by John Yadollahi

Created on: August 21, 2008   Last Updated: August 25, 2008

As with any hot-button issue, the Atheism/Theism debate is inclined to slants of every direction under the Sun - or Heaven, wherever one's loyalties might lie.

Misconceptions and blind faith have proven to weaken potentially strong arguments for both sides of the debate. One point that cannot be contested, however, is the fervent difference between Atheism and anti-theism. Just as a Protestant distances himself from Born-Agains, the skeptic can find repugnance in the overtly anti-establishment Atheist.

Atheism is quite simply the lack of belief in a god or gods, as strictly defined by strongatheism.net, a leading community for the anti-theism movement which works strongly towards a societal revolution on views pertaining to religion. The prefix and root of the word Atheism make its meaning even more clear cut: 'a' meaning 'without','theism' meaning 'the trust in a deity or deities'. The category of Atheists is so broad, that it is truly illogical to presume every nonbeliever shares in a decidedly unabashed pool of disdain for religion; yet that is not to say that the archetype Atheist will be donating to the Archdiocese anytime soon, but nevertheless, the group does get a pretty bad rap.

What defining characteristic of the Atheist makes him such a menacing figure? To answer that question, we must delve into the stale, oxidized pages of theological history, where we will find ourselves in a much different place than where our society sits today.

Let us go way back, to a time when the church was the final word and its rule spanned all the land. Men killed and died by their beliefs and found no err in enforcing their agendas on anyone around, just as God laid his heavy hand on every facet of their lives. This era - the Dark Ages - was home to some of the most atrocious acts on humans ever suffered at the hands of another.

To the misguided thinker, a time where the government, policing of states, and everyday commonalities were under the discerning eye and strict jurisdiction of the church would be the most peaceful of epochs, but factoring in the tried and true fact that absolute power corrupts absolutely, we come to a lapse in that perfection.

When control is held through fear, those that resist trepidation seem uninhibited and become dangers to society. Such was the case with the feared Atheist of the time. Because he could not be chained by the divine bonds of God, he was thought to be a menace to society, and thus listed as an outcast, a danger, and worst of all,

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