Dawkins: Religion equals 'child abuse'

WorldNetDaily ^ | 1/8/06

[LibWhacker]

Scientist compares Moses to Hitler, calls New Testament 'sado-masochistic doctrine'

Controversial scientist and evolutionist Richard Dawkins, dubbed "Darwin's Rottweiler," calls religion a "virus" and faith-based education "child abuse" in a two-part series he wrote and appears in that begins airing on the UK's Channel 4, beginning tomorrow evening.

Entitled "Root of All Evil?," the series features the atheist Dawkins visiting Lourdes, France, Colorado Springs, Colo., the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem and a British religious school, using each of the venues to argue religion subverts reason.

In "The God Delusion," the first film in the series, Dawkins targets Catholicism at the pilgrimage site in Lourdes. "If you want to experience the medieval rituals of faith, the candle light, the incense, music, important-sounding dead languages, nobody does it better than the Catholics," he says.

Dawkins, using his visit to Colorado Springs' New Life Church, criticizes conservative U.S. evangelicals and warns his audience of the influence of "Christian fascism" and "an American Taliban."

The backdrop of the al-Aqsa mosque and an American-born Jew turned fundamentalist Muslim who tells Dawkins to prepare for the Islamic world empire – and who clashes with him after saying he hates atheists – rounds out the first program's case for the delusions of the faithful.

In part two, "The Virus of Faith," Dawkins attacks the teaching of religion to children, calling it child abuse.

"Innocent children are being saddled with demonstrable falsehoods," he says. "It's time to question the abuse of childhood innocence with superstitious ideas of hellfire and damnation. Isn't it weird the way we automatically label a tiny child with its parents' religion?"

"Sectarian religious schools," Dawkins asserts, have been "deeply damaging" to generations of children.

Dawkins, who makes no effort to disguise his atheism and contempt for religion, focuses on the Bible, too.

"The God of the Old Testament has got to be the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous, and proud of it, petty, vindictive, unjust, unforgiving, racist," he says. Dawkins then criticizes Abraham, compares Moses to Hitler and Saddam Hussein, and calls the New Testament "St Paul's nasty, sado-masochistic doctrine of atonement for original sin."

John Deighan, a spokesman for the Catholic Church, took issue with Dawkin's denunciation of religion, telling the Glasgow Sunday Herald, "Dawkins is well known for his vitriolic attacks on faith, and I think faith has withstood his attacks. He really is going beyond his abilities as a scientist when he starts to venture into the field of philosophy and theology. He is the guy with demonstrable problems."

Madeline Bunting, a columnist for the Guardian, who reviewed the series, wrote: "There's an aggrieved frustration that [atheist humanists] have been short-changed by history – we were supposed to be all atheist rationalists by now. Secularization was supposed to be an inextricable part of progress. Even more grating, what secularization there has been is accompanied by the growth of weird irrationalities from crystals to ley lines. As G.K. Chesterton pointed out, the problem when people don't believe in God is not that they believe nothing, it is that they believe anything."

Dawkins, perhaps best know for his much-cited comment that evolution "made it possible to be an intellectually satisfied atheist," appeals to John Lennon in a commentary he authored for the Belfast Telegraph on the eve of his program's premiere: "Religion may not be the root of all evil, but it is a serious contender. Even so it could be justified, if only its claims were true. But they are undermined by science and reason. Imagine a world where nobody is intimidated against following reason, wherever it leads. "You may say I'm a dreamer. But I'm not the only one."

[Old Professer]

Peace equals silence.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***No, that's a myth. His was based on a warped version of Christianity.***

Read THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH by Shrier.

In it you will find Hitler had a new religion in the wings in which the holy book would be the Mein Khamp (or how you spell it). It was designed to replace Christianity.

[Notwithstanding]

And I am sure the BBC has banned him as a Christophobic hate-ist (given his anti-Christian hate-speech)?

[CarolinaGuitarman]

"Read THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH by Shrier."

Done that.

"In it you will find Hitler had a new religion in the wings in which the holy book would be the Mein Khamp (or how you spell it). It was designed to replace Christianity."

