Atheists use Obama to promote secularism

unitarians are a far cry from atheists as they too beleive in that ridiculous sky god atheists are always moaning about.

hot topic unimatrix.. if by devout, you mean, someone who has a relationship with Christ.. then, yes.. if you mean devout by someone who goes to church.. then, no.. you see, i feel the same way about hypocrites that "Toot" does... and it's hard for me to find a church that isn't filled with them.. on the other hand, that fact has no affect on my love for God and my complete dedication to Jesus.. oh, and it also has no affect on His love and dedication to me.. it's all about relationship.. and it's all about faith.. and both of us know what that is..

BTW.. unitarians believe in God too.. i am researching to see if I did make an 'ignorant' statement about 'Toot'. But, I have read many times that she believed in God..

If I'm not right, I will concede my statement..anyone else out there that has info on this topic, please submit..

more to come..

Devout christian? Your ignorance is showing. Obama's grandparents were unitarians and recognized jesus as a moral teacher but not a god.

It take just as much faith not to believe in God as it does to believe in God.

Athiests are against religion, but they ARE religious. Athieism is a religion.

Houghton Mifflin describes religion as this: A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.

I would say that the Athiests have alot of faith!

Unfortunately, they have shown us with this campaign that they don't have alot of brains! Obama's grandma raised him in a devoted Christian household! Anyone who knows how to research a subject will find this out...

What a waste of money.. the Athiests could be using that money to feed the poor.. but I guess that's not one of their religious mandates.. haaa

I am not going to comment on the advertisement itself, but both Barack Obama and Michelle Obama have publicly stated that they are Christians. Why not just take their word for it?

As for his upbringing, I have read that he was raised by his mother and that she sent him from Indonesia to Hawaii at the age of ten to live with her parents there, as she wanted him to have an American education. For the most part, his grandparents took care of him from then on.

Ah, Unimatrix0, I find it interesting that you are so very certain you know exactly what this group "had in mind" when they created this advertisement. You say that you are so certain that they are not "recruiting" that their true intent is too subtle for me to even grasp. I suppose that is certainly possible. I can be rather thick. But since I was not present when the group discussed their reasons for advertising and for choosing this particular advertisement, I don't beleive I (or anyone else) can categorically state that "recruitment" is not among their purposes. And I don't mean that to sound sinister in any way. While I was brought up attending church, I considered myself an agnostic for the better part of 20 years and had that certainty that one usually only finds in fanatics and people under the age of 30. I find that those over 30 have usually been forced by their experiences to see the world to a much greater degree in shades of gray rather than purely in black and white.

But I don't want to leave this issue without at least one small attempt to justify my "recruitment" theory. The clearly-worded message in the advertisement is that good values can be instilled in children in a religion-free environment. OK, I can agree with that statement. But what would be the purpose in making it? One purpose, I guess, would be to combat discrimination against atheists by those who believe that atheists can't instill good values. But is there really that much discrimination against atheists? I live in a so-called "red state," and yet even here I can't even IMAGINE someone walking up to someone else and asking them to state their religious beliefs or to explain why they are never seen going to church. Many "believers" never go to church, and such questions would be considered incredibly rude and way out-of-bounds. I am sure that is not the case in some small communities in a few other states, but I am equally sure that it is a non-issue in the vast majority of communities in this country.

So if the purpose of the advertisment is not to combat discrimination, what IS its purpose? I mean, the advertisement COULD have said that good values can be instilled JUST AS WELL in non-religious homes as they are in religious homes, couldn't it? But the ad does not say that. I don't think one has to "stretch" to see the implication that while the authors of the ad can say that good values can be instilled by non-religious homes, they are not prepared to say one way or the other whether such values can be instilled in religious homes. For that reason, I think the ad is meant to PROMOTE atheism -- and I equate promotion with recruitment the same way an ad to promote Catholicism is meant to recruit new Catholics. Presumably those persons who are already Catholics are already beyond recruitment, and the same would hold true for atheists and this advertisement.

