Death Threats force removal of Atheist Billboard

I totally agree with Found Avenue & Stephanie Taurus. Now....just for the record, I'm not Atheist NOR Christian (...or Jewish or Muslim), so I'm OBVIOUSLY not choosing sides. I do, however, see an injustice here. If there was a Christian advertisement up on that billboard, it would be totally fine and no one would be complaining, but since it's an Atheist billboard everyone wants to say things like "Why make a billboard?" and "Atheists act like little children that don't get their way." Well....those comments can easily be deflected: "Why can Christians make a billboard?" and "What if it was a Christian group writing this article about THEIR advertisement being forced down off of a billboard, would THEY be acting like little children?"...didn't think so.

Wow Spanky07, and others, how selfish of you. Why the double standard, huh?

If they can't have a billboard then no one should. But Christians have plenty, and everything else, too.

The land of the free ... ???

you see god needs mans help, god can betrayed by man, god can be crucified by man, notice allah needs help terrorizing he cant do it himself he needs the taliban

This is why we should just believe in the Devil... we're all going to hell

This posting piggybacks on the assumption it was Christians. It does not take the time to make sure that those that do make such assumptions (99% of all atheist) are forced to understand that that is not the case here.

Otherwise this article and posting would be lost in obscurity because it really isn't anything important.

It needed the controversy to even float on Current's waters and that's why it wasn't properly presented.

INTERNET CIRCLE JERK

wow. this post had legs, lot of emotion. reading through this, iv'e seen an evolution of thought, an improvement in perspective ( with only a few exceptions ). the thread seems to be heading toward the fact that; it doesn't matter what the name of a group is, some people are violent and we are all tribally motivated. yea team.

Death Threats. How very "Christian" of them.

If you believe in heaven and hell, and you decide to make death threats against people who have different beliefs than you do... then I'm pretty sure you've just carved yourself out a little place in hell.

Just like Baby Bush did when he sent thousands of American teenagers out to die in the name of his "Christian" beliefs... Born again, my ass.

I respect people of other faiths than my own, and I expect the same respect in return. If you cannot show that level of respect to others, your religious beliefs are a sham.

What would Jesus do? Well, for starters, he wouldn't make death threats.

I think if everyone were a Unitarian Universalist , the problem would be solved . Perhaps that should be the only religion allowed to partake in the military and prison complexes . It is the most tolerant , and that is what we all need . They are even cool with atheists . As long as we abide lawfully , it should be OK and not forced on to anyone . Ever heard of Unitarian Universalist terrorist groups ? Even a disrespectful extremist One ?

I don't care who did the death threat, because it didn't matter anyway, its NOT offensive..

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nothing says christianity like a death threat.

Very telling speculations that are based solely on hate.

There is definitely no specific reference to Christians or any other religious group in this article. The article clearly states that the atheist alliance did not ask for specific information from the landowner. Any speculations about people behind the threats are just that, speculations.

Dear sonnicboom, that has to be the most articulate thing I have ever read on current. I am finding so many cool people on this thread. Thank whatever you believe in for this debate.
It is pretty good mental masturbation.
Very thought provoking.
You can see who sees the glass half full vs. half empty and honestly, there are half empties on both sides of the isle and vice versa.

MrJenks, Atheism is a theory of the bigger picture, it's not a theory of one life, it is a theory about the whole universe. That is something BIG. Bigger than you, obviously. Something bigger.

I see nothing in this article stating that the death threats were made by Christians...

MAN It would be cool to own a dragon:) I take that back a bit, I meant, spiritual truth is in the eye of the beholder. Although even scientists disagree on truths sometimes. And you can take a verse of any religion and use it how you want to. Therefore; fundamentalism. Which sucks, in general, unless you are a fundamentally spiritual kind loving being.
Atheists are generally rational, thoughtful, questioning human beings that just don't take everything for granted.
And my perception of Torah is that if there was a god, he would admire their gusto.
Even Moses asked questions, especially "why me?"
I was always taught to ask questions.
Whatever you are, teach your kids to ask questions, and they will feel empowered.

