[ExI] to install

[Stefano Vaj]

On 3 June 2010 16:07, Damien Broderick <thespike at satx.rr.com> wrote:
> On 6/3/2010 8:10 AM, Ben Zaiboc wrote:
>> There's never been a pogrom, crusade or suicide bombing in the name of
>> atheism.
>
> Erm, never heard of the Soviet Union, Ben? China's assaults on woowoo Falun
> Gong? Arguably these were and are in the *name* of atheism, especially in
> the USSR, although actually in the service of unprincipled authoritarian
> power.

It remains the case that speaking of "crusades" in such cases is quite
metaphorical, if indeed possible.

Of course, one can well fight to death for a purely secular cause.

But in fact a communist militant is much more likely to become a
martyr for the liberation of proletarians, for the victory of the
Soviets, for the defence of the party's best interest, than to testify
his or her belief as to the (non-)existence of God. ù

In this sense, the fact that, say, a given  Japanese kamikaze,  a
heroic American marine, or a German gangster might well be a motivated
atheist does not make him a martyr of atheism.

-- 
Stefano Vaj