An Atheist Reads The Bible: Talking Out Its Ass

In my last post I skipped over one of the most bizarre stories in the Bible (though I’m saying this so often it’s starting to lose meaning). Considering the last post dealt with genocide, I didn’t want to confuse the theme and I ran out of space. But I felt this story is too good to ignore (the title alone is worth it) so I figure I might as well write a post about it. So the story begins in chapter 22 of the Book of Numbers when Balak, the King of the Moabites, noticed that the Israelites were exterminating everyone they came across. Not wanting to be wiped off the face of the Earth, Balak does the only thing … Continue reading “An Atheist Reads The Bible: Talking Out Its Ass”

June 24, 2015ReligionAn Atheist Reads The Bible, Atheism, Balaam, Balak, Bible, Book of Numbers, Donkey, God, Israelites Leave a comment

Religion As A Cause Of War In Ireland

In my last post I argued that religion was a major cause of war. Now I want to discuss this in an Irish context. In fact the history of Ireland is basically the history of Protestants and Catholics warring among each other. There are numerous incidents where Catholics or Protestants were killed solely because of their religion. There is a serious problem in separating actions based on religion from those based on nationality. In fact Daniel O’Connell went as far as to claim that being Catholic and being Irish was the one thing. This presents a serious problem in decoding conflict and classifying them as nationalist or religious wars. Some even argue that class was the driving force, with the … Continue reading “Religion As A Cause Of War In Ireland”

May 23, 2012Religion1916. 1798, Atheism, Catholic, Christianity, God, History, IRA, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Political Theory, Protestant, Religion, Troubles, UDA, UVF Leave a comment

Religion As A Cause Of War

I would argue that a major cause of most (but not all) wars is religion. Religion divides people into separate groups and tells them that they are incompatible with each other. It provides justification for the killing of others and the promise of reward for martyrs. There are numerous examples of religious wars. Some of the main ones include the Crusades, Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan, The War On Terror, The Thirty Year War, Northern Ireland and the numerous religious wars of England and France (which culminated in the Saint Bartholomew Day Massacre). A frequent justification for the British, French, Spanish, Portuguese etc, (which led to horrendous massacres) empires was so that the natives could be converted to Christianity. Religions claim they … Continue reading “Religion As A Cause Of War”

May 22, 2012ReligionAtheism, Bible, Christianity, God, International Relations, Political Theory, Politics, Religion, War Leave a comment