An Atheistic Examination of the Culture of Death
God Squad Review CXXI (Divine Retribution) - Tue, Feb 22, 2005
Was the Big Tsunami God's punishment for wrongdoing such as wearing bikinis or celebrating Christmas? The Squad recoils at the very suggestion:
The innocent victims of the tsunami disaster were not being punished for anything. To say or believe so adds a measure of guilt to survivors already suffering. If natural disasters were God's punishment for the wicked, Hitler would have been struck by lightning, and Stalin would have been swallowed up by an earthquake.
And the whole world except for Noah would have been drowned in a flood, to pick a more obvious analogy. In any event, the examples the Squad does pick hardly helps God's case: he should have smitten Hitler and Stalin, and saved the innocent Tsunami victims. Looks like He's gotten his priorities exactly backwards. You'd think the Squad would at least point out that Hitler was defeated in part by a very cold winter, although maybe that shouldn't count because it was when he was invading Stalin's country.
In any event, as the Squad itself points out, there's this problem with its theory:
The Bible does record that the rebels who sought to depose Moses and God were consumed in an earthquake, but just because God used that technique once doesn't mean that every earthquake is God's punishment for the wicked. And how could any spiritually sensitive person worship a God who would kill children and other innocents?
Uhhhhhhhhhh . . . isn't Passover about the slaughter of innocent children? Didn't God use all sorts of horrible plagues just to tease the virtuous Job? It wasn't just blasphemous deposing rebels who felt God's wrath. For Chrisstake, He killed Himself and his perfectly innocent own Son. So He's used that "technique" over and over; but even if it were only "once" I don't see why any spiritually sensitive person would trust Him. I mean, Andrea Yates and Susan Smith killed their innocent kids, and no one is saying "Oh, they just used that technique once, let's put them in charge of daycare centers." I suppose the key to understanding the Squad's analysis is this unintended confession of theirs:
What you must remember is that every profession, including the clergy, has its fair share of people who have no idea what they're talking about.
Indeed. Which brings us to the their second answer, to a reader who notes that in Iraq "[t]he hatred among people of different faiths seems insurmountable" and wonders "[a]re we all praying to the same God?" Rather than concede the futility of religious thinking, Squad pretends that "every religion teaches the same set of ethical beliefs" – and even though the question was about inter-religious squabbling, somehow manages this back-handed swipe at the godless:
Although there are many kind and loving atheists, history indicates that people who have hated religion also have hated some other group of people.
And then they suggest that a "common belief in Allah" might heal the wounds in Iraq. At the risk of being repetitive, what you must remember is that in every profession . . .
(Top) —Posted by: The Raving Atheist in God Squad Reviews · Permalink · 9 Comments
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The Raving Atheist » Comments on: God Squad Review CXXI (Divine Retribution)
The majority of people aren't of different faiths over here in Iraq, just one with different sects. It's just like one sect of xtians claiming to be truer than the others. They are using religion for political gain, it isn't about "hate". The difference between here and there is the number of zealots willing to put their explosives where their mouths are and die for their god. That's what faith is, right? The Squad indeed has no idea what it's talking about.
[Edit] February 22, 2005
"Although there are many kind and loving atheists, history indicates that people who have hated religion also have hated some other group of people. "
At first I read this and wondered at what at first appears to be a completely out of the blue and gratuitous swipe at atheists. But its not really. Having just shown in the article that morality is rational and universal and not based on what God says, they needed to discredit that conclusion that religion is superfluous to morality.
[Edit] February 22, 2005
Good post rave. But I'm starting to roll my eyes whenever you debunk this crew. First off, it seems like shooting fish in a barrel, which is funny, for awhile. My brief calculations tell me that youre a little over 10% dedicated to this crew in your postings. Maybe you could spin off a new blog, keep this one in fresh material and the new one can be 100% dedicated to the squad, riding them like a leach and retorting everypost they put up, www.ravingagainstthegodsquad.tv seems to open. Just curious, have you ever heard back from them, do they love you? Anyway, nice work, keep it coming, just a little lighter on beating up the same kids if you please.
[Edit] February 22, 2005
HAHAHAAAA!!!! Beautifully written!
Seriously, does the Squad get to see these things? Does anybody email them TRA's incredible reviews? I swear this has got to be the best one yet! Someone should send this to the squad...it rips their ridiculous pseudo-mystical-logic to shreds! I will email it to them myself if they havent seen it yet.
[Edit] February 22, 2005
New content? That would require a miracle. It seems to me that 75% if the posts harken back to the one argument he knows he can't definitively lose. Every post is the same old theodicy jibe. I at least look forward to papal bashing as it's somewhat creative.
[Edit] February 22, 2005
"every post is the same old theodicy jibe"
random, that is the whole point. Every example of belief without proof is idoicy. RA has taken on the enormous task of trying to educate the multitudes in critical thinking. His chosen method happens to be reductio ad absurdum. Take a false premise and show how it leads to a contradicion. And there are a lot of false premises in the world of theology.
[Edit] February 23, 2005
I loved the idea of God using earthquakes as a "technique". This I never read before...
Just wanted to mention a new book in French, hope it will be translated someday for all of you. Michel Onfray "Traité d'athéologie" Grasset, 2005. Even here in continental Europe we're beginning to need some raving atheists...
[Edit] February 24, 2005
New content... Bwaaaaa!!!!
Let's face it: God has been letting us down since, I don't know for how long. He let us down by not zapping Hitler and Stalin, He let us down by zapping the tsunami victims, He lets us down every time He allows some righteous, decent person die horrifically while allowing some brazen, craven irreligious scumbag to prosper.
Whaddayagonna do? He's family. He'll just go on disappointing us, and we'll just go on taking it.
[Edit] February 24, 2005
... are we getting these doggie spams because a lot of atheists can't bring themselves to even spell the word "God" & so resort to "doG"?...
[Edit] February 25, 2005
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