True. As Hitchens pointed out, all religions are latently harmful, because they undermine us in our most basic integrity. Islam gets all the criticism because it is currently implicated in most violence, but ultimately, faith is what's dangerous, because it can lead you anywhere.
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Replying to @G_S_Bhogal @SarahTheHaider
I am not a fan of people who are so aggressive against religion, it goes against basic principle of secularism. Live and let live. Hitchens didn't understood this as he supported the illegal invasion of Iraq.
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Replying to @WingTransparent @SarahTheHaider
It is possible to despise someone's behaviour while holding no ill will toward them personally. I think smoking is a bad habit, but don't dislike smokers. And Hitchens' advocacy for Iraq intervention was based on his love for the Kurds, not hatred of religion (Saddam was secular)
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Replying to @G_S_Bhogal @SarahTheHaider
He still supported one of the greatest war crimes in recent memory, as the US war on terror led to something between 2 and 4 million deaths. http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/unworthy-victims-western-wars-have-killed-four-million-muslims-1990-39149394 …
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Replying to @WingTransparent @SarahTheHaider
I personally thought Hitchens was wrong on Iraq. Still he gave good reasons for why he believed it was the right thing to do at the time, including the fact that *not* intervening would also have led to catastrophe eventually, given Iraq/Afghan internal sectarianism.
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Replying to @G_S_Bhogal @SarahTheHaider
Afghanistan was a chaotic mess for a long time, especially after Operation Cyclone. The invasion of Iraq only increased sectarian tensions in the country, especially thanks to the policies of Paul Bremer.
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Replying to @WingTransparent @SarahTheHaider
Even if you think Hitchens was wrong on Iraq, it should have no bearing on your opinion of antitheism, given that the two things are completely unrelated.
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Replying to @G_S_Bhogal @SarahTheHaider
From what I have seen that kind of intolerant and warmongering stances are common in the community. Maybe it's because they want to claim moral superiority even though the lack of belief in god makes it impossible.
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Replying to @WingTransparent @SarahTheHaider
Most atheists, humanists and even antitheists lean left and opposed the Iraq war. It is largely the Christian conservative right that supported it. And it is possible for an atheist to be morally superior precisely *because* they don't get their morals from an imaginary friend.
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Replying to @G_S_Bhogal @SarahTheHaider
Taking god out of the question makes it so that you cannot defend the idea objective morality. It leads to relativism, which doesn't bother me honestly. And people who opposed the Invasion of Iraq wouldn't be cheerleading for Hitchens and people who supported it so fervently.
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No, atheism does not necessitate moral relativism, because in the absence of gods, atheists get their morality from their own compassion, which is uniform among all non-psychopaths, and reason, which can form a consensus through debate.
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Replying to @G_S_Bhogal @SarahTheHaider
Morality isn't uniform. And psychopaths do indeed show some of the flaws in the argument, which reminds me of of Bioshock. Although I would rather use sentient robots for that thought experiment. Moral relativism is inescapable ever since Nietzsche announced the death of God.
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