Any Atheist Hijackers?

by patio34 13 Replies latest jw friends

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  patio34

  Greetings and Felicitations,

  Just a quick thought: would an atheist ever be a suicide hijacker/bomber? I think not, because an atheist would not believe they would be in heaven/paradise, etc. after giving up their life.

  Any thoughts?

  Pat
• 

  Tatiana

  Pat, you have a good point. So many have died and so many have killed all in the name of religion. I heard a woman on the news today who is from Palastine, but lived here and sent her kids to college here.

  She made a comment I thought was so profound.
  I can't quote her directly, but will try to paraphrase what she said....
  Any people who think they have divine guidance, a direct pipeline to God, and think God has directed them to do certain things, will think they have a right to do anything under the sun, to further their cause.

  And a quote I read before and also saw posted here, but can't remember where, is so true.....(On going to war over religion:)

  "You're basically killing each other
  to see who's got the better imaginary friend."

  - Rich Jeni

  April

  "Love never dies." Voivodul Vlad Draculea (from Bram Stoker's Dracula-1992)
• 

  SixofNine

  My very first thought on hearing that a second plane had hit the towers (thus letting me know it was terrorism), was "F**K Religion!!!!!!!!

  Later that day, I mentioned to someone that I believe that a SPECIFIC belief in God, is perhaps one of the most dangerous, damaging things a person can have. A person with a specific belief in God, is a bit crazy. Maybe a lot crazy, maybe just a little crazy, but definitely crazy. I know I was just a bit crazy not too long ago.

  Why can I say that? Because no matter what else God is or has been, He/she/it has NOT been specific about what he/she/it is.

  Faith, to the extent it is 'belief w/o evidence', is a bit of an insane notion.

  Having said all that, I don't mean to denigrate everyones' belief in God. But if your belief is very specific, you really ought to admit that you have either just made it up, or bought into notions that others have 'just made up'. Hey, it'll be good for you. You will be way less likely to hurt others over something you realise is w/o foundation.
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  Mindchild

  Imagine that as a child you were born in the Middle East, in a region where blood being shed is a common event. With such an upbringing, you would likely believe the words of your parents and other respected adults. If you were told that good children kill the unworthy and unreligious spawn of Satan, you would believe it. What chance would you have otherwise?

  A human child is shaped by evolution to embrace the culture of their peers. We are preprogrammed to absorb all kinds of useful and survival information at high rates, it is very hard to shut out deleterious or damaging information at the same time. Child’s brains are gullible, open to manipulation or suggestion, vulnerable to subversion and are easy prey to religious fanatics and mind viruses. These children eventually grow up and have families of their own and continue the spread of these mind viruses.

  For many generations now, such conditions have existed in the Middle East and other trouble spots in the world. We are now reaping the results on the world stage and see increasing terrorism and violence in many regions of the world. The mind virus is not only spreading, it is getting stronger and more deadly because of the power of technology and the growing trend of intolerance and hatred in the world.

  Someday, because of the vulnerability of the human mind to dangerous religious memes, we might have to ban them worldwide or none of us will be safe from their destructive expressions.

  If you don’t think memes kill, just remember what happened years ago in Jonestown…

  Jones, ``the Father,'' had called his flock together and told them it was time to depart for heaven.
  ``We're going to meet,'' he promised, ``in another place.''
  The words kept coming over the camp's loudspeakers.
  ``There is great dignity in dying. It is a great demonstration for everyone to die.''

  --San Francisco Chronicle (Kilduff and Javers, 1978)

  Skipper
• 

  JustAThought

  Any who have lived long enough OR have taken the time to check will recall/discover that there were a spate of communist (i.e. ideology) related hi-jackings about 20-30 years ago. They were the original hi-jackers.

  JustAThought
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  Cygnus

  I disagree.

  If a person believes enough in a certain ideology, he will do whatever it takes to further its progess. Belief in God or not.

  I would probably give my life if the circumstances meant enough for me, and I don't expect any "reward" in heaven or whatever.

  Religion should really have nothing to do with all of this. It's about preserving a way of life.
• 

  Introspection

  Thanks Cygnus, that was basically my thought. I think there may be a tendancy for us to play a certain blame game, it is certainly very easy to do that when emotions are running high and we have a sort of tunnel vision, we want to make some sense of what's going on. Perhaps it is easier to think that we can pinpoint one 'thing' such as religion than accept the fact that human beings are capable of such acts, whatever 'cause' you want to attribute to it.
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  TR

  Maybe that an athiest would have to actually have a mental disorder or a chemical imbalance to do such a deed. I just don't think athiests get into the fanatic mindset as much as religious zealots.

  TR

  The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
  —Edmund Burke
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  Introspection

  Well, perhaps not a SUICIDE hijacker/bomber, but then again does the fact that they still have a sense of self preservation make it any better? People can also believe in something religiously without it being identified as a religion. A belief in God doesn't necessarily mean the person will commit such crimes either, so I don't believe it's so clear cut as one might think.
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  RunningMan

  I would like to point out that us athiests are more intelligent
  and well adjusted than the general population. Not to mention
  more modest.

  Seriously, though, the type of fanatisicm that is required to
  to be a suicide terrorist requires a special type of personality.
  That type of personality is naturally drawn to extreme ideas,
  that are organized in a very authoritarian structure.

  Athiesm is, by its nature, an individually held idea. There can
  be no fanatical adherence to this idea, because the concept is
  defined, not by its belief, but by its lack of belief.

  - Excerpts from "The Athiest Manifesto" by RunningMan

  Incidentally, my alter ego is taken from the book "The Running Man"
  by Steven King. That book ends with the hero flying a commercial
  jetliner into a high rise building owned by a TV network.

  Kinda freaky