Fanatical Atheism – a Growing Threat

2. Not too different from the fanatically religious, history has shown that fanatical atheists can be just as ruthless and inhumane. There is one major point of distinction between the two, however. The fanatically religious can be weakened by pointing to statements promoting peace in their own religious texts. But fanatical atheists cannot be pacified by pointing to anything. The ‘science’ they believe in (atheistic evolution) implies no moral principle. Morality and ethics is optional. It’s a personal choice. It means you can do ‘wrong’ – just don’t get caught.

3. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a creationist and I don’t reject evolution. My problem is with blind, atheistic evolution. It’s deadly. Literally. Insidiously, atheistic evolution states there is no right or wrong. In the final analysis, it’s not important how decently you live your life. It’s only important that your genes survive into the next generation. This is the bottom line of atheistic evolution. Fanatical atheists are so eager to embrace this fallacious doctrine, they cling to any scientific evidence that seems to support it. Today, fanatical atheists are bending backwards to subvert and distort all spiritual belief in an effort to poison younger minds.

4. Let me be clear. Moderate atheists aren’t doing this, but fundamentalists are and their population is increasing. They passionately seek to influence what our children think and believe even when they’re not in school. Their ultimate aim is to turn them into atheistic parents who will teach their children the same. It’s apparently a parasitic scheme to proliferate and perpetuate atheism across generations automatically through human hosts. It’s the ultimate virus. Though this fanaticism is currently small, in this age of the internet, it seems to be spreading like a virus. This is how it becomes insidious. 2 become 4. 4 become 8. 8 become 16. Very soon, within a few generations, a small group of a thousand fundamentalists can become millions or even billions.

5. Just a couple of decades after you and I are no longer around, much of this country – indeed our world – can have slipped into a godless, communist-like brutal regime. Am I exaggerating? Is it possible? Yes and many others believe so, too. The threat should not be taken lightly. Nobody dreamt what Stalin’s and Mao’s worlds would evolve into. They were not nightmares. They were reality. We cannot allow it to happen again. Most historians will agree that communism and most of its variants have been lethal for its people. Originally intended to be an elixir for all troubles, communism was the great leveler. All people would be equal. All would live under the same conditions. Corruption would be uprooted. All would be answerable to one power. Not God, but the government. An unchallenged, totalitarian, atheistic government.

6. But “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” observed the English historian Sir John Dalberg-Acton. There is perhaps no greater truth uttered by a man. The slippery slope of absolute power and atheism – the unbridled belief in evolution as the determinate of humankind’s past and future – the survival of the fittest – has horrendous consequences. Communist regimes around the world such as those of Stalin and Mao killed 100 million people. Did either of these leaders kill so many personally? No. They did it through their policies, military, police, and special groups. All these positions were populated or enforced by once law-abiding, benign individuals working hard to put food on the table and feed their families.

7. What changed? Their worldview. Only fanatical atheism (and fundamentalist religion) can brew such brutality in otherwise decent people. Fanatical atheism is like a dry rot that slowly devalues the home it infests. It was a core value of the world’s worst political leaders. In modern history it fostered the death of countless innocent women, men, and children. This is what can happen again if we take fanatical atheism complacently. The threat of fanatical beliefs is real.

8. Consider this: though its basic intentions seem benign, communism is inherently totalitarian. Equality is the mantra. Diversity and plurality of political parties or personal beliefs are not allowed. Spirituality is subdued as superstitious and evil. Churches and other places of worship are commonly razed to the ground. Violence and executions are conducted ‘for the greater good.’ Only atheistic, evolutionist, Marxist, Leninist, and Stalinist beliefs are considered rational and scientifically factual. All else is falsehood. Pre-1989 communist Russia is the trademark of such atheistic regimes. Indeed, during its high period students were forced to complete a mandatory course on dialectical materialism. Spirituality was considered for fools only and it was rarely spoken of.1 Does history repeat itself? As you know, too often.

9. Like fundamentalist religion, fanatical atheism is a very slippery slope. If left unchecked or unchallenged it could possibly resurrect it’s ugly head some time. The burgeoning number of movies and publications promoting such fanaticism in the name of free speech are like an infectious pus. Like fundamentalist religion, absolute atheism has a dark side. If it comes to power, even in small pockets of communities, it commonly uproots or subdues opposing individuals. Our environment can change very quickly. A few years is sufficient. All it takes is a fundamentalist to get elected or to stage a coup or revolution. Even democratic elections can put fundamentalists into power.

10. Did you know that democratic governments such as of the US in the early 1900s enforced inhumane policies such as compulsory sterilization of people considered weak, mentally unstable, genetically deficient, or people who were simply deaf or blind? In fact, the US government was the very first in the world to begin this unthinkable cruelty. It was for the purpose of eugenics. If this can happen with a government that puts “In God We Trust” on its notes, just imagine what an atheistic government that printed “In Marx / Lenin / Blind Evolution We Trust” could do? In fact, you don’t have to imagine. Just inspect the human rights records of Russia, China, and other communist countries in the not too distant past.

11. Fanatical atheism robs people of sympathy, empathy, and respect for fellow humans. Only people with similar beliefs are held with respect. Fundamentalism robs them of their emotions and soul. They become heartless. Many simply cannot agree to disagree without trashing people personally. They feel insecure or threatened by anyone who believes otherwise. They respond with aggression. They don’t even want you to respect both science and spirituality. They want to enter your mind and stamp out your spiritual beliefs all together. Because of their fanaticism these people can become so obnoxious, some even scorned Mother Teresa when she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. They claimed she had “cock-eyed judgment.” I think they should look in a mirror.

12. If a group can be as vicious as this to a person as caring as Mother Teresa, imagine how they would treat other spiritual people if they actually came to power. These fanatics claim that faith is not a virtue, but an evil. They try to argue that it allows room for practices like suicide-bombing. The argument is disingenuous. If it was true, why don’t we see suicide bombers proliferating in Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism amongst other religions? Look at the Japanese Kamikaze pilots in World War II. They flew their bomb-laden planes into US warships. Their planes were not designed to land or return to Japan.

13. They were suicide missions. And those pilots weren’t fighting in the name of God, but in the name of their country. They were nationalists. In truth, then, suicide-bombing is not a product of religion per se, but of culture. The falsehoods about spirituality that fanatical atheists are promulgating need to be countered. One strong method is by educating people about the agreements between the worldviews of modern science and ancient spirituality. These new agreements are not a result of distortion. They have been published in reputed international, peer-reviewed, scientific journals and have been vetted by well-know astrophysicists. More people – particularly children and youth – should know about this.

14. Finally, I emphasize again that most atheists are moderate and extremely nice people. Many are highly charitable. They are intellectually honest and open-minded individuals. Indeed, some of the people who have read my book GOD IS REAL – The Stunning New Convergence of Science and Spirituality are atheists and have written 4-star reviews! That in itself speaks of their moderation. They are not belligerent towards the spiritual, just skeptical. I think that’s normal. Almost everyone becomes an atheist or agnostic at one time in their lives. All it takes is an unanswered prayer or a tragedy out of the blue. Just ask your teenager after an incident like the Asian Tsunami or Batman movie theatre massacre whether s/he believes in God or whether God is good. A common response will be “I don’t know.”

15. Just as atheism and agnosticism are naturally arising worldviews, so are theism and faith. But fundamentalism is a scourge of which we should be wary. Free speech is one thing, sheer ignorance is another. Fanatical atheism and its latent threat can be resolved amicably through open-mindedness and exposure to the newly discovered facts of science and spirituality.