Comments on: Why is This Relevant?

By: Reginald Selkirk

Reginald Selkirk — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 21:51:31 +0000

Even a fair number of (if not most) atheists have one.

I have one. I find it useful for the occasional crossword puzzle clue.

By: dwasifar

dwasifar — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 20:56:53 +0000

Try being a gun owner; we get this all the time. I notice no one else here is saying anything about that. “Books on atheism, and rifles.” I’m an atheist with rifles too, and BOTH of those insinuations are offensive and unjustified, but gun owners are accustomed to seeing some crime suspect’s guns paraded for the media as if they were prima facie evidence of sociopathy.

By: Ashley Moltzan

Ashley Moltzan — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 08:29:16 +0000

yeah i read this church brief for the church page at my newspaper and had to proofread it. it angered me as well just to read it.

By: muggle

muggle — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 05:49:22 +0000

I guess now we know how normal, relatively sane theists feel when someone drowns their babies to save their souls prematurely or something. A feeling of just wanting to scream that nutcake’s not us.

I guess what I’m saying is they are also quick to point out when religion is extreme in someone sensationally criminal also. The biggest difference is that they point it out when the cucko is merely Atheist rather than Atheist extreme. You’ll hear Charles Manson’s extreme religious mutterings but you don’t hear about it if the views held were mild, mainstream religious. But let the crazy merely be an out Atheist or have a book on Atheism in their house and it’s the evils of Atheism proved over and over again.

Jack Carlson, the biggest reason Hitler’s religion is relative is because he’s always held out as an evil Atheist example.

By: Jack Carlson

Jack Carlson — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 04:59:51 +0000

anyone who goes on an arson spree is almost surely sanity-challenged. Therefore, they aren’t going to have any sort of coherent personal philosophy or ethical code, which makes their religious affiliation almost moot.

A key point. Some atheists are occasionally guilty of making a religious association with a particularly heinous crime when it’s truly irrelevant. It doesn’t matter what mass murderers believe. Charlie Manson thinks he’s a prophet. The rest of us consider him insane. I don’t consider it significant that Adolph was a Catholic. The brain damaged can’t process fantasy any better than they can process reality.

There are plenty enough examples of inhumanity motivated and fueled solely by religious belief that we don’t need to make connections where there are none or where the connection is purely coincidental.

By: littlejohn

littlejohn — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 04:33:58 +0000

I’m guessing they also found a dictionary. Learning is bad.

By: Richard Wade

Richard Wade — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 02:37:56 +0000

Informed sources say… (always an easy way to introduce any bullshit you want into a news story) …that police investigators also found an old copy of The Boy Scout’s Handbook, nothing less than a hardbound copy of The Films of Laurel and Hardy, and worst of all, a tattered and oil-stained owner’s manual for a 1962 Ford Falcon!! (cue dramatic hamster video)

While the chilling implication of these three books all being found in the same place at the same time are obvious to anyone, the local authorities say that they will have no comment on that during the on-going investigation.

Even their silence on this dire development speaks volumes.

By: Noadi

Noadi — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 01:03:06 +0000

Another primary motivation for arson, especially serial arson, is being a firebug. Actually what’s surprising that that they AREN’T firefighters since a very high percentage of serial arsonists are firefighters (sadly including a friend of mine I’ve known since kindergarten).

Maybe their views on religion, whatever they are, lead to them choosing churches. Or they chose churches because they are guaranteed to be empty at predictable times so people won’t be hurt. It’s impossible to tell unless they confess and talk about it.

By: Revyloution

Revyloution — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:59:23 +0000

Im angry at religion, and wish I could see it’s demise in my lifetime (aint going to happen). I sure as heck don’t want to burn down churches.

I want them converted into libraries.

By: Ron in Houston

Ron in Houston — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:37:23 +0000

Well, at the risk of invoking too much Freud, the primary motivations of arsonists are anger caused by feelings of powerlessness.

Those are religion or non-belief independent.

At the risk of going way too much in criminal profiling which I know nothing about, my guess would be that the person is angry at religion and feeling somewhat neutered.

Hmmm, I just described a lot of people!