Again, I could be wrong -- would not be the first time for me and will not be the last. But I think that recruitment at least remains a possibilty and is not quite so absurd a conclusion as you suggest. Just sayin'

All I know is that I liked how Obama recognized nonbelievers in his inauguration. I voted for him, and it made me proud to hear him say that nonbelievers were also part of America.

A nice change in tune from what Papa Bush said about atheists...

he is a good example of a person who had not practiced religion for a lot of his life and became a super good person! good values can exist in everyone! no one needs religion to be a good person

Perhaps this has already been addressed, but it seems that the atheist group in question wants to recruit only those people stupid enough to equate one of the most famous Christians in the country with atheism. I mean, the question about whether to play the "Reverend Wright" card and the fact that the President attended that church for so long without, apparently, complaining about some of the Reverend's more controversial rhetoric was among the top ten strategy questions for the McCain campaign and one on which he (McCain) and his running mate apparently disagreed...quite publicly. So only those people who lived in a cave or who could neither read nor understand the words spoken on their television would associate the President with atheism. But I am SURE they will attract BOTH of those people to their group...

The ad is suggesting that parents who do not worship a god can raise children who turn out wonderful.

The ad is not suggesting Obama is an atheist, only that atheists can be first rate parents.

I think the key word in the title here is "USE" which kind of says it all. Hope they have the decency to send him an endorsement check.

I don't really care for the add or Obama but I do believe there is nothing wrong with people who are atheist. I have been an atheist for the longest time and still find time every single day to do something good, or do nothing at all in a situation I could have easily turned bad. This organization is doing a good thing in a way by trying to save the name of people who are often put into the same category as satanists, when in fact atheism is not a religion at all.

Promoting sanity, logic, and reason probably never hurts.

If indeed that is who he is, then I'm glad he is immediately openly showing us that he is a staunch atheist, just as I might show that I am a stanch Christian during some campaign I might have. Worldviews are different so much that it matters a lot..

You know.. I really hadn't drawn any conclusions until today (after researching whether this story was true) to to B.O.'s character. Now we read B.O. was raised by his mom, not grandma. He's Muslim, then Christian, now secularism.

Anyone else see a SOP Politician here.. I think i do, & in about a year, we'll see who the fools are.. The ones who voted for him, or the ones that didn't.

The Religious will complain about anything that promotes secularism, no matter what.

What's wrong with using Obama? Don't the Religious use Reagan?

Spell his name right please. It's Barack, not Barach, and though I do agree that family values > religion, it's probably not in the best interest to use our President as a poster child for anti-religious campaigns. Can't we all just get along?

good people raise good children regardless of religion or lack of it.

well, being that obama is a christian, you might think they'd find a better choice.

i guess everyone wants to cash in on his marketability.

commemorative coins, plates, trading cards and the secular lifestyle.

call now!!!

We are all exposed to the judeo-christian belief system in America. Regardless of our beliefs.

Obama's atheist father abandoned him. Just thought I'd point that out. There is no equanimity that makes an atheist better than a religous upbringing.

This is good.

He is a public figure. There is nothing illegal going on here. There is no reason to sue. The ad is true. If you read Obama's books he says so openly and proudly.

They do realize it's illegal to use someone picture without their consent right?

The problem here is that they are using his good nature against him.

After all, if Obama were to sue this company it would be self-defeating and this organization obviously knows that.

Tact... it's something people lack in America.

Citing Obama's upbringing as a case study for the virtues of secular life is fine but appropriating his image without his consent is sort of messed up.

“I was not raised in a religious household. . . . Without the
help of religious texts or outside authorities, [my mother] worked mightily to instill
in me the values that many Americans learn in Sunday school: honesty, empathy,
discipline, delayed gratification, and hard work. She raged at poverty and injustice.
Most of all, she possessed an abiding sense of wonder, a reverence for life and its
precious, transitory nature. …”
“Given the increasing diversity of America’s population, the dangers of sectarianism
have never been greater. Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian
nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu
nation, and a nation of nonbelievers.”
—Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope

Wasn't Obama really raised by his grandmother for the most part, and his immediate family is (publicly) religious...
Seems like a stupid promotional ploy.

I am proud of Obama's mother.