so... did closet atheists instigate the Inquisition?

[Ele]

GODLESSNESS and secularism led to Nazism, Stalinism, mass murder and abortion, according to Anthony Fisher, the new bishop of Parramatta (in Sydney, Australia), who has used his inaugural Easter message to launch a scathing attack on atheism, while ignoring the sex abuse scandals besieging the Catholic Church worldwide.
(more here)

Bishops in glass houses shouldn't bash atheists
One can understand hysteria and panic in the besieged Catholic hierarchy inducing this nonsense, but there is no excuse for a church leader to vilify atheists.
Does he really believe that Nazism, identified by the infamous persecution of non-Christians in particular, was a godless doctrine? Does he really believe everyone who rejects the supernatural for lack of evidence harbours a secret desire for mass murder, gulags and maniacs such as Pol Pot and Stalin? His ugly pitch is aimed at ignorant ears with the intention of inciting hate. The bishop needs to take a deep breath and try a novel tack: "Speak the truth and shame the Devil."

Peter Robinson Ainslie (ACT) says:
I await Bishop Fisher's explanation of how the horrors of the Crusades and the Inquisition were instigated by closet atheists. That was a long time ago, but atheists are persistent. They have now infiltrated Judaism and Islam. Results? The Judaic fundamentalists in Israel push for annexation of Palestine, promised to them by God. Muslim fundamentalists gleefully immolate themselves, taking along unwilling scores, hundreds and thousands to meet God. But the real culprits, if the bishop is right, are the closet atheists in their ranks. Very effective agents provocateurs.
=======================================================================================================================================

^ did they leave anything out?

[Feck]

The Roman Catholic Church should stop mentioning Nazis ! They were complicit both in Germany and especially in Italy FFS.

(I would be glad to round them all up and have a nice big trial like Nuremberg !)

[Hermit]

Surely, bishop Anthony Fisher is lying through his teeth. I cannot believe that he is unaware of the following:

Not only were christians in general and catholics in particular well represented as nazi sympathisers, but the pope himself came to a very cozy agreement with Hitler only three months after he became dictator. Among the conditions of the Reichskonkordat in June 1933 was a provision where all catholics were taxed an extra amount, called church tax, which was sent directly to the church. After the collapse of the Third Reich the Vatican was instrumental in facilitating the 'rat lines' that allowed thousands of nazi war criminals to evade justice by fleeing to South America.





Then there is the German Christian Movement, the less of which is said, the better. Suffice it to recall its official badge:



Lastly, this extract from Hitler's speech in Passau, 27 October 1928 (Bundesarchiv Berlin-Zehlendorf):

• We are a people of different faiths, but we are one. Which faith conquers the other is not the question; rather, the question is whether Christianity stands or falls.... We tolerate no one in our ranks who attacks the ideas of Christianity... in fact our movement is Christian. We are filled with a desire for Catholics and Protestants to discover one another in the deep distress of our own people.

The churches were conspicuous in their silence. It was not until Niemoller came along in 1944 that any christians tried to distance themselves from nazism, and even then he was pretty much a lone voice in the desert.

[Epictetus]

One can understand hysteria and panic in the besieged Catholic hierarchy inducing this nonsense, but there is no excuse for a church leader to vilify atheists.
Does he really believe that Nazism, identified by the infamous persecution of non-Christians in particular, was a godless doctrine? Does he really believe everyone who rejects the supernatural for lack of evidence harbours a secret desire for mass murder, gulags and maniacs such as Pol Pot and Stalin? His ugly pitch is aimed at ignorant ears with the intention of inciting hate. The bishop needs to take a deep breath and try a novel tack: "Speak the truth and shame the Devil."

[Bruce Burleson]

The churches were conspicuous in their silence. It was not until Niemoller came along in 1944 that any christians tried to distance themselves from nazism, and even then he was pretty much a lone voice in the desert.

You forgot about Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

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

[Feck]

But that does not apply to "The Holy Roman Church " does it ? it was never suggested that All theists are Nazi's or even that all Germans were ,it was noted that the Catholic Church should Shut the fuck up about anti-Semitism ! and they should !The comments made were totally distasteful .

[Bruce Burleson]

But that does not apply to "The Holy Roman Church " does it ? it was never suggested that All theists are Nazi's or even that all Germans were ,it was noted that the Catholic Church should Shut the fuck up about anti-Semitism ! and they should !The comments made were totally distasteful .

No disagreement with that.

[Feck]

But that does not apply to "The Holy Roman Church " does it ? it was never suggested that All theists are Nazi's or even that all Germans were ,it was noted that the Catholic Church should Shut the fuck up about anti-Semitism ! and they should !The comments made were totally distasteful .

No disagreement with that.

You know Bruce I'm going to get worried about my opinions if you start agreeing with me

[Bruce Burleson]

You know Bruce I'm going to get worried about my opinions if you start agreeing with me

I'm truly sorry. I've got a few reactionary fundamentalisms reserved for later - you can disagree vociferously with those and regain your stature.

[Feck]

You know Bruce I'm going to get worried about my opinions if you start agreeing with me

I'm truly sorry. I've got a few reactionary fundamentalisms reserved for later - you can disagree vociferously with those and regain your stature.

[Xamonas Chegwé]

You know Bruce I'm going to get worried about my opinions if you start agreeing with me

I'm truly sorry. I've got a few reactionary fundamentalisms reserved for later - you can disagree vociferously with those and regain your stature.

Cats and dogs living together! It's just not natural!!

[Hermit]

The churches were conspicuous in their silence. It was not until Niemoller came along in 1944 that any christians tried to distance themselves from nazism, and even then he was pretty much a lone voice in the desert.

You forgot about Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

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

Actually, I have not. Refer to highlighted text. When all is said and done, the churches were conspicuous in their silence. The RCC wasn't the only one, but it was actually the most notable collaborator of nazism among them, extending beyond the point of the fall of the Third Reich. By blaming Hitler on godlessness - and presuming that the catholic bishop Anthony Fisher is a well educated person which would include a fairly comprehensive knowledge of his denomination's history, I think he is no more than a brazen, fucking liar, to the point that he makes the average politician look virtuous.

[SPMaximus]

The atheists that have infiltrated the catholic church and started having sex with children are among the worst kind