Pope Francis’ First Encyclical Shows What He Really Believes About Unbelievers

[Rob H.]

In what should come as a surprise to no one....

Excerpt:

Pope Francis’ First Encyclical Shows What He Really Believes About Unbelievers
September 2, 2013 By Sara Lin Wilde

...

But in describing the superiority of a life lived with faith, Francis has revealed some of the common myths about atheism that he’s come to accept over the course of a life spent really obviously having never come into contact with unbelievers. Some of the most common tropes include:

Atheism weakens community ties. For some reason, Francis seems to believe that religious faith is required to “build our societies in such a way that they can journey towards a future of hope” (51). As he sees it, “the light of faith is capable of enhancing the richness of human relations”, while without it “nothing could truly keep men and women united” (51). (Heck of a burden to put on faith, if you ask me.)

Atheists make gods of other things. The basic argument Fracis seems to set forth is that atheists secretly know God exists, but we’re scared he might demand too much sacrifice of us, so we pretend to think he’s not real because we are rebellious and naughty. Then we pick something else to venerate in God’s place, because we can’t just not worship anything, and “before an idol, there is no risk that we will be called to abandon our security” (13). It’s a bit of a pat on the back (at our expense) for the courageous faithful.

...

Atheists have no moral compass. Carrying his ‘faith as light’ metaphor to dizzying heights, Francis argues that in the absence of faith/light, “it is impossible to tell good from evil, or the road to our destination from other roads which take us in endless circles, going nowhere” (3). No one can be good without God because they attribute their good actions to themselves instead of to him, and thus “their lives become futile and their works barren” (19). Essentially the only way to be a good person is by pretending it’s not really you doing good things; it’s God making you do them.

IME, a lot of believers in all the various flavors of religion are proponents of the second and fourth tropes mentioned in the article. (Yes, liberal believers, too.)

The comments are worth reading, as well--okay, the ones from atheists, anyway. Here's one of my favorites (so far)--"Atheists are self-centered? We aren't the ones who believe God created the entire universe just for them."

Full article here.

[Jokerman]

1. Well, I AM rebellious and naughty...

but I never "pretend to think" anything. That sounds like a bit of transference on his part.

That last quote is pure drivel; "No one can be good without God because they attribute their good actions to themselves instead of to him, and thus their lives become futile and their works barren”

Talk about pretzel logic.

[Arugula Latte]

2. Oh, but he washed someone's feet!!!

[trotsky]

3. And lest we forget...

Pope Frank is a beacon of hope! He said he wouldn't judge homosexuals!

Then there's that evil horrible human being Richard Dawkins, who says that religious people are wrong. Oh how some wish he would go the way of the dinosaurs!

Seriously, WTF?!?

[Rob H.]

4. Re: Dawkins, it's a good thing the younger generation of atheists is much less strident

he said, without a single shred of evidence whatsoever to back up his claim. Assertions are the same as truth when it comes to atheists in general and Dawkins in particular, right?

[trotsky]

5. You got it!

What I wish to be true trumps what you tell me is actually true!

[skepticscott]

9. And what I'm declaring Dawkins actually meant

Trumps what he actually said.

Where have we seen that before?

[rexcat]

8. But...

Dawkins is an anti-theist because the self-righteous say so.

[skepticscott]

10. And people think that he's a bigot

Because...well, look at all the people who think he's a bigot.

[AtheistCrusader]

6. He sounds like someone bitter over a broken and shitty marriage.

"without it “nothing could truly keep men and women united” (51)."

13 years together, zero days in a church. Funny, my wife and I get along great.
Love hearing marriage advice from a man that might as well be an eunuch.

[Major Nikon]

7. Pope Francis doesn't seem to be as capable of critical thought as I initially suspected

It's bad enough that he has to claim up is down and down is up to denigrate atheists, but the claim that ethics are impossible without religion is both demonstrably false and completely ridiculous. Furthermore Christianity's record as a moral compass is not exactly stellar. The bible promotes slavery, treating women as property, and demonizing homosexuals. When their moral compass flies in the face of reason based ethics, they simply pull the god card and claim there is no appeal from a mythological arbiter. Even if his claim were true (and it isn't), a road to nowhere is preferable to a road that leads to evil.

[skepticscott]

11. Just wondering

what made you suspect that he was capable of critical thought in the first place? Members of the red hat club don't reason. They craft things that sounds like arguments (but which are really just declarations) that have no chance of leading anywhere but to the unshakeable conclusion they'd started with.

[trotsky]

12. Pope Frank declares that atheists and atheism are a source of evil,

and Dawkins says that Islam is anti-science.

One of them gets heaped with praise for making progress, the other is called a bigot and wished to go the way of the dinosaurs.

Makes perfect sense.

[skepticscott]

13. Not even that Islam is fundamentally anti-science

but that it is now, but used to be exactly the opposite.