It was based in part on Christianity though it was an evil take on it. The main point that I was making is that Hitler was NOT an atheist. I have never seen any evidence that he was one, beyond the pleas of some that *He couldn't believe in a God and do the things he did*. The evidence that he DID believe in a God, and DID consider the Aryan race as some kind of perfect special creation of this creator is easily found and I think persuasive. His racial theory had religious origins, not evolutionary.


Does that mean I am equating religion with Hitler? No, not at all. Hitler's take on religion and Christianity was a perversion of it. In the same way that modern day skinheads pervert Christianity. Most neo-nazis use specifically Christian terminology; they shun evolutionary language, as most actually hate Darwin. Darwin, and modern evolutionary theory, says that all *races* of people are one species. This is a horrifying thought to neo-Nazis. They usually subscribe to some warped version of Genesis, where the white race becomes the *chosen* people. Again, they are not a true respesentation of what Christianity is. They are also not atheists, nor was their Fuhrer. That was my point.

[Aquinasfan]

Dawkins targets Catholicism at the pilgrimage site in Lourdes. "If you want to experience the medieval rituals of faith, the candle light, the incense, music, important-sounding dead languages, nobody does it better than the Catholics," he says.

Even Dawkins can get something right.

And of course, Dawkins is an uninterested scientist in the evolution/ID debate. Right.

[tob2]

Dawkins sounds demented.

[Just mythoughts]

Hitler thought he was 'god' and he tried to play 'god' and ended up in a pit. Now the last thing Hitler could claim was he was of this supposed super race he tried to create. Who started the 'race' business, sure wasn't the Heavenly Father or Christ, as the Heavenly Father said of HIS creation it was GOOD.

Darwin's infamous 'survival of the fittest' fits with Hitler think, and the Heavenly Father allows this think but it sure does not represent His thought, as it is Written.

[wallcrawlr]

ping

Revelation 4:11Intelligent Design
See my profile for info

[trisham]

It's a survival of the fittest match that Richard Dawkins is oblivious to.

***************

Excellent point.

[MEGoody]

Controversial scientist and evolutionist Richard Dawkins, dubbed "Darwin's Rottweiler," calls religion a "virus" and faith-based education "child abuse"

Sure, belief in evolution is just belief in science. There's no bias involved whatsoever.

::::sarcasm off:::::

[CarolinaGuitarman]

" Now the last thing Hitler could claim was he was of this supposed super race he tried to create."

No, you don't understand, he was trying to SAVE the super race. It was already created perfect, according to him, by God. He was trying to stop it from deteriorating. He wasn't trying to create it (he believed it was already created.) He may have seen himself as some kind of Messiah though.


"Who started the 'race' business, sure wasn't the Heavenly Father or Christ, as the Heavenly Father said of HIS creation it was GOOD."

It was started in science by pre-Darwinian naturalists. Darwin certainly didn't invent the concept. Also, it was invented by people who thought that the darker races were an offshoot of the progeny of Cain.

"Darwin's infamous 'survival of the fittest' fits with Hitler think, and the Heavenly Father allows this think but it sure does not represent His thought, as it is Written."

That's why Hitler spoke of the Creator and didn't mention Darwin. BTW, *survival of the fittest* was Herbert Spencer's baby, not Darwin's. It also was not a call for wiping out the *less fit*. It's a fact; those organisms better adapted to their environments will have a statistically better chance at passing on their genes.

[Just mythoughts]

"No, you don't understand, he was trying to SAVE the super race. It was already created perfect, according to him, by God. He was trying to stop it from deteriorating. He wasn't trying to create it (he believed it was already created.) He may have seen himself as some kind of Messiah though."

All but we are told about wolves in sheep clothing claiming to be of Christ, and we are not to be deceived.

"It was started in science by pre-Darwinian naturalists. Darwin certainly didn't invent the concept. Also, it was invented by people who thought that the darker races were an offshoot of the progeny of Cain."


Sure sounds like evolution to me.

"That's why Hitler spoke of the Creator and didn't mention Darwin. BTW, *survival of the fittest* was Herbert Spencer's baby, not Darwin's. It also was not a call for wiping out the *less fit*. It's a fact; those organisms better adapted to their environments will have a statistically better chance at passing on their genes."

