[thechat] Religious dependance

[Madhu Menon]

At 11:56 AM 17-01-03, Joe Crawford asked:

>But as a framework for behavior, we
>can agree that religion can be a basis for some peoples' ethical
>standpoints? And that dismissing the religion of these folks could be seen
>as dismissing the very core of how they view their existence?

Yeah, I'll give you that.


>And hold on there pardner, I can do that trick to. Let me bring up a
>famous athiest, Stalin --- so much for atheism as a creed by which people
>can live more ethically than the religious.

I never claimed that atheists can live "more ethically" than the religious. ;)

The only difference is that atheism is not a "religion" or a "movement" and
has no "teachings". Stalin, nutcase that he was, wasn't disobeying the
"Atheist Book of Principles" when he did all that he did.

>We can quote people who don't
>practice what they preach all day long, and it neither proves nor
>disproves religion or atheism as a means to live by.

Guess so.

Madhu