such as the Inquisition or the Thirty Years War can safely be ascribed to religion--a contention with which I agree--then I suppose at the very least Stalin's various atrocities might with some validity be ascribed to "atheistic directions." My reading of history tells me that Stalin and those around him were very vocal about their atheism--it was indeed a source of some pride to Bolsheviks that they had gone beyond religious delusions and considered themselves to have adopted a purely "scientific" method of interpreting, predicting, and controlling the forces and development of history. And they were absolutely the proximate cause for the atrocities on the communist side that I listed. You don't think this is a valid assertion?
In terms of DU, I think both sides in this seemingly interminable debate here go to extremes. On the theist side, I've seen people who are perhaps less than willing to acknowledge that organized religion, especially when harnessed by the forces of repression and reaction, and used as justification for everything from limiting the autonomy of women to out and out genocide, has been a cause of tremendous harm in the world. On the atheist side I've seen threads that seem quite condescending to people of faith, ascribing to them all manner of ignorance and even, at times, genuine duplicity. Some of those OPs seem to me little more than an attempt to, rhetorically, poke people in the eye for the sake of hearing them say "ouch."
I'm an agnostic, have friends (and presumed enemies) in both camps, so I try not to uselessly antagonize people I might hope would be allies in the larger struggles we face today--safeguarding what's left of our democracy from the very many people who would just as soon do away with it, including right wing religious enablers of Trump, and Trump himself who may or may not consider himself an atheist, but clearly believes in no higher power than his own bloated ego.
I would offer as one place where people of faith and people without faith might come together would be a discussion on practical steps we can take, in the here and now. to build an absolute wall in this nation between church (which of course includes all faiths as well as Christianity) and state. I'd argue that for the first roughly two centuries of the Republic's existence there was an effort to do this--though it wasn't by any means absolute. On the one hand we had government at various levels using faith groups to achieve social ends--such as soup kitchens, programs for unwed mothers (back in the day), orphanages, etc. On the other hand various faith groups injected themselves into politics--on the left people such as Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and increasingly on the right, from Billy Graham down to the Evangelicals supporting Trump today.
How would pushing back on the influence of Evangelicals in particular work? How do we factor in the African American church, which has historically been socially conservative but politically liberal? What goals, in general, can atheists and faith people pursue that brings us to a more just society, in which people are free to worship, or not worship, as they please?
I just don't see how this squabbling back and forth benefits anybody. I doubt any atheist here is going to be converted to any form of deism. Likewise, I doubt any person of faith scrolling through these discussions is going to suddenly abandon their faith by being told how illogical, unscientific, and possibly stupid they are. But then again, it IS a discussion board and people are free to go at this in the manner that feels best to them.
I've been meaning to draft an OP raising some questions and concerns of my own, somewhat related to all this. Rest assured when I do so it'll be at least as wordy and pedantic as this post here.
I'll stop here by reiterating my original point, that seeing the barbarities of Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot reduced to the status of "pathetic excuses" was a more or less visceral shock to me. I was hoping you might have understood that.
Best wishes.
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