Does it matter that the Omaha Mall Shooter was an atheist? What does that tell you about atheists/atheism???

Question

CNN and Fox news both reported that Robert Hawkins, the Omaha mall shooter was an atheist, while his family claimed to be "Christians".

Although he was definetely a troubled individual to start with, does it seem like atheism breeds trouble like this?

Would it have been any different even if he had been part of a church? Maybe he could have gone further counseling...???

Does it bother any other Atheists that this happened or that Atheism itself paves the way for such behavior???

Keeping in mind that Theism also breeds it's own kind of problems however... is Atheism partly to blame for this tragedy???

To those who blame the parents...

Mr. Hawkins was a WARD OF THE STATE for MOST of his life... his crappy parents had VERY LITTLE to do with his upbringing...

I like your train of thought consiglieri...!

Answer 1

This is one of the most dishonest 'arguments' I've ever read.

This is anti-atheist propaganda 'disguised' as a set of unsubtle 'leading questions'.

Unless you have any evidence that 'atheism' is to blame for this, then why would infer that?

People should be asking why this kind of thing is so much more common in America than anywhere else in the world.

Answer 2

First of all he was an extremely trouble individual and it was likely caused at least partly by his religious upbringing. The percentage of the mass murderers who are religious believers is almost 100%. He would certainly not be statistical significant. If he was an atheist shooter then he would be an extreme anomoly.

Next, I would want to know what sources Fox and CNN had for such information.

Seeing as he had been in a mental institute 5 years earlier for threatening his stepmother's life, I am much more curious about why America allows mentally unstable people with violent histories to own guns.

Answer 3

You know the Crusades?

They WEREN'T Atheists.

And they killed a hell of a lot more people than that mall shooter.

There are bad people in every religion, or belief system. You won't see many other criminals who are Atheists though.

Hey, how about that mom who chopped off her baby's arms because of a "voice from God?" You think she was an Atheist?

That guy was effing crazy. He was messed up in the brain, and it had nothing to do with whether or not he believed in God. Because if he did, he probably would have done it a LOT sooner.

Answer 4

The fact that troubled people with no moral compass exist as Atheists and Christians doesn't bother me.

When Jim Jones is brought up as an example of how faith based belief causes people to commit atrocious acts, Christians are quick to point out that he was an individual with problems, similar to Robert Hawkins.

The biggest difference between the Hawkins event and the Jim Jones event, is that Hawkins used a Gun to shoot innocent people, where as Jones used faith, to convince them to kill themselves.

Does the Jones Town Massacre bother other Christians after it happened or that faith based belief leads to suicide?

Same question.

Answer 5

no atheism had nothing to do with this. he was a troubled individual. most people who commit murders are usually theists though. very small amounts of atheists go to jail. if he had been part of a church he just would've ended up killing "sinners". i wonder what people would do if they were told of every murderer's religion and that most of the time it's christians. atheism usually leads away from such evil paths.

Answer 6

What a foolish idea even if he was his family probably might have been driven nuts by his family pestering him constantly trying to convert him ! What do you think { did I just ask a christian for logical thought ? } more people are killed by believers everyday than professed atheists and it is justified or at least overlooked . this has been the same throughout history most wars have been over religious differences { that means money and/or power } .
That would explain everything now wouldn't it the state tried to brainwash him and he snapped !!

Answer 7

some time ago i watched a fox programme on you tube about these type of shooters being conditioned by atheism. i did a bit of research and found that the examples they used were either satanists or regular church attenders. re-watching it i noticed they had worded the programme carefully not actually saying the shooters were atheists but saying that atheism/godlessness was the underlying cause. they even had some vox pop priest on there. these accusations are obscurantist and dishonestly motivated by an ideological agenda.

Answer 8

Andrea Yates killed her 5 children 1 at a time because "God told her to do it". She was a christian, dedicated and deeply involved in her church. The woman recently shot her husband who was a minister in the church. As we look through history, christians murdered in the name of their religion, look at the Crusades, the spread of christianity in England with the killing of pagans who didn't convert to christianity, The witch trials in Salem, the abhorrent treatment of the Native American Indians etc.. Maybe the constant pressure to be a part of organized religion which uses guilt and shame to keep it's members in line was the reason he shot those people or maybe he was just another teenager with a troubled life and was despondent. It has nothing to do with atheism. Sop being so narrow minded.

Answer 9

Why would you imagine that atheism 'paves the way for such behavior'? Would you say the same for the 9/11 bombers, or the numerous other theists who have carried out shootings? Did they all do it because of their religious beliefs?

The 9/11 guys did. If this Omaha guy was an atheist, it suggests that he really was nuts, without the excuse of a deity for his behaviour.

But at least he didn't kill 'in the name of atheism' - unlike many suicide bombers in recent times.

CD

Answer 10

Doesn't matter to me. All humans, of whatever delusion or not, are subject to the same tragedies in their lives. So one alleged atheist fell out of the sanity trolley. So did Mark David Chapman and that doesn't mean that all BA Xtians are total loonies.
My wife is a BA Xtian but she's only partly off her noggin.