Intolerant Atheists Retaliate Against Christian Billboards

Originally posted by FortAnthem
All the time, I see different groups attacking Christians using the pejorative label "Intolerant". It seem to be the favorite insult of choice for Christian-bashers at the moment.

Christians bash everyone else too. Its not just atheists, you guys think Jews, Muslims and even Hindus are all following a non existant god

Your obviously one of the deluded Christians who think there is nothing wrong with your religion. The only intolerance I see here is your decision to change the title to reflect you own personal opinion, in order to attack atheists.

Typical subtle fundamentalism

reply to post by DeathShield


I'd hate to see what they'd call actively caring then.

reply to post by Bunken Drum


Ah, so that massively silly outburst is because you didn't get the attention you feel you deserved..... Rather childish don't you think?

reply to post by FortAnthem


1st amendment of the US constitution:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

It seems to me that this atheist organisation have been nothing but constitutionally responsible by waging this campaign. I would not call it a typical atheists versus fundies tit-for-tat battle in this instance. All right-minded people, be they religious or atheist, should be against any campaign to integrate church and state. The West decries the Arab world for allowing Islam to dominate all aspects of life there, and rightly so. If these ludicrous crusades to church-ify government aren't nipped in the bud 'tout de suite' then it's only a matter of time before we're all living in a Christian caliphate.

Originally posted by FortAnthem
What struck me about this article was the way Atheists seem to be taking over the tactics traditionally used by religious to evangelize others to a particular faith.

I've never seen an atheist try to brainwash a 4-year-old like this...



(hope that worked, never embedded video here before!)

reply to post by concernedcitizan

Much like the neo-Nazis with their fear of non-whites, and Christians with their fear of death, the radical atheists are essentially a negative movement which only tries to eliminate a problem, without offering a genuine solution.

I think you'll find that in this case eliminating the problem is the solution...

reply to post by sotp


Ah, fighting a breach of constitution by attempting to spread your belief is justifiable hm? Considering they don't even address the originals.....

That show "Wife Swap" shows an example of an atheist brainwashing her children but either way just because it doesn't get shown on TV doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

Welcome to being no better than how you percieve those you condemn to be with that last comment...

reply to post by sotp


I get what you are saying and to an extent agree with you...but...Do you honestly think atheists would raise their children to belive in a god or to merely be skeptical?

Personally i would not think that at all. When you are talking about something as powerful as religious ideology (or the lack thereof that some atheists claim to have)it would be abnormal for any parent to not teach their kid to think the way they do. For example how often do you see or hear of christian parents tossing their kids a copy of Anton Levays satanic bible, The Quran and the complete Norse Eddas and Sagas? My personal observation and experiences in a christian society tell me that such things are rare. Personally i am raising my kid as a jew, but i want to make it clear to him that should he not believe for any reason he will still be loved and i won't admonish him for it.

Meanwhile an atheist parent will make quips about how religion is for weakminded people or how the bible is Faerie tales and other acerbic generalizations of religious people. Naturally the child will be ashamed for even contemplating disagreement with the parents (and by extension other people like then) because of a fear of rejection. This happens in any situation where the persons immeadiate status-quo is challenged.

In reality this is no different then telling a child they are going to hell because they masturbated or smoked pot. Indoctrination of children is going to occure regardless of the subject. You see kids being raised to be republican or democrat, to be football players or lawyers. Why would Atheism be any different?


So maybe it does not occur in the same sense that religious indoctrination occurs. But at the end of the day, both use fear and shame in order to excersise control over people, and ultimately stifle free thought.

reply to post by SyphonX


The first ammendment does NOT guarantee or establish a seperation of church and state. Go ahead, re-read it, where does it say " a seperation of church and state?" Nowhere. All it guarantees is a freedom of religion, it says absolutely nothing about keeping religion from influencing the government.

the whole seperation of church and state argument stems from Thomas jefferson ( and is used by atheists to somehow prove that jefferson was an atheist who wanted freedom from religion and a secular government)


The statement about a wall of separation between church and state was made in a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association of Connecticut. The congregation heard a widespread rumor that the Congregationalists, another denomination, were to become the national religion. This was very alarming to people who knew about religious persecution in England by the state established church. Jefferson made it clear in his letter to the Danbury Congregation that the separation was to be that government would not establish a national religion or dictate to men how to worship God. Jefferson was talking about the State government NOT the Federal government in his letter.

Legally they can not establish any laws about religion. They can't make it illegal to teach religion, they can't actively suppress it either. So for example demanding that a biology class teaches purely non-scientific creationism ( as opposed to theistic evolution) as well as Secular-naturalist evolution ( for the purpose of shunning religion. Both violate the constitution. the first because it is a state sanction of a religious ideology and the second because it sanctions the shunning of a religious ideology. Now ideally the teaching of evolution does not refute religion or favor a disbelief in god, but because it is used as a justification for said refutations it inadvertantly becomes a factor in religion centered debate.

