NC conservatives seek to remove councilman because his atheist

reply to post by Southern Guardian


So there are four northern constitutional violations versus the south's five. Well isn't that just a huge margin.

Of course if you ask Texans they would say they don't count as a southern state. That is a whole other bowl of worms though.

I think it is funny that you rail against "backwards" southerners. North Carolina is home to Duke University one of the most recognized and acclaimed universities in the world. It is home to the one of the oldest and most acclaimed state university systems in the country. Duke University, UNC Chapel Hill, Wake Med, and several other hospitals here are considered among the best in the country and the world.

The Triangle area has been lauded as one of the top ten places in the country to live since the late nineties. Plus it has been listed as having one of the top ten concentrations of people with postgraduate degrees.

North Carolina was a leader in the civil rights movement with cases of civil protest and resistance. Some cases date back to reconstruction, but became common as early as 1930. Now the Triangle area of North Carolina is considered one of the most racially and economically integrated areas in the country.

Until "outsourcing" became so popular NC was home to major plants and R&D facilities for companies like GE, IBM, and Northern Telecom. GlaxoSmithKline still has one of their main research labs in Durham North Carolina.

We were the first southern state to legalize credit unions in 1915. This helped relieve the burden of farmers targetted by predatory lenders. In 1918 African Americans opened a credit union in Rowan County. By 1950 there were 55 African American owned and operated credit unions in North Carolina. That almost equaled the number in the rest of America.

We've got a few wackos in our state. I will not deny that. What I will deny, is that we are in any way backwards. I suggest you look at the facts about laws, and the history, of many other states before you condenm North Carolina. We have had set backs and misfortunes, but we have a history that proves we are constantly striving to be better human beings, and a better place to call home.

[edit on 16-12-2009 by MikeNice81]

Sooo, having Conservatives attempting to remove someone because they are an Atheist is "wrong", but what about when Atheists attempt to suppress religious views, is that not wrong as well? Atheists seem to be having a field day lately with shoving their own views down everyone elses throats, while attempting to silence anything running in opposition to them. Whether it is wrong or not, this is a bit of "You Reap What You Sow".

I actually have a best friend who is an Atheist, but I have never seen any intolerance from her. I cannot say the same for others though.

Originally posted by Kaytagg

Originally posted by Exuberant1
It is a good way of keeping the communist-types out of government

You mean people like Thomas Jefferson? Yea, that guy sure was an evil communist, and bad for democracy/America.

Too bad we didn't have the conservative religious right back in those days to oust that traitor and his anti-superstitious, non-bible embracing beliefs.

He actually did embrace the Bible, and he kept many religious texts among the most cherished sets of his entire collection. He warned against "Blind Faith", which is what the current problem with Radical Islam is (When a Mullah tells his followers to kill someone, because they are an Infidel, and the people do it without hesitation). In other words, Jefferson never had a problem with Christianity or Religion in general, but he simply reminded people to practice their Faith with Logic, and Reason (This would have also prevented the Salem Witch Trials of 1692).

Originally posted by Southern Guardian
...when you find "that other side to the story" let us know here.

Not sure if this represents "another side," but Cecil Bothwell's personal blog reveals some interesting facts...

Cecil Bothwell's Blog

For example, that he doesn't consider himself an "atheist," per se... Rather, Bothwell has described himself as a "post-theist" — that is to say, he considers the era of theism to be over, essentially, and he prefers the (flawed) notion that Science can explain "virtually every phenomenon" in the world today.

See, Bothwell isn't a "God hater," as are the vast majority of professed atheists.

Bothwell says he has taken some criticism from atheists who object to (or are simply puzzled by) the "post-theist" moniker. Other atheists may be puzzled with Bothwell's endorsement of "The Golden Rule" (Do unto others as you would have them do unto you... a precept endorsed by virtually all of the world's religions, but most popularly associated with Christianity).

Perhaps it's this seeming atheist-lite philosophy that has Bothwell in hot water up in Asheville — that he doesn't stand out as an outspoken atheist so much as an objective journalist.

I mean, perhaps the small minority of conservatives in Asheville were genuinely surprised to discover that Bothwell really is an atheist of some description, because he doesn't align himself with the angry, narrow-minded, caustic atheists with whom most of us are all too familiar.

If he had, perhaps the conservative minority would have more strongly opposed him during the campaign.

— Doc Velocity

Originally posted by Doc Velocity
Mighty peculiar, because Asheville is the most liberal town in the most liberal area of North Carolina. I mean, Asheville is a town where liberals talk liberalism on the street corners, in the art galleries, in the art nouveau cinemas, and in the organic food stores all day long.

* * * * * * *

C'mon, where'd this story come from? What's the real story? Are you telling me that conservatives are trying to run the atheists out of Asheville?

I live just outside of Asheville. Yes, it has a lot of liberals, but it's definitely not in the "most liberal area of North Carolina." That would be the Research Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) in the eastern part of the state.

Western North Carolina is extremely conservative as a whole, even reactionary. It also has a large population of native mountaineers who want nothing to do with any form of government, large or small.

And yes, some people in Asheville want to run all the atheists out of town.

IMO if the guy had gone ahead and sworn on a Bible and not made an issue of it, no one would have been the wiser or wouldn't have cared, but he chose to stand on his principles. That's admirable.

It's embarrassing that people in my home town could be so narrow, but many are.




[edit on 18-12-2009 by Sestias]

Originally posted by TheAgentNineteen
Atheists seem to be having a field day lately with shoving their own views down everyone elses throats

Where does this happen exactly? I can't recall ever seeing any atheist "shove their own views down everyone's throats". That's usually the realm of the theist, but I digress. Seriously, where is this happening?

Originally posted by TheAgentNineteen

Originally posted by Kaytagg

Originally posted by Exuberant1
It is a good way of keeping the communist-types out of government

You mean people like Thomas Jefferson? Yea, that guy sure was an evil communist, and bad for democracy/America.

Too bad we didn't have the conservative religious right back in those days to oust that traitor and his anti-superstitious, non-bible embracing beliefs.

He actually did embrace the Bible, and he kept many religious texts among the most cherished sets of his entire collection. He warned against "Blind Faith", which is what the current problem with Radical Islam is (When a Mullah tells his followers to kill someone, because they are an Infidel, and the people do it without hesitation). In other words, Jefferson never had a problem with Christianity or Religion in general, but he simply reminded people to practice their Faith with Logic, and Reason (This would have also prevented the Salem Witch Trials of 1692).

Blind faith is just a problem for muslims? I thought christians had the same problem? Care to explain how its not blind faith for you when every single other xtian i talk to has to by the end say its just faith? And when its just faith...its blind.

As far as jefferson...

Millions of innocent men, women, and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, and imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch toward uniformity. What has been the effect of coercion? To make one-half the world fools and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and error all over the earth.
-- Thomas Jefferson

History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance of which their civil as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purposes.
-- Thomas Jefferson

Christianity neither is, nor ever was, a part of the common law.
-- Thomas Jefferson

The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.
-- Thomas Jefferson

And then there is this

The Exaltation of a Reasonable Deity:
Thomas Jefferson’s Critique of Christianity
www.iusb.edu...