not accepting the current conception of the divine. Atheism was first used to describe a self-avowed belief in late 18th-century Europe, specifically denoting disbelief in the monotheistic Abrahamic god. In the 20th century, globalization contributed to the expansion of the term to refer to disbelief in all deities, though it remains common in Western society to describe atheism as simply “disbelief in God”. Although the term atheism originated in 16th-century France, ideas that would be recognized today as atheistic are documented from the Vedic period and the classical antiquity. Atheistic schools are found in early Indian thought and have existed from the times of the historical Vedic religion. Among the six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy, Samkhya, the ATHEISTS 29 oldest philosophical school of thought, does not accept God, and the early Mimamsa also rejected the notion of God. The early Mimamsa not only did not accept God but asserted that human action itself was enough to create the necessary circumstances for the enjoyment of its fruits. The thoroughly materialistic and anti-theistic philosophical Cārvāka (also called Nastika or Lokaiata) school that originated in India around the 6th century BCE is probably the most explicitly atheistic school of philosophy in India, similar to the Greek Cyrenaic school. This branch of Indian philosophy is classified as ‘heterodox’ due to its rejection of the authority of Vedas and hence is not considered part of the six orthodox schools of Hinduism, but it is noteworthy as evidence of a materialistic movement within Hinduism. Chatterjee and Datta explain that our understanding of Cārvāka philosophy is fragmentary, based largely on criticism of the ideas by other schools, and that it is not a living tradition: “Though materialism, in some form or other, has always been present in India, and occasional references are found in the Vedas, the Buddhistic literature, the Epics, as well as in the later philosophical works we do not find any systematic work on materialism, nor any organized school of followers as the other philosophical schools possess. But almost every work of the other schools states, for refutation, the materialistic views. Our knowledge of Indian materialism is chiefly based on these.” Other Indian philosophies generally regarded as atheistic include Classical Samkhya and Purva Mimamsa. The rejection of a personal creator (God) is also seen in Jainism and Buddhism in India. In Plato’s Apology, Socrates was accused by Meletus of not believing in the gods. Western atheism has its roots in pre-Socratic Greek philosophy, but did not emerge ATHEISTS 30 as a distinct (weak) world-view until the late Enlightenment. The 5th-century BCE Greek philosopher Diagoras is known as the “first atheist”, and is cited as such by Cicero in his De Natura Deorum Critias which viewed religion as a ‘human invention’ used to frighten people into following moral order. ( It worked and keeps working) Atomists such as Democritus attempted to explain the world in a purely materialistic way, without reference to the spiritual or mystical. Other pre Socratic philosophers who probably had atheistic views included Prodicus and Protagoras. In the 3rd-century BCE the Greek philosophers Theodorus Cyrenaicus and Strato of Lampsacus also did not believe gods or God exist. Socrates (c. 471–399 BCE), was accused of impiety (see Euthyphro dilemma) on the basis that he inspired questioning of the state gods. Although he disputed the accusation that he was a “complete atheist”, saying that he could not be an atheist as he believed in spirits, he was ultimately sentenced to death. Socrates also prays to various gods in Plato’s dialogue Phaedrus and says “By Zeus” in the dialogue The Republic. Euhemerus (c. 330–260 BCE) published his view that the gods were only the deified rulers, conquerors and founders of the past, and that their cults and religions were in essence the continuation of vanished kingdoms and earlier political structures. Although not strictly an atheist, Euhemerus was later criticized for having “spread atheism over the whole inhabited earth by obliterating the gods”. Epicurus (c. 341–270 BCE) disputed many religious doctrines, including the existence of an afterlife or a personal deity; he considered the soul purely material and mortal. While Epicureanism did not rule out the existence of gods, he believed that if they did exist, they were unconcerned with humanity. ATHEISTS 31 The Roman poet Lucretius (c. 99–55 BCE) agreed saying that, if there were gods, they were unconcerned with humanity and unable (or unwilling) to affect the natural world. For this reason, he believed humanity should have no fear of the supernatural. He expounds his Epicurean views of the cosmos, atoms, the soul, mortality, and religion in De rerum natura (“On the nature of things”), which popularized Epicurus’ philosophy in Rome. The Roman philosopher Sextus Empiricus held that one should suspend judgment about virtually all beliefs, a form of skepticism known as Pyrrhonism, meaning that nothing was inherently evil, and that ataraxia (“peace of mind”) is attainable by withholding one’s judgment. His relatively large volume of surviving works had a surprising lasting influence on later philosophers. If nothing in inherently evil than the perpetrators of the holocaust weren’t inherently evil! Of course ole Sextus didn’t live long enough to see the Nazis in action. He might have changed his mind- ya think? The meaning of “atheist” changed over the course of classical antiquity. The early Christians were labeled atheists by non Christians because of their disbelief in the much treasured and traditional pagan gods. (where’s my golden cow?) During the days of the late Roman Empire, Christians were executed for their rejection of the dumb-ass Roman gods in general and Emperor-worship in particular. When Christianity became the state religion of Rome under Theodosius I in 381, heresy became a punishable offense. The espousal of atheistic views was rare in Europe during the Early Middle Ages and Middle Ages (see Medieval