The religious are already at war with us non-believers. Many of us just haven't noticed because they think that war has to involve overt homicide by trauma. It doesn't. There are many other ways to wage war such as social and economic discrimination and, more importantly, efforts to undermine the marketplace of ideas to deprive your opponent of support--sometimes even in his or her own mind.
I strongly recommend that all non-believers read Machiavelli's "The Prince" and Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" as a starting point for understanding many of the tactics used by the religious. While these are the sorts of works that non-believers typically have no interest in, or are actually repulsed by, you should have no doubt that many religious leaders and "thinkers" have made a thorough study of them and the translation of the principles in them into active, modern strategies.
An essential part of this type of warfare is the use of political and social means to gain control over weapons and supplies just in case overt hostilities become necessary. Anyone who has been keeping up with efforts to fight theocracy in the U.S. military knows that the religious are way ahead of American non-believers on this score.
Take a look at what happened in other countries, such as Chile, Argentina, and Spain. The religious took over the military, then, when they felt they time was right, the country. During that process they murdered as many secularists, suspected secularists, leftists and suspected leftists as they could find. Victims weren't even necessarily true leftists. There were instances where someone was killed merely for having worked as a volunteer in a charity that served the poor. (Ironically, working as a volunteer to help the poor is exactly the sort of thing one would expect Jesus to do if he were alive today. Clearly, modern Christianity has been perverted to serve those who seek money and power and is no longer a source of morality.)
The important point here, however, is to alert non-believers to the fact that believers (many if not most of them) are already at war with us and that we need to be on our guard with them at all times. The war is a "cold war" at the moment. As in all cold wars, the game focuses primarily on politics--gossip and public opinion. In essence, they try to convince as many people as possible that non-believers are bad people. They wish to pressure us into conforming or, failing that, turn us into outcasts.
A very important aspect of this cold, political war is economic. By trying to make us non-believers into outcasts, they are attempting to "kill" us by making it impossible for us to obtain the means of making a living, not to mention the means of reproducing, or, just as important, the means of empowering ourselves.
I think that this effect of economic discrimination sheds light on the affinity so many "Christians" in the U.S. have for right wing politics. After all, removing the social safety net makes the threat of discrimination a deadly one. Of course, naked empowerment is not the only motivation behind the unholy alliance between Christianity and right wing politics. Right wing politics also fits neatly into their anal-retentive, punitive mindset. Regardless of the complexity of their motivations, however, it should not be forgotten that their goal is to get rid of non-believers by one means or another.
I strongly recommend that all non-believers read Machiavelli's "The Prince" and Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" as a starting point for understanding many of the tactics used by the religious. While these are the sorts of works that non-believers typically have no interest in, or are actually repulsed by, you should have no doubt that many religious leaders and "thinkers" have made a thorough study of them and the translation of the principles in them into active, modern strategies.
An essential part of this type of warfare is the use of political and social means to gain control over weapons and supplies just in case overt hostilities become necessary. Anyone who has been keeping up with efforts to fight theocracy in the U.S. military knows that the religious are way ahead of American non-believers on this score.
Take a look at what happened in other countries, such as Chile, Argentina, and Spain. The religious took over the military, then, when they felt they time was right, the country. During that process they murdered as many secularists, suspected secularists, leftists and suspected leftists as they could find. Victims weren't even necessarily true leftists. There were instances where someone was killed merely for having worked as a volunteer in a charity that served the poor. (Ironically, working as a volunteer to help the poor is exactly the sort of thing one would expect Jesus to do if he were alive today. Clearly, modern Christianity has been perverted to serve those who seek money and power and is no longer a source of morality.)
The important point here, however, is to alert non-believers to the fact that believers (many if not most of them) are already at war with us and that we need to be on our guard with them at all times. The war is a "cold war" at the moment. As in all cold wars, the game focuses primarily on politics--gossip and public opinion. In essence, they try to convince as many people as possible that non-believers are bad people. They wish to pressure us into conforming or, failing that, turn us into outcasts.
A very important aspect of this cold, political war is economic. By trying to make us non-believers into outcasts, they are attempting to "kill" us by making it impossible for us to obtain the means of making a living, not to mention the means of reproducing, or, just as important, the means of empowering ourselves.
I think that this effect of economic discrimination sheds light on the affinity so many "Christians" in the U.S. have for right wing politics. After all, removing the social safety net makes the threat of discrimination a deadly one. Of course, naked empowerment is not the only motivation behind the unholy alliance between Christianity and right wing politics. Right wing politics also fits neatly into their anal-retentive, punitive mindset. Regardless of the complexity of their motivations, however, it should not be forgotten that their goal is to get rid of non-believers by one means or another.
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