Can’t argue with, ‘Live and let live’

Editor:
I wish to respond to James Loughery’s letter of October 23.
I’m surprised that you feel so oppressed living in a Christian based society. The officially atheist ones (former Soviet Union, North Korea) would seem to be much more oppressive. Consider this: persons in power tend to like to keep and increase that power over those they rule in any kind of society. In the “western” countries, that power has been gradually lessened over the last few centuries. This has been attributed to Christianity, which was the first religion to stress the value of the individual as equal across all classes of society. Believing that the lowest commoner was equal to the highest potentate in the eyes of God, a great many people agitated and fought for their rights against oppressive rulers and powerful religious leaders. The result has been the most free societies in the world, with the most opportunity for personal advancement in history, and the richest economies in the world. (You don’t need remind me of all the religious inquisitions and persecutions. People in power, using whatever means to keep power.) Every human rights organization, including womens and gay rights, emerged from Christian based societies.
We are not a Christian country. Most lobbying is done by atheist organizations seeking to overturn “traditional” values. Religious lobbyists are routinely ignored by governments unless they are lobbying for something that happens to be politically correct (gay marriage).
As an atheist, you claim you have to think because you don’t believe in absolute truth. There are only two topics that you would have to think about:
1. Right from wrong. If there is no god, anything goes. This is why we hear statements such as: “Just because it’s wrong for you doesn’t mean it’s wrong for everyone else. Everyone has to decide for themselves what’s right or wrong.” Think about that the next time you hear about an armed robbery. Robbery isn’t wrong for that guy! Religions supply guidlines and rules to live by. Though they are frequently observed more often in the breach than keeping, they do tend to mute the selfishness of the individual and hold him accountable for his actions.
2. How did we/it all get here?Atheism is a belief system as much as any religion. What proof? Darwin thought that future fossil discoveries would provide evidence for evolution. It instead suggests stasis. It shows an increasing diversity and number of species, but each species appears suddenly, exists for millions of years and goes extinct, unchanged. Some of it (cambrian explosion) completely contradicts any evolutionary theory ever postulated. Some of the examples of “evolution in action” contained in biology textbooks are outright frauds (peppered moths, Haeckels embryos etc.) Evolution has been assumed to be true for so long that few atheists bother to actually check it out. There’s no more proof for it, than there is for the existance of a creator, but you’re free to believe it if you wish.
Live and let live, I agree. But the tone of your letter suggests that you would prefer that all those oppressive religious instituions and practices were banned.
Art Betke
562-3465