Summations Only

ALTER2EGO -to- EVERYONE:Atheists consistently attempt to take the higher ground by insisting Christians are mental midgets for believing in a non-existent "sky gawd." They insist that the Judeo-Christian Bible is a book of fairytales. At one website where I have debated, the Bible was routinely referred to by atheists as the "BuyBull." Not only that, in most of my conversations with atheists at various websites, their usual accusation is that because of the belief in God, theists have committed all sorts of human rights violations in the name of "cultish religions." According to the many atheists I have debated at other websites, it is the belief in God that has caused people to commit the various atrocities common to mankind. Remove religion, belief in God, and belief in the Bible--the atheists argue--and the world will be a better place. This latter conclusion is mortally flawed for the following reasons:Atheists have committed human rights violations en masse throughout history. For instance, Joseph Stalin--the atheist--ordered the deaths of between 40 million to 62 million people (20 million of whom were everyday Soviet civilians), compared to the 9 million or so killed by Adolph Hitler, the Roman Catholic who merely claimed he was a Christian.In reality, the problem is not the Bible or God. The problem is people, including those in false religions that have failed to teach the masses Biblical truths. An appreciation for Biblical truths and Jehovah's righteous standards of what's right and what's wrong is the only detriment against people committing human rights violations. Blaming God for the crimes of false Christians and other false religions is an attempt at passing the buck. "See! This only I have found, that the true God made mankind upright, but they themselves have sought out many plans." (Ecclesiastes 7:29)DISCUSSION POINTS:
1. Considering that atheists have themselves committed human rights violations under the banner of non-belief in a supernatural God or gods, can one successfully argue that "belief in god" is not the actual reason behind crimes against humanity? Or, in the alternative, can one successfully argue that it is indeed because of belief in God that people commit human atrocities? 2. Atheism is a religion according to a 2005 Wisconsin Federal Court ruling on the matter of Kaufman v. McCaughtry, as well as the Torcaso v. Watkins case that was affirmed by the 1961 U.S. Supreme Court--the highest court in the land--where court rulings become national law. However, atheists routinely argue they do not belong to a religion because, according to them, non-belief in God is proof positive that they are not religious. Do you agree with the atheists' position? Why so or why not? 3. Based upon numerous court rulings that atheism is religion, it is obvious that belief in a supernatural God or gods is not a requirement for being considered part of a religion. What arguments can you present along this line?Edited by Alter2Ego, : No reason given.

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NWR:

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ALTER2EGO:
Atheists consistently attempt to take the higher ground by insisting Christians are mental midgets for believing in a non-existent "sky gawd."

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This is an example of what is usually called a "sweeping generalization." You are taking what a few atheists say, and implying that all atheists do that. They don't.

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By the way, some theists say rather nasty things about atheists. Should we indict all theists for that?

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ALTER2EGO -to- NWR:
I have not been to this website for some time, so I was not even aware that this thread had been approved.And no, I am not making a generalization. I have been told exactly what I posted in my OP by atheists at numerous websites where I have debated.BTW: You will note that I did not use the expression: "All atheists consistently attempt...."

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PERCY:
Clearly the courts have only ruled that atheism is religion for the narrow purposes of applying the First Amendment. Note the part where it says “the Court understands the reference to religion [by the Supreme Court] to include what it often calls 'nonreligion.'”

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ALTER2EGO -to- PERCY:
So you are agreeing with my OP that Atheism is indeed Religion--even if it is merely for First Amendment reasons (although that is not correct). Atheism is also considered "Religion" under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

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PERCY:
Just as clearly, courts have ruled that atheism is not a religion for purposes of taxation. Certainly atheism isn't a religion if you define religion as belief in a supreme being or beings.

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Your point being? That because the IRS refuses to give atheist organizations tax relief, that automatically cancels out the Supreme Court ruling?The position of the IRS does not cancel out the fact that Atheism is still Religion, particularly since atheists routinely use their Religion status for the following purposes:1. To get their own chaplains and distribute their literature.2. To conscientiously object to war based upon their RELIGION status.Edited by Alter2Ego, : No reason given.

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COYOTE:
Your claim that two courts have determined that atheism is a religion is unfounded.

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Regarding Kaufman v. McCaughtry, what the Federal Court declared was that in a particular prison, under First Amendment rights, atheists have the same rights to meet as do religious groups.

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The court noted:

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It is undisputed that other religious groups are permitted to meet at Kaufman's prison, and the defendants have advanced no secular reason why the security concerns they cited as a reason to deny his request for an atheist group do not apply equally to gatherings of Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, or Wiccan inmates.

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ALTER2EGO -to- COYOTE:
You quoted the parts of the Court transcript that suit your purposes. At a future time, I intend to post some of the pertinent portions that you deliberately left out.But guess what: even the parts you quoted indicate Atheism is Religion. For instance, the Federal Appeals Court that you partially quoted above used the expression: "other religions groups," which immediately indicates that Atheism and its Secular Humanist philosophy is part and parcel of the "other religious groups."

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COYOTE:
This is not the same as a court ruling that atheism is a religion. The court ruled that if you allow specific religious groups to meet, there is no valid security reason to prohibit anti-religious groups (i.e., atheists) to meet as well--under the same First Amendment. While being accorded the rights of a religious group under the law, this does not make them a religious group.

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See that? You said it there again.BTW: I read the court transcript and did not see the expression "anti-religious groups" therein. But of course I could have over-looked it. So would you mind quoting, for the rest of us, where the Wisconsin Federal Appeals Court used the expression: "anti-religious groups"?