"Atheism and secularism led to Nazism, mass murder" - Bishop Anthony Fisher (4 Viewers)

[chicky_pie]

GODLESSNESS and secularism led to Nazism, Stalinism, mass murder and abortion, according to Anthony Fisher, the new bishop of Parramatta, who has used his inaugural Easter message to launch a scathing attack on atheism, while ignoring the sex abuse scandals besieging the Catholic Church worldwide.

God is dead, Bishop Fisher said, but not in the sense that atheists mean.

Good Friday is the anniversary of Christ's death on the cross, and the Easter festival shows that he lives despite efforts to kill him off, according to the archbishop, who is tipped by many to become the next head of the church in Australia and leads the largest Catholic diocese in the country.

''Last century we tried godlessness on a grand scale and the effects were devastating,'' he said.

''Nazism, Stalinism, Pol-Pottery, mass murder and broken relationships: all promoted by state-imposed atheism or culture-insinuated secularism.''

It was an illusion to think we could live a better life without God, he said, although he acknowledged that the ''violence, abuse and un-lovingness'' of many believers through the ages had driven some people away from the church.

Cardinal George Pell, the Archbishop of Sydney, made oblique mention of the recent scandals enveloping the Catholic Church.

He used his Easter message to tell the faithful that despite Christianity's faults, it underpins our entire way of life.

''We often hear about Christian failures to live up to Christian standards - and there have been too many scandals and too many victims,'' Cardinal Pell wrote.

''But the great majority of Christians continue to follow the commandments of love through regular service, tolerance, forgiveness and community building.''

Cardinal Pell also attacked atheism, by giving thanks for church-based community organisations, and noting that ''we find no community services sponsored by the atheists''.

''We thank God for our Christian traditions and the works they inspire,'' he said. ''They have helped make Australia what it is.''

Neither Bishop Fisher or Cardinal Pell made any direct reference to the latest Catholic sex abuse scandals in which Pope Benedict XVI has been implicated.

Before World Youth Day in Sydney in 2008, Bishop Fisher was castigated for remarks he made about the case of a priest who raped two girls. He told a news conference he wished people would focus on the positivity of World Youth Day ''rather than dwelling crankily, as a few people are doing, on old wounds''.

Thank God we're not all atheists, bishop says




Right, and what do Catholicism lead to? sexual assaults on little boys.

 

[funkshen]

I think he means atheism, secularism and muslim.

 

[ilikebeeef]

Secularism =/= Atheism.

 

[Slidey]

What's with all the Bishops going off their nut about atheism this Easter? Must be a directive from higher up.

 

[scuba_steve2121]

i ate a ham sandwich today to piss off my religious mum off XD

 

[funkshen]

i ate a ham sandwich today to piss my religious mum off XD

I had burritos for lunch.

 

[Scorch]

The point literally could not be missed more.

 

[SylviaB]

Secularism =/= Atheism.

thats perhaps why he said both of them..?

 

[ilikebeeef]

thats perhaps why he said both of them..?

Secularism should be left off the list then.

 

[boganxcore]

seriously though
can any athiests here please tell me why they care so much for morals and all, when their view on the universe is that it was created in a series of accidents and thus existence is entirely pointless?

serious question, not a scathing attack

 

[supercalamari]

i ate a ham sandwich today to piss off my religious mum off XD

My Grandmother is fine with me being gay but would disown me if I ate red meat on Good Friday.

I had to work too so alas, filet-of-fish for lunch and fish flips with chips for dinner.

Getting sick of fish.

 

[thongetsu]

wow according to this person's rep they are a very effective troll, this thread is totally gonna be filled with destruction.

 

[Scorch]

seriously though
can any athiests here please tell me why they care so much for morals and all, when their view on the universe is that it was created in a series of accidents and thus existence is entirely pointless

Because as complex creatures we have a scientifically documented ability to care for our fellow human beings, and as social beings we have an innate evolutionary need to protect our own kind and ensure the stability of the societies in which we live; it was essential for us to even survive a thousand years as a species, let alone the 200,000 years that we have been around, to band together and support our fellow human beings.

I think that is a far more noble thing than "we do good things because if not a sky-man will torture us for eternity", because that's not complex thought, that's just a reaction to threats and danger that renders any good we do as simply self-defense - any simple creature is capable of such reactions.

 

[boganxcore]

Because as complex creatures we have a scientifically documented ability to care for our fellow human beings, and as social beings we have an innate evolutionary need to protect our own kind and ensure the stability of the societies in which we live; it was essential for us to even survive a thousand years as a species, let alone the 200,000 years that we have been around, to band together and support our fellow human beings.

I think that is a far more noble thing than "we do good things because if not a sky-man will torture us for eternity", because that's not complex thought, that's just a reaction to threats and danger that renders any good we do as simply self-defense - any simple creature is capable of such reactions.

okay thank you for the answer.
see, sometimes we can all get along and have a reasonable discussion aha

also, the whole "we do good things because if not a sky-man will torture us for eternity" idea you have is kind of flawed, seeing as christians don't do good things to try to get into heaven. they know that humanity's pretty screwed up haha

 

[thongetsu]

whose to say it was an accident?

 

[boganxcore]

whose to say it was an accident?

well if it wasn't an accident

wouldn't that suggest that an external being purposely created the universe?

 

[Scorch]

also, the whole "we do good things because if not a sky-man will torture us for eternity" idea you have is kind of flawed, seeing as christians don't do good things to try to get into heaven. they know that humanity's pretty screwed up haha

Morality has entirely secular roots and foundations; religion merely mirrors it.

If humanity is 'pretty screwed up', then what allows them to get into heaven? If people are rewarded for doing nothing, being screwed up (which is how God created us; how dare he have the balls to blame us for this?) and just believing in something for which there is no evidence as long as they telepathically say that they're sorry.

That's just as nonsensical as the first idea.

well if it wasn't an accident

wouldn't that suggest that an external being purposely created the universe?

No. That just reflects a poor understanding of the scientific theory.

 

[thongetsu]

maybe it was an accident on purpose?

 

[boganxcore]

No. That just reflects a poor understanding of the scientific theory.

okay

enlighten me so i can have a good understanding of the scientific theory please

 

[Riet]

seriously though
can any athiests here please tell me why they care so much for morals and all, when their view on the universe is that it was created in a series of accidents and thus existence is entirely pointless?

serious question, not a scathing attack

its called humanism man look it up