And last but not least, I think EVERYONE should study every religion and Atheism at a young age just to get a balanced perspective on humanity and find your own path. How is it that a subject that has soooo much influence isn't even taught in school as a scientific idea until college?

How are people supposed to ever learn tolerance when ignorance is so prevalent?
The only way to end religious wars is to find common ground for humanity. For everyone to know where everyone else is coming from.

Maybe a person from the Atheist Alliance made the threat? True Christian would not make any death threats unless they have no knowledge of Christian princples. It is possible their reasoning was influenced by agnostic philososphies that believes any thing goes if it feels right.

Seems to be there's the assumption that the people who made the death threats were all Christians. Nice going! These assumptions reveal *your bigotry* against Christianity which you seem to think is okay.

Lumping all Christians into a group that wants to kill those who disagree is just as idiotic as all other prejudice of which most of you would profess to be completely innocent. Try this if you're able: Next time you hear or read a story like this, fight the instinct of your obvious prejudice and don't assume it's any one group just because that's the group you hate.

I'm agnostic in the literal sense, so save the labels and flames.

I think the sign should say:

Don't Speak About God?

We can't help it either.

www.fakeatheistalliance.org

Delia, Truth, like Beauty, is in the Eye of the beholder. Not believing in god can be as harmful as believing in god. People who believe in morality can use that morality to screw others whether it is a pro-god- or anti-god type of morality. It depends on what emotions you put behind the idea.
Ultimately, it isn't about truth as in science, it is about truth as in emotion and for some, a good acid trip or a sweat lodge or a whirling dirvishy kind of sparkly goodness. It's about finding a spot in the sky or on the ground to which you can focus your thankfullness for juicy pears and fluffy kittens and pot plants and the myriad of other wonders we can only describe but not explain.
People, please don't judge religion by those who have put the wrong emotions behind the words.
You can't judge Jody Foster by the guy who shot Reagan, (whether you liked Reagan or not which I didn't)
Those guys in the photo for SURE understood that we should never try to controll each other's beliefs. Whether they were religious or not, they recognised that everyone handles religion and life differently, even the same life, and the same religion.
And yes, USSR was opressive about religion because they did not believe in it. They criticsed my mom for being a Jew, and later when she moved to the ME they gave her a whole shpeil on how Muslims were going to get her.
She is Jewish to spite that. Beacuse now she is free.
I am Jewish because I connect to my ancestors.
But it doesn't mean we believe in all the orthodox dogma.
Or that we hate Christians, Muslims or Atheists at ALL.
Our emotions have been focussed on the positive progressive parts.
And if you are agnostic or atheist you can do this as well.
You and I are putting the same emotion behind different beliefs and achieving the same result, LOVE.

"And all of this constant trashing of Christianity in general in every one of these threads proves nothing to me but that these threads are posted simply to give those haters of belief in anything a voice."

This is pure BS. You assume far too much of the motivations behind me posting stories like this one, but again, I'm not surprised. You're like a broken record, Jan. If you are truly a follow of Christ you should try acting like it sometime; consider how you would feel if I made my way into all of your spiritual posts to make personal attacks and implications about your character, then explain why you feel the need to do that to me while touting how much of a moral person you are!

The threat if indeed true is criminal and that is why those who issued the death threat should be brought up on charges. However, why aren't atheists more upset with those who actually gave into the threat and took the billboard down? Why aren't you all congregating right now where that banner is/was in standing up for what you believe? You just give in? And all of this constant trashing of Christianity in general in every one of these threads proves nothing to me but that these threads are posted simply to give those haters of belief in anything a voice. I as a believer in Christ and as a moral person regardless of religion would never think to threaten a person or take away freedom of speech or expression.These threads are really very telling regarding their motivations regarding some who claim to be atheists who also wish to do the very same thing to others because of what they believe. There is no religion or non religion that can escape barbarism in history. Look to what Nero did during Roman times in using Christians as human torches to light his garden parties and feeding them to lions in the arena to satisfy the bloodlust of Pagans. I truly think some on all sides need to get beyond their own biases before they can even begin to understand this is about morality much more than religion.

