Big flaw in beliefs

I’M REFERRING to the letter in your September 10 edition, in which the writer states that because atheists don’t follow the Book (of which there are many) or god/s (of which there are many), that atheists therefore don’t have any values, ethics or morals, and that dialogue with them is therefore a waste of time.

That couldn’t be further from the truth. In actual fact, it makes atheists more moral, ethical and value-oriented mainly because they have taken total responsibility for their actions and can’t rely on a guy on a cloud to simply forgive them for their sins (again and again and again).

It also implies that those who follow the code of the Bible are moral, ethical and value-oriented. Sure, I know a many great Christian and Muslim people, but I also know that the most cruel bloodbaths known to man have been fought in the name of God.

That reduction of impractical logic is the thing that frightens me about people who are religious fundamentalists, mainly because they are so indoctrinated in their beliefs of a monotheistic god that they very quickly assume anyone else other than their “kind” is not worth engaging with.

That right there is the problem with the world today because it goes from indifference to intolerance and to the inability to live with one another. Eventually, war is justifiable because a book says it is.

If he had bothered to educate himself a little about what atheists stand for before accusing them of being immoral animals, he would have stumbled upon the fact that they also have a list of commandments that they live by:

Thou shalt not believe all thou art told.

Thou shalt seek knowledge and truth constantly.

Thou shalt educate thy fellow man in the laws of science.

Thou shalt not forget the atrocities committed in the name of God.

Thou shalt leave valuable contributions for future generations.

Thou shalt live in peace with thy fellow man.

Thou shalt live this one life thou hast to it’s fullest.

Thou shalt follow a personal code of ethics.

Thou shalt support a strict separation between church and state.

Thou shalt support those that support these commandments.

Have a look at No 6 and then maybe 1 and 2 again. It might do you some good. Neil Benjamin

Glenwood