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Atheists 'not fully human', says Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor

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Can't add much that hasn't been said, but yes, this is deeply offensive and would probably lead to massive media outrage if applied against any other group of people.

 

Try 'homosexuals are not fully human'; 'women are not fully human'; 'black people are not fully human'.

 

The only defense against there not being such an outcry is perhaps that atheists may not be quite so touchy, having not been particularly discriminated against in living memory.

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I think I'm fully human and I have no need for supernatural deities who will reward me if I'm good and punish me if I'm bad, but thats my opinion I could be wrong

 

I think he's deluded and if he had any real power and authority possibly dangerous but he hasn't so I'm not worried, but thats my opinion as well I could be wrong again

 

see the thing is I admit I could be wrong but I'd need strong evidence to convince me that I was

 

this guy will not admit he could be wrong because that goes against the idea of faith, in this one thing he is absolute and unshakeable

 

which viewpoint is more reasonable, the one that can be swayed by evidence or the one that is cast in stone

 

I have been compared to a "beast of the field" before, to which my usual response is "flock off back to your shepherd if you are so much better than me" usually the irony seems to escape the person making the initial comparison though

Edited by esme

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As an atheist myself I feel as though I should be outraged by his comments but strangely I am not, because although I disagree with his personal theist beliefs, I totally understand what he means by 'searching for transendent meaning'.

 

He is wrong in what he says though, as with myself being proof, you don't have to believe in a magical god in order to be a spiritual person. For him to generalise against all atheists just because they don't believe in his particular view of god and heaven is extremely misguided.

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But surely, to be human is to embrace our primal desires, emotions and instincts, not deny them like religion teaches?

 

Humans are animals with the same urges etc. By denying them, does that not make us less human?

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I bet this numpty is flogging himself rotten for not being around to join in the magic and wonder of the Inquisition, the Witch Hunts nor the burning of Joan deArc.

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So if I was to say "in my view Jews are not fully human" or "I believe that Catholics are not fully human" you wouldn't think I was denying the humanity of Jews or Catholics?

 

I wouldn't no. I'd see it as the views of a close-minded person, a bit like what was said by the Cardinal himself

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It doesn't interest me one bit what this guy thinks about atheists - why should it bother any convinced atheist ?

 

Normally I would agree, but it's quite possible that this guy is about to be offered a seat in the House Of Lords:

 

http://www.secularism.org.uk/murphy-oconnor-will-bring-the-ho1.html

 

Please sign the Number 10 petition calling on the Prime Minister not to award Murphy O’Connor a peerage

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:huh: When did I claim or even imply that double standards are in anyway unique or confined to how theists and atheists are judged?

 

You didn't explicitly state it was confined to athiests/theists, however you did state, "what I regard as the huge double standard in our society when it comes to judging the behaviour and speech of theists and atheists".

 

Just seems a mute discussion. Double standards are everywhere, why pick out this particular subject to highlight double standards?

 

That's all.

I'm outta here before I get drawn into yet another atheist/theist argument ;)

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"I have reached the conclusion that the world is an enigma, a harmless enigma made terrible only by our own mad attempts to interpret it as though it has some underlying truth"

People who have deep seated and strong beliefs about their various gods and who see themselves as "The chosen people" because of their beliefs cause more trouble in our world, no matter which persuasion they are from, than any other group of what I would consider to be normal people that I have come across.

"Some people are so poor that god cannot appear to them other than in the form of bread".....Mother Therasa......They are less than human because they happen to be born in the wrong part of the world?

Edited by Phil Anthrop

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Being a lapsed Catholic myself I find his views atrocious. I find all Atheists very intelligent people, unlike the Cardinal himself !!!.:rolleyes:

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Being a lapsed Catholic myself I find his views atrocious. I find all Atheists very intelligent people, unlike the Cardinal himself !!!.:rolleyes:

 

 

In general I am suspicious of old men who wear frocks.

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Atheists aren't human hey?

 

I'm up for that - being 'human' ain't exactly the noblest thing to be these days!

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