Is Communism Synonymous With Atheism?

[Foster Zygote]

In case you mean that there is "no degree of similarity" between atheism and communism, why don't you finish eating what was served and explain how the communal ownership of property justifies cancelling religious holidays.

One more point: The suppression of religion is not an intrinsic property of atheism.

 

[Rosencrantz]

Communism is just a red herring.

 

[westprog]

One more point: The suppression of religion is not an intrinsic property of atheism.

It shouldn't be an intrinsic property of Marxism either, but in practice it seems to be inevitably associated with it.

 

[elbe]

THEISM is to GOD as ATHEISM is to ?

Me an my accursed logic feel that the proper answer to that would be "no god" as "a" is a privative a negating, or noting an absence of, "theism". So to make the analogy you'd have to negate or note the absence of "god", hence:

Theism:God::Atheism:No god

 

[Ron_Tomkins]

Any Political Ideology is certainly much closer to a Religion than a lack of belief in Gods.

 

[epix]

One more point: The suppression of religion is not an intrinsic property of atheism.

Would you please include the Book, the Chapter and the Verse?

 

[epix]

Me an my accursed logic feel that the proper answer to that would be "no god" as "a" is a privative a negating, or noting an absence of, "theism". So to make the analogy you'd have to negate or note the absence of "god", hence:

Theism:God::Atheism:No god

You got a typo there -- a missing "o".

 

[epix]

It doesn't. It's very simple, very simple, so I'm sure that you can grasp it if you really try: The Marxist Communists repressed religion because they didn't want any rivals to their authority.

Did the Nazis do the same? Is the cancelling of religious holidays the necessary instrumental part of power grabbing through repression?

 

[epix]

Originally Posted by epix
Since synonyms are words with a similar meaning, the conclusion is that no similarity exists between both philosophies.

Except that synonyms are not "words with a similar meaning".

Synonym

n.

1. A word having the same or nearly the same meaning as another word or other words in a language.
2. A word or an expression that serves as a figurative or symbolic substitute for another.

We can therefore conclude that communism is neither the same, nor nearly the same, as atheism, but cannot conclude that there are no points of similarity or commonality between them.

Since your definition of the word "synonym" is not the same as the generally agreed definition, I can only conclude that the language you're speaking is not in fact the same language the rest of us are speaking. This explains why nothing you say makes any sense.


Dave

Well, I'm sorry to read about your limitations, but if the straight line can't do the job, perhaps a curve can.

There is no point in arguing with the linguists, unless one is a linguist as well. Once a definition appears in the dictionary, such as "Merriam Webster," it should be accepted. Surely, some folks may ask why is it so that there are so many synonyms when these words are virtually identical to each other. Just one word would do, right?

The answer is that they are used as defining terms. For example here is this question: Who are atheists?

If there were no virtually identical synonyms, the answer would be that atheists are people who are atheists, which is an answer that doesn't explain anything.

Here is a brief demonstration of the usage of synonyms, which are words identical or nearly identical to each other by definition. We explain the meaning of the word ATHEIST with the help of synonyms chosen by expert linguists:
http://thesaurus.com/browse/atheist

Main Entry: atheist

Synonyms: agnostic, free thinker, heathen, infidel, irreligionist, pagan, skeptic

So let's chose one of those virtually identical synonyms, such as PAGAN and explain that atheists are pagans, or

ATHEIST = PAGAN

But what if the curious person doesn't know what "pagan" exactly means?

No problem. We can find another virtually identical synonym to "pagan" and hope that it would clarify the matter.

Main Entry: pagan

Synonyms: agnostic, atheist, doubter, freethinker, heathen, heretic, iconoclast, idolater, idolist, infidel, paganist, pantheist, polytheist, scoffer, skeptic, unbeliever

By choosing another virtually identical synonym IDOLATER from the list, we can extend the synonym connection to

ATHEIST = PAGAN = IDOLATER

and with the help of a dictionary definition of "idolater," we can explain the meaning of the word "atheist":
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idolater

Definition of IDOLATER
1
: a worshiper of idols
2
: a person that admires intensely and often blindly one that is not usually a subject of worship

(Say, Dave, whom do you worship? Richard Dawkins? Oh, yeah? Well, he seems to be a very popular pagan god.)

Pagans are often referred to as BARBARIANS
http://mccabism.blogspot.com/2008_07_01_archive.html

After the Roman Empire was converted to Christianity, it fell into decline, and the Western Roman Empire was overcome by the pagan barbarians.

So are the communists.
http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2006/11/senchairman-martinez-protests.html

And look at how the barbarian Communists mistreat the detainees in their custody:

Through the linguistic definition of synonyms ATHEISTS = PAGANS, and through the common usage PAGANS=BARBARIANS=COMMUNISTS, we can safely extend to

ATHEISTS = PAGANS = BARBARIANS = COMMUNISTS

and the proof that ATHEISM = COMMUNISM is complete. Only the religious dogma of atheism can reject the near identity.

