How moderates are using aggressive tactics to stop Atheists

          How moderates are using aggressive tactics to stop Atheists

By: Rachel Johnson 

The word “moderate” sounds like a wonderful thing. It brings images of someone, somewhere in the middle of a flowery meadow frolicking. Yet that is far from the case. In fact moderates are joining forces to systematically shut down the voice of atheists. You may say that it is not likely, and yet they are gaining strength, and making bold moves to place themselves in positions of power. There seems to be a new divide. Moderates are now standing up against who they perceive as “militants”, but are they doing more harm than good. Are the moderates responsible for stagnation and back peddling?

In August of 2010 two brothers were beaten to death in the streets of Pakistan. Mughees and Muneeb, were accused by a rival youngster, of having robbed a man. The boys were playing soccer, and were not from that area. Having been accused of the mans robbery, and subsequently his death, the boys were surrounded by a crowd of people. They pleaded their case that they were innocent, but as the crowd gathered, people began beating them. The brutal beating took place in broad daylight. They were beaten with clubs, and rocks as they pleaded for their lives. After they had been beaten to death, the boys battered and bruised bodies were hung from a water tower. The crowd cheered and continued to throw assults on the bodies. After they were brought down, the bodies were dumped off at the morgue. Not one person stepped in to help, though many participated, and even filmed the event.

July 29, 2010 In Afghanistan a young woman was punished by the Taliban by having her nose and ears cut off after leaving her abusive husband. She was held down and her nose and ears were cut off. She was then left to die, lying in her own pool of blood. She lived to tell her tale and even made the cover of Time magazine.  Afghanistan is one of the worst countries for abuse to women, and little or no human rights for women. Beating is common place there, and many women suffer brutal, and sometimes fatal attacks.

November 2, 2004 Theo Van Gogh was murdered in the street. He had worked with Ayaan Hirsi Ali on the short film Submission. Many Muslims were angered by the making of this film. It was seen as a blasphemy, and intent to defame the Muslim religion. Van Gogh was gunned down in broad daylight. He was shot eight times, and while crossed the road to escape his attacker and murder, he was followed and stabbed. Eye witnesses watched in horror as the man then tried to decapitate him before fleeing the scene.

It may seem to you that these have nothing to do with moderates. The fact is that as long as there are extremists in religion factions, there must be a counter. Militant in the atheist world means vocal, unapologetic, and willing to challenge the iron dogmatic stance of religion. A militant atheist does not mean that they are willing to harm. They are not terrorists, they are often well educated. Cristopher Hitchens was considered a militant atheist. His willingness to speak out about the abuses of religions, and their self destructive nature made him an enemy to many religious people. Yet talking and writing was as far as his militant went. No one who is a militant has ever flown a plane into a tower, or bombed a church. They have not threatened the UN. No militant has ever committed an act of murder against a religious person.

Atheists are being blamed for the condition the United States is in. Religious leaders are making bold statements about us lacking morals. Going as far as to call atheism a religion, and stating it is dogmatic. Many people believe we have traded no god, for the dogma of “no gods are allowed to be believed in” and this is not the case. Moderate atheists are willing to sit back and yield the blame. They quietly believe that religion will die out on its own and needs no help. Nothing could be further from the truth. Thousands of years of religious violence, including the Holocaust that just happened in the last century, are proof that religion is the fire that needs put out.

It seems no matter how many times atheists go over the facts of what atheism really is that people choose what they want to believe based upon bias, seemingly to support a confirmation bias. Even the moderates are willing to push the “militants” in front of the bus. Groups of moderates are popping up all over to push the idea that atheists should be glad to have come this far, and there is no reason to stand up to religious bullying. In fact, moderates in the atheist camp are quite willing to settle for whatever they get. Even at the price of letting people die, and science suffer. They are willing to watch the steady decline in culture and learning, and ask that everyone settle for the scraps they are given.

In 2011 there was a rise in the amount of attacks on public schools teaching evolution. This has continued to the current year. Tennessee was the first state to pass a law stating that mythical creatures, or religious figures, can be taught side by side in schools. Other states such as Texas have to approve of what the text book says, and have faced controversy because of the desire to remove evolution from the curriculum. It came under such heavy fire that it was scaled back; still it was a harsh blow to science.

When Christopher Hitchens died in 2011 some Christians began cheering and celebrating the death of a very educated man, who had lost the batter with cancer. He had spent many years as a writer for Vanity Fair. The atheist community reeled back in shock at the amount of hate that was thrown around at his death. In fact some Christians had gone so far as to say god had punished him with throat cancer, a payback for speaking out against the belief in god. This is not the kind of society we should be living in. Yet moderates still remained silent, as the world mourned his death, and the loss of a strong atheist debator.

Moderates have made a case for why we need to leave them standing and move forward. In fact they have shined a light on how quickly there is dissent in the ranks of atheism, we are not all united under the same umbrella. They contribute nothing to the fight against militant religious movements. Militant Muslims, who are trying to further Sharia law in the UK go unchallenged by these fearful moderates. They do not stand up against domestic abuse in the Muslim religion. They do not speak out when two boys are brutally beaten to death in the streets. The only thing that can be attributed to moderate atheists is their hindering the progress rational societies, and scientific development. They only stand to challenge atheist who want to see progress in a world corrupted by murderous texts, and maniacal characters.

Progress forward has always been by those with revolutionary ideas and methods. No moderate ever changed the world. Those who boldly stood up and challenged the dogmas, and the central ideologies changed the world. These men and women are remembered in history for some of the greatest discoveries the world has yet seen. If it were left to moderates man would still live in caves and have yet to discover fire. It is through bold strength that we move forward. Though the moderates seek to silence us, we must make them too stand aside. The atheist movement does not just stand for bringing us out of a dogmatic era, but towards a bright future lighted with progress and humanity.

So to the moderates I say, “if you need more clarity, you will be left behind and we will be moving forward. It is only through strength and passion we will have a chance for survival. Humanity needs militant thinkers, and discoverers. So step aside, a new day has dawned.”