[MD] The End of Faith - Spirituality

[Arlo Bensinger]

[Platt]
The enlightenment Founding Fathers weren't "neutered" from their religion.

[Arlo]
Actually, this is a great example of how "religion" was neutered by 
secular enlightenment. The secular ideas of "liberty" and "freedom" 
developed by enlightenment philosophers, and influenced by the 
encounter with Native Americans, stands in stark contrast to the 
thousand year rule of "religion" in the west.

It also evidences the time from which "religion" has attempted to lay 
claim to the very philosophies that neutered it. And it just goes to 
show the extreme lengths people go to to proclaim "God is on my 
side", even after secular enlightenment should have freed us from all 
that nonsense.

[Arlo previously]
But your claim was not about the last 100 years. It was about how 
those who advocate "state supremacy" are "atheists". Historically, 
this is far from true. Nor is your "implied" belief that "belief in 
God" keeps man "free from state control", as is proven false by even 
the most cursory of historical reads.

[Platt]
Stalin, Pol Pot, Mao, Stalin, Hitler, Castro et al were God-fearing 
leaders? Yeah, right. 

[Arlo]
I'm not even sure what this is, other than ridiculous distractive 
talk-radio rhetoric. It makes absolutely no sense in reply to what 
I've said. So quick it comes to that.

For how many thousand years did man "believe in God", serve 
"God-fearing leaders", and end up with no rights, no liberty, 
executed at whim, subservient to the Lords, and that's not even 
mentioning the millions slaughtered by "God-fearing leaders" simply 
for not believing in the right god.

No, it is not "belief in God" that has kept man "free from state 
control", much as the post-secular enlightenment apologists may wish 
to distort it.