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I think all the recent news of pedophile priests proves once and for all that atheists do in fact have the moral high ground (for the most part). Agree? Disagree?

#atheism #priests #moral
TheDarkNolanite 6 Aug 20
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Level 8

Prove? As in, beyond reasonable doubt? No. What this incident and so many others like it tend to demonstrate is that religious membership, or in this case leadership, does not confer enhanced standards of ethical behavior above that of a nonbeliever. I don't blame the Catholic church, per se, for the actions of these predators. Rather, I blame the church for creating the circumstances that not only allowed predatory behavior, but encouraged it, by covering it up and relocating predators.

0

Level 7

I do feel that Atheists often have better morals than xtians, but I don't view the pedophile priests as proof, just a good indication. My morals are free of god, and most xtians use the rules imposed by their church INSTEAD of developing morals.

1

Level 9

The approximate 1,120,000,000 atheists in the world hold the moral high ground over whom exactly?

  1. The estimated 8,000 pedophile Catholic priests?
  2. The approximate 400,000 total Catholic priests?
  3. The approximate 1,300,000,000 Catholics in the world?
  4. The approximate 5,880,000,000 self-professed religious believers in the world?

It might be difficult to measure. I think morality has little correlation to religious belief/non-belief. Isn't that what most atheists claim anyway?

Here's an interesting article:
[skeptoid.com]

skado Level 9 Aug 20, 2018
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1

Level 8

All it proves to me, is that many priests are pedophiles, and the churches tend to keep that on the down low.
Doesn't mean atheists are all goody-goody though.

Yeah but I've yet to read about 300+ kids getting molested at a Richard Dawkins book signing.

Maybe the higher moral ground is down to the holy folks' hypocrisy.

@TheDarkNolanite
Have you yet read about the hundred million or so who were murdered by atheist regimes in the twentieth century?

@skado Communist regimes.

@TheDarkNolanite
Yes. Which enforced state atheism.

@skado There is no dogma in atheism which convinced them to commit atrocities. Blame Marx, Lennon and Stalin, not atheism in general.

@TheDarkNolanite
Is there Christian dogma that requires priests to molest children?

@skado Actually yes. The dogma which states that they can't get their rocks off with women.

@TheDarkNolanite If that was the only issue, they would seek to be with grown women in secret - not children.

@TheDarkNolanite
Well it’s not like the Church doesn’t richly deserve your cynicism. They royally earned it, so I’m not defending the Church. But in literal terms, I doubt there is any actual doctrine that instructs or allows priests to transfer their sexual interests from women to children. That doesn’t ring true to me. There was on the other hand an apparent systemic tolerance that could be seen as de facto policy, so there is that.
My first comment was trying to get at where the comparison should actually fall. If you’re taking as your religious example the actual priesthood of the Catholic Church on the one hand, and your non-religious example the average-citizen atheist on the street, that’s kinda apples and oranges. The average Joe Christian on the street isn’t raping children by the hundreds, so... maybe not a fair comparison. Comparing an ancient religious establishment to a relatively fleeting government isn’t a perfect comparison either, but much closer. Typically in atheist states the murder of religious dissidents by the thousands is official policy, not the actions of a rogue faction, tolerated or otherwise. So I don’t see how the pedo-priest scandal proves anything at all about rank and file atheists.
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Level 8

Why..was there any doubt? It's just the ignorant religious people who think they're all that.

Link: Survey: Racists And Conservatives Have A Low IQ. Surprise, Surprise! [wp.me]

I never doubted it. But they like to act morally superior for groveling at the feet of a non-existent deity.

@TheDarkNolanite Who cares? They're too ignorant to argue with.
0

Level 8

It does look that way. Who'd have thunk we would need the secular authorities to curb the criminal, immoral excesses of the clergy!

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