Hey, when we're wrong, we can admit it.
So, it turns out that for about a year (in 1793-1794), in France, there did exist a group called "The Cult of Reason" and not only were these people explicitly atheists, but they also did some nasty things (including joining in the general anti-clericism going on at that time, killing priests and descrating churches) in the name of Atheism.
For further information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-clericalism#Revolution
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dechristianization_of_France_during_the_French_Revolution
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_of_Reason
No excuses. They did it. It was wrong.
Interesting. I wonder how many that were killed as opposed to how many the religious killed? Just a thought. I am sure there have been atheist murderers, child rapists, and other horrible things. Because atheists are human and being human means you can be a sick human.
After reading all three articles, I have a better understanding historically what was going on. It was a bloody time in general. One of the worst ever as far as slaughtering people for religion, class, wealth, political views. It was a cleaning up of what was viewed as the worst excesses of the time and in turn, led to its own excess.
I think the cult of reason was just a natural extension of what was going on at the time. More of the cleaning up of those who had been in power previously. I don't condone it or excuse it, but I think the climate of the times had more to do with this then atheism.
Quoting lilangilyn:I am sure there have been atheist murderers, child rapists, and other horrible things. Because atheists are human and being human means you can be a sick human.
True.
But apparently what made this group different is not that they were doing horrible things, but that they were doing horrible things in the name of atheism. Which, as far as my knowledge of history goes (not far) makes them pretty much unique.
Quoting lilangilyn:It was a bloody time in general. One of the worst ever as far as slaughtering people for religion, class, wealth, political views. It was a cleaning up of what was viewed as the worst excesses of the time and in turn, led to its own excess.
I think the cult of reason was just a natural extension of what was going on at the time.
None the less, I think we should own up to them, without making any excuses, or even trying to place them in context.
It doesn't matter that other people in the same country and the same time were doing worse, of that there was a general backlash going on against what the religious had been doing, or that the religious (over the years) have done far worse.
They did it. It was wrong.
Elmina Drake Slenker
- Clairwil
on Feb. 25, 2012 at 4:24 PM