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Realists Challenge Other Religions to Oppose Torture |
Edict Date: 09-23-2006
The Church of Reality today challenges other religions to issue strong statements that they oppose torture. We in the Church of Reality consider torture to be universally wrong. Torture is the tool of the barbarian. It is what primitive barbaric societies and primitive barbaric religions support. Torture is an evil practice. Torture is inhumane. Torture is immoral.
The first of the Sacred Principles of the Church of Reality is the Principle of Positive Evolution. This principle which commits us to strive to become a better society forms the basis for our moral direction. It is our moral compass for determining right from wrong. It separates good from evil from the human perspective. It reflects our commitment to making tomorrow better than today and leaving a better world for each new generation.
Torture is a crime against humanity. Anyone who advocates the use of torture is a criminal. Criminals must be driven from power.
The Principle of Compassion and the Principle of Respect teach us to personalize our acts upon others in the context of what we would want them to do to us. It is equivalent to the "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you" that is part of most all religions. Our Principle of Wisdom compels us to look at the big picture and our Principle of Personal Responsibility compels us to take responsibility for our actions, which includes the actions of the groups and nation states which we are a part of. Our Principle of Inclusiveness lets us view everyone as one of us and our Principle of Justice prevents us from treating others in a barbaric manner.
Our Principle of Activism does not allow us to stand by and do nothing while the most powerful nation on the planet follows the path of Nazi Germany where millions were herded into concentration camps and exterminated. After World War II the human race vowed to never forget and to never allow that to happen again. We in the Church of Reality recognize that vow and we hereby incorporate that into the soul of our church. We will not allow the United States to legalize a network of secret torture camps in foreign countries that allow torture to become acceptable in any manner and we hereby commit ourselves to the task of opposing it using any means necessary to prevent another holocaust.
We are a small church with a small voice so we hereby challenge the leadership of other religions and other faiths to join in the universal condemnation of torture and to rise up against it in a manner that cannot be ignored. Any politician advocating torture must be driven from office and prosecuted for crimes against the human race. We need help. So we issue this challenge.
We in the Church of Reality are Atheists, yet we have figured out that torture is wrong and we consider the morality of that position to be obvious. Most of the rest of you believe in some sort of God who inspires you, who you claim to have a personal relationship with, and who speaks to your heart. Most of you claim that your God is the basis of your moral fabric and that he defines right and wrong and knows good and evil.
If Atheists can figure out that torture is wrong then why can't Theists figure it out? Do Atheists have a superior moral compass that Believers?
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Surely Christians can understand
that this has to be wrong.
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If God exists and Theists are right, then Theists should have a stronger and more accurate sense of morality than Atheists do. Therefore what is morally obvious to us should also be morally obvious to you and your deity. If your God isn't opposed to torture then your God is neither wise nor powerful. If your God gets it and you really do have a personal relationship with your God, then perhaps your God is saying to you the same thing we are saying. In fact, for all we know, your God might be using us Realists to send a spiritual message to you through us. After all, God works in mysterious ways. What would be more mysterious than speaking through Atheists?
One of the reasons we Realists don't believe in God is that we seem to have a superior sense of morality than Theists do. This is an example of our superior discernment. Why do Atheists get it on the torture issue and Theists don't? Perhaps it's because your deity is fiction. However, we want to give you all the chance to prove us wrong. So why don't you all pray about this and let us know what you come up with.
The Church of Reality asks all other faiths to join it and issue edicts or decrees against the use of torture.
We need you to help us say no to torture. We ask you to lend your voice and perhaps the voice of God to fighting against the legalization of torture. Are you willing to decree that torture should not become legal? (Yes - this is a thinly veiled attempt to goad you into opposing torture.)
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