Darwin wrapped himself in the belief, as do evolutionists this day. I read the comments of the evolutionists ever so pleased with maintaining populations for MickeyD employees. There is no lack of arrogance by the evolutionists maintaining their preferred environment.

[metmom]

Hitler had a warped version of Christianity. So what? And you're trying to prove what point? He was an evil perverted man who used what he needed to to justify himself. It's not representative of Christianity; nor will having faith cause you to become like that. Anyone can pervert any religion and give it a bad name but it's not the fault of the religion. Following Biblical Christianity will not turn you into that kind of person. The Bible does not condone that kind of behavior. And you atheists know it, because everytime someone who you think is a Christian doesn't do something that is representative of Christianity, you're the first to point it out. You sure do know enough about what Christians are supposed to be like to use it against them when it suits your purposes. If we're going to talk about Christianity and people who represent it, why don't we bring up people like Mother Theresa or Billy Graham?

[r9etb]

It existed -- The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, 1918-1991, ca. 100 million murdered. All very rational, thank you very much.

Actually, I think the French Revolution is probably the finest exemplar, not to mention the prototype of modern totalitarianism.

[CarolinaGuitarman]

" All but we are told about wolves in sheep clothing claiming to be of Christ, and we are not to be deceived."

As I said, Hitler's was a perverted form of religion and of Christianity.

" Sure sounds like evolution to me."

Except... it (the race concept) was started by people who believed in creationism. Everything you don't like sounds like evolution to you. :)

" Darwin wrapped himself in the belief, as do evolutionists this day."

No, he really didn't. You don't understand what natural selection is, so you equate it with whatever you think is wrong.

"I read the comments of the evolutionists ever so pleased with maintaining populations for MickeyD employees."

Citations please, or retract.

"There is no lack of arrogance by the evolutionists maintaining their preferred environment."

Or of creationists inventing their own little fantasy worlds. :)

[CarolinaGuitarman]

"Hitler had a warped version of Christianity. So what? And you're trying to prove what point?"

That he wasn't an atheist as people are trying to claim. He was sick, and as I have said, his views are a perverted form of religion, but to say he was an atheist and a Darwinian is simply not supported by the facts. That was the clear point of my posts, if you had read them.

[Just mythoughts]

"As I said, Hitler's was a perverted form of religion and of Christianity."

Then how about doing a bit of retracting yourself and stop associating Hitler with Christianity.


"Except... it (the race concept) was started by people who believed in creationism. Everything you don't like sounds like evolution to you. :)"

Ha given what is scientifically known about genetics, creationists whether they realize it or not do subscribe to a form of evolution. There is no recorded miracles that inserted different genes to result in what many creationists claim happened.


"No, he really didn't. You don't understand what natural selection is, so you equate it with whatever you think is wrong."

I understand better than you thing what is called 'natural' selection. Problem is that the natural dies and rots hardly something to get to entrenched in.


"Citations please, or retract.

"There is no lack of arrogance by the evolutionists maintaining their preferred environment."

Or of creationists inventing their own little fantasy worlds. :)"


Guess you missed that evolutionary post, I am not going to spend the time finding it but I will promise the next time I see a similar or exact response posted to give you a ping.

[r9etb]

There is not even evidence, other than the bible, that the ancient Israelites committed any massacres of Canaanites or Midianites or Moabites.

The types of warfare described in the Bible, and many of the actual places, have been located by archaeologists, so it's reasonable to assume that such massacres did in fact occur (though probably not with the huge death tolls ascribed to them).

The mistake of those (like Dawkins) who point this out would be in saying that it was only the Israelites who did such things: it wasn't. If anything, the people whom the Israelites fought were even more savage. That was the way wars were fought back then. Hell, it's the way wars are fought now, too.

[Tribune7]

Wonder if Channel 4 (is it BBC?) would be willing to air a Billy Graham crusade?

[Tribune7]

Isn't this whole comparing everything to Hitler by the left getting really old already?

I don't know. Let me give it a shot. Dawkins hates Christianity. Hitler hated Christianity. Dawkins = Hitler.