"Disliked, not oppressed," by Paul Thornton (4/18/07) Favorite line:"Everything of value that people get from religion can be had more honestly, without presuming anything on insufficient evidence. The rest is self-deception, set to music."
"Stalin was an atheist -- so am I," by Paul Thornton (11/7/07) This article explores a common atheist-Christian debates: guilt by association. Favorite line:
"But being disliked doesn't come close to the vitriolic oppression other American minorities and women have endured, and it's disgraceful when prominent atheists like Harris and Dawkins compare their own plight to to the truly repressed in a single breath."
"You're supposed to shame me into adopting religion as a way to save my soul from the moral bankruptcy that ensnared Stalin and Hitler.I'm supposed to shame you into thinking that the delusion demanded by your moderate religious belief shelters the fanatics who wage holy war."