A secular government is needed in order to promote and harbor religious freedom. This is why when atheists insist that the government prohibits the teaching of religions in schools or a taxation on church properties we get up in arms. Because the government is tryin to excersise control in matters it has no business controlling.


I don't want the government telling me it is unlawful to be christian and to teach people about it. And i sure as hell don't want them telling me that i have to believe in a god and teach people about it.




[edit on 18-2-2010 by DeathShield]

reply to post by woodwardjnr


But that statement proves that you are not tolerant at all to people of differing beliefs. You just Accused religious

Originally posted by woodwardjnr
what is it with you religious folks?, it's not like most of us havn't had religion forced on us from an early age.

Because the point isn't to force religion down your throats. Explain to me something. IF christians are "shoving religion down your throat" Then why is it that in a pref-dominantly christian society there is no state religion. No laws that demand things be done in according to scripture (for example all slaughterhouses would have to be Kosher) and is on the fore-front of Scientific discovery. If religion has such a strong hold then why do we even have a heliocentric model?

Why are you so bothered what a bunch of atheists do? are you all starting to question how your Christian beliefs no longer chime so true in the 21st centuary, where you feel you have to make you beliefs fit in a world in which they no longer belong.

Because you freak out when christians create billboards and accuse them of shoving things down your throat. So what do you do ? You do the same exact thing you were admonishing christians for. The hypocrisy is rampant. As far as beliefs not fitting in you obviously have a blanket preconception on what christians actually believe.

I say atheists need to be more vocal, to help counter balance the religious dominance in our societies. If this makes me intolerant then so be it.

I'll just be thankful that I am tolerant to all creeds and colours and sexualities, the same of which can not be said for religion.

But that statement proves that you (and by extension atheists) are not tolerant at all to people of differing creeds. You just Accused religious people of being intolerant. That is a generalization, and generalizations lead to prejudice which leads to intolerance. The abolitionist movement was founded by christians. There are christian and jewish churches that perform religious ceremonies for gay and lesbian marriages. They even offer religious compassion for transgendered people and believe that god shows the same compassion and love. I myself am friends with Muslims, atheists, Pagans/witches, and members of other christian denominations. I'm even writing a book that attempts to build bridges between believers and non-believers because quite frankly there are many christians out there who are sick of this petty bickering over who is right or wrong. It doesn't matter who is right. At the end of the day we are all gods children no matter color, creed or sexuality, for us to treat eachother as anything else is to directly spit in the face of god.

Discrimination against atheists is perfectly legal in America. Heathens, non-believers, infidels or whatever slanderous name is popular this week have been persecuted throughout history by all major faiths. It's not a fair fight and I have little sympathy for religious nuts who use the legal injustice system to defend their zealotry.

reply to post by Crito


But it is perfectly OK when Atheists do it right? I'm not disagreeing with your statement 100% mind you. A lot of bad and flat out unfair things have happened in our world where religion was used as a justification. But by no means are non-believers oppressed. Last time i checked there is no law stating you have to believe in a god. I'm sorry but where are these court cases that actively suppress ones right to disbelieve? The Scopes Monkey trial? Kansas putting a sticker inside of a text book? Neither of those have suppressed the teaching of evolution or the positing of a godless universe. What else is there?

Originally posted by DeathShield
reply to post by woodwardjnr

 

But that statement proves that you are not tolerant at all to people of differing beliefs. You just Accused religious

Originally posted by woodwardjnr
what is it with you religious folks?, it's not like most of us havn't had religion forced on us from an early age.

Because the point isn't to force religion down your throats. Explain to me something. IF christians are "shoving religion down your throat" Then why is it that in a pref-dominantly christian society there is no state religion. No laws that demand things be done in according to scripture (for example all slaughterhouses would have to be Kosher) and is on the fore-front of Scientific discovery. If religion has such a strong hold then why do we even have a heliocentric model?

Why are you so bothered what a bunch of atheists do? are you all starting to question how your Christian beliefs no longer chime so true in the 21st centuary, where you feel you have to make you beliefs fit in a world in which they no longer belong.

Because you freak out when christians create billboards and accuse them of shoving things down your throat. So what do you do ? You do the same exact thing you were admonishing christians for. The hypocrisy is rampant. As far as beliefs not fitting in you obviously have a blanket preconception on what christians actually believe.

I say atheists need to be more vocal, to help counter balance the religious dominance in our societies. If this makes me intolerant then so be it.

I'll just be thankful that I am tolerant to all creeds and colours and sexualities, the same of which can not be said for religion.