 

[Andrew Wiggin]

If communism means the same thing as athiesm, there exist no communists that are not athiests. A single communist who is not an athiest falsifies the premise. Just off the top of my head, I present the methernithan commune in switzerland as a counterexample, as its members are both communist and christian. It is organized along communist principles, founded on a desire to live according to the bible, and as if that wasn't enough woo, supposedly is off the grid and powered by a wheel turned by zero point energy, magnets, or some such thermodynamic nonsense.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methernitha

 

[Dave Rogers]

A quick look at http://thesaurus.com shows no synonyms for deist or theist. We can therefore conclude, from the same line of attack taken by Epix above, that all religion is meaningless.

Dave

 

[Dave Rogers]

Through the linguistic definition of synonyms ATHEISTS = PAGANS, and through the common usage PAGANS=BARBARIANS=COMMUNISTS, we can safely extend to

ATHEISTS = PAGANS = BARBARIANS = COMMUNISTS

and the proof that ATHEISM = COMMUNISM is complete. Only the religious dogma of atheism can reject the near identity.

Hey, I know what. Let's play stupid, meaningless thesaurus games.

Christian, for example, has, among its synonyms, upright, square, straight, and upstanding.
Square has, among its synonyms, impersonal.
Impersonal takes us to inhuman.
Inhuman to devilish.
And, finally, devilish to evil.

CHRISTIAN = SQUARE = IMPERSONAL = INHUMAN = DEVILISH = EVIL

and the proof that CHRISTIAN = EVIL is complete. Only the religious dogma of... well, I think you can fill in the rest.

Dave

 

[Foster Zygote]

Any Political Ideology is certainly much closer to a Religion than a lack of belief in Gods.

One need only look as far as North Korea to confirm this.

 

[Foster Zygote]

Did the Nazis do the same?

Religious representatives who opposed or even criticized Nazi authority were brutally suppressed.

Is the cancelling of religious holidays the necessary instrumental part of power grabbing through repression?

No. There are many different ways in which totalitarianism can be implemented. Look at Iraq: Saddam Hussein pretended to be a devout Muslim while at the same time closely monitoring Muslim clerics for the slightest sign of dissent. Such clerics were dealt with swiftly and harshly.

 

[Foster Zygote]

Would you please include the Book, the Chapter and the Verse?

There is no book.

 

[Foster Zygote]

Well, I'm sorry to read about your limitations, but if the straight line can't do the job, perhaps a curve can.

There is no point in arguing with the linguists, unless one is a linguist as well. Once a definition appears in the dictionary, such as "Merriam Webster," it should be accepted. Surely, some folks may ask why is it so that there are so many synonyms when these words are virtually identical to each other. Just one word would do, right?

The answer is that they are used as defining terms. For example here is this question: Who are atheists?

If there were no virtually identical synonyms, the answer would be that atheists are people who are atheists, which is an answer that doesn't explain anything.

Here is a brief demonstration of the usage of synonyms, which are words identical or nearly identical to each other by definition. We explain the meaning of the word ATHEIST with the help of synonyms chosen by expert linguists:
http://thesaurus.com/browse/atheist


So let's chose one of those virtually identical synonyms, such as PAGAN and explain that atheists are pagans, or

ATHEIST = PAGAN

But what if the curious person doesn't know what "pagan" exactly means?

No problem. We can find another virtually identical synonym to "pagan" and hope that it would clarify the matter.



By choosing another virtually identical synonym IDOLATER from the list, we can extend the synonym connection to

ATHEIST = PAGAN = IDOLATER

and with the help of a dictionary definition of "idolater," we can explain the meaning of the word "atheist":
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idolater



(Say, Dave, whom do you worship? Richard Dawkins? Oh, yeah? Well, he seems to be a very popular pagan god.)

Pagans are often referred to as BARBARIANS
http://mccabism.blogspot.com/2008_07_01_archive.html



So are the communists.
http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2006/11/senchairman-martinez-protests.html



Through the linguistic definition of synonyms ATHEISTS = PAGANS, and through the common usage PAGANS=BARBARIANS=COMMUNISTS, we can safely extend to

ATHEISTS = PAGANS = BARBARIANS = COMMUNISTS

and the proof that ATHEISM = COMMUNISM is complete. Only the religious dogma of atheism can reject the near identity.

It burns!

 

[joobz]

ATHEISTS = PAGANS = BARBARIANS = COMMUNISTS

Well, the only thing you have proven is that you do not know what the "equal sign" means.

 

[elbe]

You got a typo there -- a missing "o".

Hey, I did actually make a type. I mistyped "and" as "an", silly me.

 

[Achán hiNidráne]

Communism is just a red herring.

Well, to make a long story short...

 

[Cainkane1]

The magazine "Soviet Life" used to say you had to be an atheist to be a communist but I believe the magazine may be out of print. Correct me if I'm wrong.