And actually, based on reading the accounts of this, where does it state the threats came from Christians? There are many religions that believe in God.

"Religion is the last refuge of the scoundrel" I don't believe in religion myself, never have, never will. When I see the kind of Historic beastiality routinely practiced by so called Muslims, and so called Christians, it's obvious why the evil always hide behind their twisted cross, and call it God. I'm a Buddhist, and I believe in what John Lennon believed in. But whether you are a theist or atheist it really makes no difference in a world where criminal insanity is considered a normal part of the collective human condition does it ? That wasn't meant to be rhetorical. I still maintain, in my humble opinion, that it's as irrelevant and immaterial as we are whether "we" believe in God. It's really whether He believes in us. I collect quotes on my I Google home page...From Confucius, from Einstein etc.. I know for certain that Confucious, Einstein, and Lincoln believed in God, as I do. It's simply that they did not believe in religion. There is a difference you know, despite the logical fallacy which nearly always results in confounding people's minds into confusion. As they say consistency is the hobgoblin of closed, petty minds. The quote posted for today, November 14, 2009 goes like this: "The main source of human wealth is goodness. The qualities of affection & generosity which God admires in a World plagued by greed" Alfred A. Montapert. The Greek cynics were a secular philosophical group who believed that the human capability to become the highest form of life was inversely proportional to our capacity to behave worse than the lowest form of life. And that thus, if we did not conscientiously strive to develop every form of virtue possible, we would always fall prey to our basest animal motivations. So this is your brain on virtue, any questions ?

how many times can you say that a religious billboard got an assortment of atheist death threats?
and if God does exist, what makes you think that this kind of action would please the omnipotent being who created you? don't you think an OMNIPOTENT BEING CAN FIGHT THEIR OWN BATTLES?

Welcome to CensorNazi !! We welcome your thoughts and respect your beliefs...as long as they are the same as ours !!

Humans are not too smart I suspect.

i see Christian billboards all the time......... I hate the fact that in America if it aint Christian its wrong. Awhile back there was a huge controversy about Muslim ads being displayed on city buses.

Those people give spirituality a bad name. Good going!

A Unitarian Universalist has no creed and advocates freedom of belief. More times than not I find myself siding with atheists because of religious extremists. Religious hypocrites refuse to take a stand against extremism in their own religion but are dedicated to pet causes.

On the other hand, atheists are largely unappreciative that I can still believe in God. I can define God in common terms if I am so inspired. God is not an imaginary friend. Atheists can be like Christians in that they have a creed to defend. I have freedom.

low I.Q.

Really???
You guys will let anyone post anything on here.... including pictures. Nice. Glad CURRENT has become the National Inquirer.

Guess they don't whole heartedly believe in their way of thinking. They can't even die for it.

Id like to say i cant believe this but... well it makes sense. Atheists try to seek out others with a simple harmless sign and WITHIN A DAY religious people call in enough death threats to get it taken down. Yeah good work. You show those intolerant ignorant atheists the compassion and love that you embrace.

"Religion is a tool, like atheism, gets you closer to something bigger by wording it in a way you can understand it."

I consider myself an atheist, and I've not once thought of atheism as a path to "something bigger". As such, I believe that true atheists believe in what's proven by science and nothing more. Please don't make such bold statements about an entire group of people's beliefs without knowing how each individual thinks. That is how religion was started in the first place.

All religions have thier extremists, Christians, Muslims, and yes there are plenty of Atheist extremists. Atheism has a bad reputation and so does Christianity. The two just need to calm down a little bit.

Delia, this is the first time I disagree with you (wow). The Bolshevic revolution was indeed mostly atheist or agnostic. The USSR really opressed religious freedom. Many, many Germans were atheists during WWII, it was the most liberal time in Germany until the war.
Although I am a theist who believes in my tribal ancestral culture/religion as a way to connect spiritually, I wouldn't force it on anyone.
And Judaism in particular DOES NOT seek converts, not by force or preeching.
Although wars, thousands of years ago, were sanctioned in the torah,
so were the first written women's rights, the first rights for slaves, and many other positive things. The talmud has interpreted and re-interpreted things to mean something far greater than the text.
And I would venture to say religion (or non) is only as good as the interpretation.
Religion is a tool, like atheism, gets you closer to something bigger by wording it in a way you can understand it.
Either way, you can be fucked up or cool.
By the way, in general, I think you're pretty cool.