But that statement proves that you (and by extension atheists) are not tolerant at all to people of differing creeds. You just Accused religious people of being intolerant. That is a generalization, and generalizations lead to prejudice which leads to intolerance. The abolitionist movement was founded by christians. There are christian and jewish churches that perform religious ceremonies for gay and lesbian marriages. They even offer religious compassion for transgendered people and believe that god shows the same compassion and love. I myself am friends with Muslims, atheists, Pagans/witches, and members of other christian denominations. I'm even writing a book that attempts to build bridges between believers and non-believers because quite frankly there are many christians out there who are sick of this petty bickering over who is right or wrong. It doesn't matter who is right. At the end of the day we are all gods children no matter color, creed or sexuality, for us to treat eachother as anything else is to directly spit in the face of god.

i'm glad my post gave you something to think about. IN the UK most schools will teach Religion up until the age of 16, most primary schools are Church of England or another religious domination. To get into a Church of England Primary school it is recommended you go to your local church. Just as was recommended to my mother before she sent me and my brother to primary school.
At this young age you are told about Christianity and the Bible as though it really happened.
It wasn't till I was 18 and better at questioning things that I began to question Christianity. So in a way it is forced upon us in society like it or not.

How can I spit in the face of a god in whom i do not believe.

Originally posted by zaiger
reply to post by traditionaldrummer

 

Yeah not atheisim at all right? It is just coincidence that most of Atheist leaders go on mass murdering campaigns.

Hitler and Pol Pot were strict vegetarians; therefore, it's no coincidence that vegetarian leaders go on mass murdering campaigns.

Sound absurd? Because that's essentially a parallel of your argument.

Evidently, some intolerant religious people have already vandalized a billboard:

www.upi.com...

Originally posted by traditionaldrummer
Evidently, some intolerant religious people have already vandalized a billboard:

www.upi.com...

Once again it seems like the religious folks are the intolerant ones,

Why fear atheists so much. We are a tiny minority in global terms, we mean you no harm ,yet you feel you are the ones being persecuted and victimised.
You view atheism as a dirty word tied up with negative connotations. You don't understand that we have the same overall morals and values as anyone else. we can enjoy what the world has to offer just as everyone else. We love, we hate, we cry, we laugh, wwe look after our loved ones and are charitable.

we are open to the possibilities of the universe, we just don't believe in a deity. What is wrong with that?

People who are not secure in their beliefs attack other beliefs.

So - why are these people attacking Christians?

Because they have no clue what to believe in.

Originally posted by kawacat

So - why are these people attacking Christians?

Who exactly is "attacking christians"?

Originally posted by SaturnFX
Question for the church+state=goodness......do you *really* want the federal government running religion?

I think the more appropriate question is "do we want religion running the federal government anymore than it already does?"

I live in the bible beating south and have had this stuff shoved in my face my entire life. School was the worst, and to this day I can remember how the children with other religious beliefs were shunned and rejected from main stream social interactions.

Religion was built on a base of fear and propaganda with a track record of causing pain and suffering throughout history. It is just another form of control that the few have used to assert dominance over the masses who have desperately searched for reprieve from earthly suffering.

Within religion stands the last major form of discrimination we face. Keep religion, do away with trying to convert people, stop trying to advertise for your god, and let people make their own decisions. And, excuse my choice of words, for christ's sake stop trying to impose moral values through legislation.

reply to post by traditionaldrummer


They are attacking Christian billboards. That is the whole point of this thread.

Originally posted by kawacat
reply to post by traditionaldrummer

 

They are attacking Christian billboards. That is the whole point of this thread.

Who is "they"?

Originally posted by Watcher-In-The-Shadows reply to post by Bunken Drum

 

Ah, so that massively silly outburst is because you didn't get the attention you feel you deserved..... Rather childish don't you think?

Rather to the contrary. Its my experience that, the better an argument is put together online, the less attention it garners; which is why I go out of my way to frame mine in the most indisputable terms that I'm able. Doing so then gives me the opportunity to crow from the intellectual heights when, as I stated, my interlocutor/s fail to offer rebuttal but repeat a refuted position.
To understand why this is neither silly nor childish is to understand that, at the 1st instance of such blythe ignorance, the debate is rationally over, having been conceded by dint of demonstration of inability to debate. At which point, I am no longer casting pearls before swine, but speaking to posterity, drawing a line under what has been said, whilst enjoying a moment of humour with those later readers who do understand how to debate.
Its certainly arrogant of me, I'll freely confess, but in terms of utterly destroying an incapable interlocutor's position, it is the most effective. Think in terms of punching someone to the ground & then, when they move, grinding their face in the dirt. Is it fair? No. As so often in life, its raining... at least, thats what I'm claiming that wetness on the back is.