Unless the guy committed the crimes because he was an atheist, it’s pretty low to highlight this “atheism book” and not-so-subtly imply this link.

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Isn’t listing “demons” and “atheism” is the same sentence an oxymoron?  Atheists, although one I am not, do not believe in the existence of demons. Therefore the author of this article lost me in the first sentence.

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@Katie

Yes, its a misconception about atheists. Many people think that atheist are evil and think that demons/satanists are evil. So they just put atheists in the same category of evilness despite atheists thinking that demons are just as made up as gods. I think it goes along with atheists being the most mistrusted (misunderstood) minority in the US.

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I doubt that many readers will make a connection between demons and atheists. Rather, if the books were titled “Murder” and “Constructive Tax Evasion” the connection would be more clear: they are “bad things.”  To the Christian right, that label would hold true of the books in the article.

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This is Dallas, TX folks. People here in the media put the two together because they know it will boost circulation. Most folks will read that title and knowingly nod. “Those atheist/devil worshipers are burning our churches.” An atheist devil worshiper is not an oxymoron to a moron. If the kid had had a bunch of baptist or methodist books in his house it wouldn’t have been mentioned.

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Ooh, check this out: another of the suspects was discovered to have a BIBLE in his home!

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/02/atheism_book_found_in_home_lin.php

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What they really found were history books.

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