Attack misinformed

YAGYAH Adams’s convoluted and misinformed attack on atheists (Cape Times, September 10) compels me to address a few of his strawmen and clear up some misunderstandings.

His claim that atheists attack religion and the worship of an omnipotent god is misplaced and incorrect.

In my experience, most atheists make a stand only when the views of the religious transcend the boundaries of secularism.

When believers in any of the myriad faiths cast judgment and try to impose their views on society.

This is a worthy stand and an increasingly important one.

Mr Adams is then guilty of using another strawman argument by accusing atheism of a lack of ethical boundaries.

Not withstanding the fact that 90 percent of the members of knowledge-producing institutions, such as The National Academy of Sciences, are atheists, or that less than 2 percent of the prison population is atheist, his argument is simply ignorant.

Ethical values exist in all societies, godless or god fearing. I find it interesting that he needs the threat of hell to be good where good atheists are just good.

Then, in a strange sideways doublestep he rages on about his pet hate, Bush (incidentally, a devout Christian) and rants on about China and Russia! Here he’s trying to build another strawman.

Stalin and Mao Zedongwere admittedly atheist but were not driven to murder because of it.

In fact, he cannot name one incident where a murder has been committed in the name of atheism.

On the other hand, it won’t take him long to find examples of murder committed in the name of religion.

I repeat my position that I’m happy for him and others to believe whatever they want about god and the doctrines of their chosen faith, but please leave me out of it. Jamie Greatorex