The Taliban have finally made it to America!

It's times like these that make me want to stoop to religious people's level.

While I certainly condemn "death threats", doesn't seem like a waste of money for the organization?

"EVERY belief system, atheists included, have their extremists and crazies and people who make the ideas and faith look bad. Extremism in ANY sense is bad."

While I agree with this and find it to be true, I think it is a bit of an oversimplification. Some extremists are worse than others; some go to more radical methods in the specific name of their ideology. I'm not saying every atheist out there is flawless or even a nice person, but I'm hard pressed to find stories of atheist fundamentalists who threaten, kill, wage war, etc in the name of godlessness- while finding it in the name of religion and god is relatively easy.

I agree completely with arikata. Being religious or spiritual is no more intellectually flawed than being an atheist. Neither side can prove the existence or non-existence of any sort of divine being(s) so bickering back and forth is useless and futile. Science has its faults and flaws just like religion can. But if you expect tolerance and respect from the religious and spiritual, then it is best not to post things like elusive. EVERY belief system, atheists included, have their extremists and crazies and people who make the ideas and faith look bad. Extremism in ANY sense is bad.

Oh, and half those guys in this original post were not atheists. Most were deists. They believed in something, not necessarily Christian.

Also, there are other religions and spiritual paths that do not condone violence and killings.

Wow, this is atrocious human behavior. And so many christians complain that they are persecuted by people of different belief. We should consider the log in our own eye before we make death threats over the speck in another's.

Yes, and it tells us absolutely nothing to prove this story is true.

@ Jan:

Here is the news search for the additional sources you are looking for: http://news.google.com/news/more?um=1&cf=all&ned=us&cf=all&ncl=d...

The article states "We weren't given the landowner's name or precise details, Nor did we pursue them."

One can believe in whatever arcane, ritualistic, hypocritical, sex offending religion one chooses but why the hell is it so important to try and get everyone else to fall for the same madness?

my terror alarm went orange. let's follow what homeland security does. my bet is it will be brushed aside by the new crusade.
i am not an atheist but i despise sectarianisms. any belief that pits us against them. maybe i am foolish, maybe humans need to have enemies.

Who made the threats? Can this be corroborated by another source? And it seems to me that intolerance is on both sides. It also appears tha some will post anything here to take a chance to take a whack at all people who believe in something. That is what I find to be very sad as well as threats. If this is even true. Would be nice to see some corroboration and more information.

They need to find this Nidal Hassan of advertising and Jail him, or them. That is why we live in America, to jail nutjobs. Free the potheads, jail the nutjobs. Death threats and violence make any religion or non-religion look bad.
Let us not forget the Marxist revolution was based upon somewhat atheist beliefs and there was definately violence if you ask Anastasia.
We are all capable, but fuck those of us who do.

Wouldn't a threat of death have grave consequences?

So just how free are we that we can not put up a sign?

Again, it seems very blind if we continually bash Atheists or Christians. They are both right and wrong, mostly because truth is entirely subjective...Atheists shouldn't act snobish towards people who believe in religion. It makes sense because atheists believe that they have found the answer through some logistical means, when really they miss the point as much as the religious type (some will get it, some won't get it, but none of us, including myself, have a right to tell them they are wrong). Stop the hate on both sides, for your arguing a mute point. Much love.

Disgusting christianists; first they facilitate votes to repeal marriage equality, and then threaten to take your life away if you don't believe in their pious garbage. We need to vote against them!

Whatever happened to Freedom of Speech??

An example of censorship at its finest. . . Lamar Advertising should grow some balls and not let bullies determine the messages shown to the American people.

Self-righteousness is what leads to this kind of self-deception which they think justifies the very thing they once thought they stood for. Kind of like the virtue of humility, once you think you have it, it's gone.