Inquisition); metaphysics, religion and theology were the dominant interests. There were, however, movements within this period that forwarded heterodox conceptions of the Christian God, including differing views of the nature, ATHEISTS 32 transcendence, and knowability of God. Individuals and groups such as Johannes Scotus Eriugena, David of Dinant, Amalric of Bena, and the Brethren of the Free Spirit maintained Christian viewpoints with pantheistic tendencies. Nicholas of Cusa held to a form of fideism he called docta ignorantia (“learned ignorance”), asserting that God is beyond human categorization (or understanding), and our knowledge of God is limited to conjecture. William of Ockham inspired anti-metaphysical tendencies with his nominalistic limitation of human knowledge to singular objects, and asserted that the divine essence could not be intuitively or rationally apprehended by human intellect. Followers of Ockham, such as John of Mirecourt and Nicholas of Autrecourt furthered this view. The resulting division between faith and reason influenced later theologians such as John Wycliffe, Jan Hus, and Martin Luther. How did they reach this understanding? Sit for a moment and try to imagine creating the marvelous diversity of our world and the fine balance of nature and the universe. Of course, no human can even begin to imagine! The Renaissance did much to expand the scope of free thought and skeptical inquiry. Individuals such as Leonardo da Vinci sought experimentation as a means of explanation, and opposed arguments from religious authority. Other critics of religion and the Church during this time included Niccolò Machiavelli, Bonaventure des Périers, and François Rabelais. The Renaissance and Reformation eras witnessed a resurgence in religious fervor, as evidenced by the proliferation of new religious orders, confraternities, and popular devotions in the Catholic world. Also, consider the appearance of increasingly austere Protestant sects such as the Calvinists. This era of inter confessional rivalry permitted an even wider scope of ATHEISTS 33 theological and philosophical speculation, much of which would later be used to advance a religiously skeptical world view. So, how did all this lead to strange guys with beards wearing bib overalls playing with snakes? Good question! Criticism of Christianity became increasingly frequent in the 17th and 18th centuries, especially in France and England, where there appears to have been a religious malaise, according to contemporary sources. Some Protestant thinkers, such as Thomas Hobbes, espoused a materialist philosophy and skepticism toward supernatural occurrences, while the Jewish Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza rejected divine providence in favor of a pan-entheistic naturalism. By the late 17th century, deism came to be openly espoused by intellectuals such as John Toland who coined the term “pantheist”. Despite their ridicule of Christianity, many deists held atheism in scorn. The first known explicit atheist was the German critic of religion Matthias Knutzen in his three writings of 1674. He was followed a half century later by another explicit atheist writer, the French priest Jean Meslier. Knutzen and Meslier were, in turn, followed by other openly atheistic thinkers, such as Baron d’Holbach and Jacques-André Naigeon. The well known philosopher David Hume developed a skeptical epistemology grounded in empiricism, undermining the metaphysical basis of natural theology. Ludwig Feuerbach’s The Essence of Christianity (1841) would greatly influence philosophers such as Engels, Marx, David Strauss, Nietzsche, and Max Stirner. He considered God to be a human invention and religious activities to be wish-fulfillment. For this he is considered the founding father of modern anthropology of religion. ATHEISTS 34 The French Revolution took atheism and anti-clerical deism outside the salons and into the public sphere. A major goal of the French revolution was a restructuring and subordination of the clergy with respect to the state through the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. Attempts to enforce this led to anti-clerical violence and the expulsion of many clergy from France. The chaotic political events in revolutionary Paris eventually enabled the more radical Jacobins to seize power in 1793, ushering in (no surprise) the Reign of Terror. The Jacobins were deists and introduced the Cult of the Supreme Being as the new French state religion. Some atheists surrounding Jacques Hébert instead sought to establish a Cult of Reason, a form of atheistic pseudo-religion with a goddess personifying reason. Both movements in part contributed to attempts to forcibly de-Christianize France. The Cult of Reason ended after three years when its leadership, including Jacques Hébert was guillotined by the Jacobins. (that always works) The anti-clerical persecutions ended with the Thermidorian Reaction. The Napoleonic era institutionalized the secularization of French society, and exported the revolution to northern Italy, in the hopes of creating pliable republics. In the 19th century, atheists contributed to political and social revolution, facilitating the upheavals of 1848, the Risorgimento in Italy, and the growth of an international socialist movement. In the latter half of the 19th century, atheism rose to prominence under the influence of rationalistic and freethinking philosophers. Many prominent German philosophers (later actual Nazis) of this era denied the existence of deities and were critical of religion, including ATHEISTS 35 Ludwig Feuerbach, Arthur Schopenhauer, Max Stirner, Karl Marx, and Friedrich Nietzsche. Atheism in the 20th century, particularly in the form of practical atheism, advanced in many societies. Atheistic thought found recognition in a wide variety of other, broader philosophies, such as existentialism, objectivism, secular humanism, nihilism, anarchism, logical positivism, of course Marxism, feminism, and the general scientific and rationalist movement. Later 20 million Russians were murdered by atheist communists. Logical