Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Church and State and Fear

Christianity is based on hope, not fear. But let's leave that to one side. Any organization based on a belief system only, and not on the use of force or threats of force, requires your consent for it to have any sway over you. Such an organization is perfectly consistent with the NAP. 

Governments understand this principle full well, even if it eludes our most brilliant anarchists. That's why governments don't limit themselves to "exploiting" people's hopes or fears. Governments employ force and threats of force. 

That's why Obama employs the IRS and armed agents to enforce the tax laws. He knows merely threatening us with hell-fire will only work if we (1) believe in the existence of hell-fire and (2) believe he has a way to enable us to avoid that fate. In other words, Obama knows if he were limited to the "fear tactics" of a mere church, the overwhelming majority of us would stop paying taxes and laugh all the way to the gold dealer.

Monday, August 29, 2016

No Indoctrinated Atheists?

Rabid anti-theist Madlyn Murray O’Hair had two sons, Jon Garth Murray and William J. Murray, both conceived out of wedlock and sired by different men. The older son, William, converted to evangelical Christianity in his 30s.
When she learned of his apostasy, O’Hair said, “One could call this a postnatal abortion on the part of a mother, I guess. I repudiate him entirely and completely for now and all times … he is beyond human forgiveness.”
I have to ask. Which of O'Hair's sons was "indoctrinated"?

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Is Talking About Hell "Coercion"?

A crank on a soapbox in a park preaches to anybody who cares to listen. "If you step on sidewalk cracks," he solemnly intones, "you will go to hell." Remarkably, he develops a following.
You are aghast. You believe any talk of hell is "coercion."
What do you propose to do about this situation? Do you shoot the crank? If he initiates force, you have the right to defend yourself, don't you? Or is talk of hell just talk? The crank is protected by the First Amendment, isn't he?