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Blurry?
Try non-existent.
It's all about governmental power; the religious reasons for the inquisition and crusades were second-hand.
OK, you guys are just emphasizing my point. In the Dark Ages, European government and religion were combined. In modern China, it's atheism and the governement.
Personally, I find the assertion that the Church was not in control of the government to be the stranger assumption.Storm said:Can you show, as opposed to simply asserting, that religion was the cause? Blend religion (using the word loosely) and political power, bad things happen, be it atheism or Christianity.
Storm said:You seem to have forgotten this, so I'll repeat it: I do NOT believe that atheism is the driving force behind the suppression of the Falun Gong. So asking me to show that it is is rather silly, if not a strawman.
No more or less than the Crusades or Inquisition were examples of Christianity run amok. To those who defend atheism in this instance, while condemning Chrstianity in those, you can't have your cake and eat it, too.
Storm said:Just to make sure I'm absolutely clear, I don't think atheism is the cause of this oppression, I was just peeved at what I saw as a double standard.
Because you blame the worldview you dislike (Christianity) for the evils done in its name, while giving the worldview you favor (atheism) a pass on the same thing.You are claiming that is hypocritical to criticize Christianity for the Crusades and the Inquisition, and not athiesm for the suppression of the Falun Gong. But then you say that you don't think it is atheism that is suppressing the Falun Gong. How, then, are we being hypocritical in not condemning atheism for something it hasn't done?
OK, you guys are just emphasizing my point. In the Dark Ages, European government and religion were combined. In modern China, it's atheism and the governement.
I think you are putting the cart before the horse here: The Chinese government is atheistic as a result of wanting complete authority and control. Athiesm is not the cause.
Whereas, religion in the Middle-Ages was the cause of wanting complete control and authority. Religion was the driving force of the government.
If you can somehow show that athiesm is a driving force of the Chinese government, then I'll think you have something.
You have a really weird sense of atheism.
I don't know what atheism is. Atheist don't partake in shared beliefs, practices and rituals, so how does not partaking get an ism attached to it. Do all those that don't go to church on Sunday morning belong to an ism? What about people that don't partake in stamp collecting?
No, but it did mention "spirit of the universe." Sounds like a God to me.A theist believes god/s exist. The Falun Gong do not share a common belief in nor worship a god. By definition they are atheists.
I did a word search on the Falun Gong wiki page. The words "God" and "worship" are not found.
I did a search and that came up negative. Maybe you can copy and paste for us. Thanx.No, but it did mention "spirit of the universe." Sounds like a God to me.
It is foolish to blame a religion on anything. Religion is not a sentient being that tells people what to do. Evil people go under the flag of religion to disguise their true intent. It is all about money, power, control. These things propel people into doing terrible things falsely under the banner of a religion. It does not mean that a religion has anything to do with it. The sooner you recognize who the real enemy is the sooner we can fix the problems of the world. Blaming it on religion, lifestyles, beliefs, etc is doing nobody any good at all. Example Islam. The terrorist have almost ruined this religions reputation, by claiming God has ordered them to kill. When in fact it is just evil people like Osama who fly under the flag of Islam to try and cover up, that he is really just a power hungry imbecile.
Or I'm getting my sources confused, as I looked at a couple other sites. I'll try to find it in a bit.I did a search and that came up negative. Maybe you can copy and paste for us. Thanx.
It's possible that the page was updated recently and no longer includes the phrase.