positivism and scientism paved the way for neo positivism, analytical philosophy, structuralism, and naturalism. Neo-positivism and analytical philosophy discarded classical rationalism and metaphysics in favor of strict empiricism and epistemological nominalism. Proponents such as the idiot Bertrand Russell emphatically rejected belief in God. I’d like to know how that turned out for him? In his early work, Ludwig Wittgenstein attempted to separate metaphysical and supernatural language from rational discourse. A. J. Ayer asserted the un-verifiability and meaninglessness of religious statements, citing his adherence to the empirical sciences. The applied structuralism of Lévi-Strauss sourced religious language to the human subconscious in denying its transcendental meaning. J. N. Findlay and J. J. C. Smart argued that the existence of God is not logically necessary. Naturalists and materialistic monists such as John Dewey considered the natural world to be the basis of everything, denying the existence of God or immortality. The 20th century also saw the political advancement of atheism, spurred on by interpretation of the works of Marx and Engels. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, religious instruction was banned by the State. While the Soviet Constitution of 1936 ATHEISTS 36 guaranteed freedom to hold religious services, the Soviet state under Stalin’s policy of state atheism did not consider education a private matter; it outlawed religious instruction and waged campaigns to persuade people, at times violently, to abandon religion Several other communist states also opposed religion and mandated state atheism, including the former governments of Albania and currently, China North Korea and Cuba Other leaders like E. V. Ramasami Naicker (Periyar), a prominent atheist leader of India, fought against Hinduism and Brahmins for discriminating and dividing people in the name of caste and religion. This was highlighted in 1956 when he arranged for the erection of a statue depicting a Hindu god in a humble representation and made antitheist statements. In 1966, Time magazine asked “Is God Dead?” in response to the Death of God theological movement, citing the estimation that nearly half of all people in the world lived under an anti religious power, and millions more in Africa, Asia, and South America seemed to lack knowledge of the one God. In 1967, the Albanian government under Enver Hoxha announced the closure of all religious institutions in the country, declaring Albania the world’s first officially atheist state, although religious practice in Albania was restored in 1991. These regimes enhanced the negative associations of atheism, especially where anti-communist sentiment was strong in the United States, despite the fact that prominent atheists were anti-communist. Since the exposure of the horror of the Nazi death camps and the fall of the Berlin Wall, the number of actively anti-religious regimes has reduced considerably. In 2006, Timothy Shah of the Pew Forum noted “a worldwide trend across all major religious groups, in which God-based and faith-based ATHEISTS 37 movements in general are experiencing increasing confidence and influence vis-à-vis secular movements and ideologies.” However, Gregory S. Paul and Phil Zuckerman (both confirmed haters of God) consider this a myth and suggest that the actual situation is much more complex and nuanced. The religiously motivated terrorist events of 9/11 and the partially successful attempts of the Discovery institute to change the American science curriculum to include creationist ideas, together with support for those ideas from George W. Bush in 2005, all triggered the noted atheist authors Sam Harris, Daniel C. Dennett, Richard Dawkins, Victor J. Stenger and Christopher Hitchens to publish virulently anti-theistic books that were best sellers in America and worldwide. Of course, Satan never sleeps nor lets a good emergency go to waste! A 2010 survey found that those identifying themselves as atheists or agnostics claim that they are on average more knowledgeable about religion than followers of major faiths. Nonbelievers however proved unable to answer simple questions relating to historical personages and precepts concerning Religion. Most all parishioners scored far better on questions about tenets central to Protestant and Catholic faiths.. ‘New Atheism’ is the name given to a movement among some early-21st-century atheist writers who advocate the view that “religion should not simply be tolerated but should be countered, criticized, and exposed by rational argument wherever its influence arises.” The New atheists argue that recent scientific advancements demand a less accommodating attitude toward religion, superstition, and religious fanaticism than had traditionally been extended by many secularists. The movement is commonly associated with idiots like Richard Dawkins, Daniel C. Dennett, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, and Victor J. Stenger Several books by these authors, published ATHEISTS 38 between 2004 and 2007, form the basis for much of the discussion of New Atheism. Amazing how empty the lives of non-believers’ they sit there staring (but evidentially, not seeing or comprehending) the absolute wonder and majesty of world and the universe surrounding them. What can they be thinking- it’s all just coincidence, pure chance, natural selection, survival of the fittest, the big bang- What are they thinking?

WHO IS Robert J. Firth?

Robert was educated at the University of Pennsylvania and worked as an airline pilot for 42 years. Captain Firth has lived in many countries throughout his career including 3 years in Vietnam, 5 in Africa with 12 in Europe and Russia along with many years in other interesting and contested garden spots.

Robert has been shot at and shot back all over this tired old globe. He knows well that America’s freedoms were bought and paid for in the blood of her patriotic soldiers. Robert’s opinions and thoughts have been formed in the fires of conflict. He knows well the enemies of all free men.

AIRCRAFT OF THE WEEK