Religious Doom

In my Meetup schedule, I managed to meet some radical atheists. It's an interesting phenomenon, and I think I am getting closer to understanding what motivates some of them. I think it is the fear of oppression, but it is also a desire to end conflict. Very American.

My answer is that war and death are the solutions that atheists are very wary of dealing with. It goes to dealing with the courage of convictions. I didn't find at our meeting any militant atheists who were willing to do battle with militant theists for world domination, but I could see that perhaps few of the participants had long considered the proper limits of secular power. I'd like to take them down that road again.

Here's the nut of the issue. 

Let us consider the position of Misha. He believes in life after death and is convinced that he must prevail and is willing fight to the death. In opposition is Josh, who thinks that life after death is wishful thinking and is convinced that his opposition position from Misha is the only correct solution. As a consequence of Josh's ideology, he beleives that Misha has a right to his wrong opinions and will not oppress him if Misha will do the same. 

In sum, Josh wants and believes everybody should want secular rule because in the ideal, secular rule protects religious freedom. 

What Josh doesn't realize is that what he wants is a police state. He wants to do no violence to Misha but hates the fact that Misha (in his squalid religiously bigotted mind) wants influence over others. Josh wants a secular Leviathan but the fact of Josh's disturbance over the religious influence of Misha means that Leviathan is not beahving properly. Therefore Josh wants to become radical. 

Misha already believes that his God is Leviathan, but his God is not behaving properly because he is surrounded by infidels and heathens who don't heed the moral word of God. This Misha must endeavor on his quest for purity and purification. 

Josh and Misha are on a collision course. Misha is ready to die. Josh treasures life above all else. Who wins? Misha wins, of course. Josh will forever negotiate because his principles cannot involve the destruction of human life. 

This is the example that secular humanist atheists have not run through their heads enough times. And in their activism, they are enabling a liberal Leviathan police state that has cultural relativism at its soft moist core. It is only when they recognize the inevitability of conflict and war that they will begin to defend borders in the form of nationalism and cease to be fascinated by mere mixing without loyalty oaths.  Europe is beginning to see the light. The American left remains in the dark.