tagged w/ Atheist
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OLYMPIA, Wash. - A controversial atheist sign that was placed in the state Capitol near a Nativity scene vanished Friday morning, but then turned up at a Seattle radio station a few hours later.
A receptionist at the radio station KMPS said a man dropped off the sign around 10 a.m. and asked her to give it to show host Ichabod Caine. The man did not say how he came by it before he left, she added.
The state patrol is treating the disappearance as a theft investigation.
Story continues below ↓OLYMPIA, Wash. - A controversial atheist sign that was placed in the state Capitol... more
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“Fifty years ago in America, we lived in a society where Christian assumptions were largely taken for granted,” said D’Souza. “Even someone who wasn’t a believer might accept the authority of the Ten Commandments and that Jesus was a great, moral teacher.”
But we are no longer living in the 1950s.
“Today, those Christian assumptions cannot be taken for granted,” D’Souza said. “Moreover, in the past few years, we have seen something rather surprising. And that is, for the first time, atheism has become a real option in our society—particularly for young people.”
D’Souza attributes this to what he calls “a new atheism.”
“It’s very different from the atheism of the past. We’ve had atheism in America for a very long time, but a generation ago atheism was not something with mass appeal. Moreover, the atheism of the past had a narrow agenda—to police the boundaries of Church and state. In other words, they said, ‘If you wanted to practice your faith, do it in private.’ “
That, D’Souza said, is no longer the case.
“The new atheism is different in that it attacks belief in the private sphere. Its goal is to eradicate, demolish and discredit Christianity. Many atheists want to make each and every Christian feel like a complete idiot.”
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Ouch! Yet that's a sentiment I hear so frequently here on Current- the idea that the only thing on the Atheist's to-do list is make religious people feel bad.
Atheists, is this true for you? What is your "atheist agenda"?
Religious people- is this how you feel?
What do both sides want in order to be able to coexist peacefully? Is it possible?“Fifty years ago in America, we lived in a society where Christian assumptions... more
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"A move is afoot by Canadian student atheists and agnostics to have references to God removed from the University of Alberta's convocation ceremony.
For more than 100 years, the chancellor's address to the graduates has included the call for graduates use their degrees "for the glory of God," the Edmonton Journal reported.
Monday night, the U of A Atheists and Agnostics group petitioned a committee to change the wording to a compromise that encourages graduates to use their degrees "for the uplifting of the whole people; to inspire the human spirit; for all who believe, to serve your God; and to pursue more steadfastly whatsoever things are true."
"For those who believe, they will still have their faith recognized as part of their schooling," he said. "For those who don't, it still asks them to use their degree for the betterment of mankind."
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I can already hear everyone complaining about the "whiny" atheists- but this actually seems pretty reasonable. Adding a little piece like "for all who believe" allows all people to feel represented by their college. I think it's a good idea, what about you?"A move is afoot by Canadian student atheists and agnostics to have references to... more
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An atheist group has unveiled an anti-religion placard in the state Capitol, joining a Christian Nativity scene and "holiday tree" on display during December.
With a nod to the winter solstice - the year's shortest day, occurring in late December - the placard reads, in part, "There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."
The foundation's co-president, Dan Barker, said it was important for atheists to offer their viewpoint alongside the overtly religious Nativity scene and Christmas-style holiday tree.
"Our members want equal time," Barker said. "Not to muscle, not to coerce, but just to have a place at the table."
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Welcome to the age of the atheist. You will now be presented with another viewpoint during the holiday season- the one that god does not exist.
Don't worry, there's still plenty of reasons to celebrate and be merry!An atheist group has unveiled an anti-religion placard in the state Capitol, joining a... more
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This happened not too far from where I went to school (Montclair state.) While I am not the church going type, I know where St. Thomas Syrian Orthodox Knanaya Church in Clifton is.
Apparently a man entered the church and shot three people in the vestibule. He shot and killed 24-year-old Reshma James's, his estranged wife. She was fatally shot in the head. Two other victims, also shot in the head, are still alive but in critical condition.
Police are still looking for Reshma James's estranged husband.
This just goes to show you that you aren't safe anywhere, even in your own houses of worship!
On a side note, for many, this could also lead to one asking the question, "How could God let that happen in his own house?" Seriously, if there is a god, how could he let that happen in one of his own churches? I'm sure some will launch into their "free will" speech. But thats a cop out. I want a better answer than, "He gave us free will, including the free will to shoot up one of his churches." Yeah well he also gave us the "Free Will" to attend Mass on Sundays sitting in the same spot like a sitting duck for an hour, waiting to be shot. I'm not an atheist, but I am agnostic and I am open to both sides of the eternal question. But at the same time I just see something wrong with the fact that 90 religious people complained about an Atheist billboard, so it was taken down by the city. So the "free will" speech really should sound more like "God gave us free will, including the will to enter a church and kill my wife while injuring other, but not the free will to make a bill board about the possibility of him not being real!"
For Billboard story see:
( http://current.com/items/89555093/atheist_billboard_taken_down.htm )This happened not too far from where I went to school (Montclair state.) While I am... more
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I think this video is fascinating. It's been a question which I've been going over in my head as of late so I was kind of happy to stumble upon this debate.
From the article:
Do skeptics, agnostics and atheists have anything in common with people of faith? The recent popularity of books on both sides shows many opinions but not much evidence of similarities. Theologian Michael Novak, author of No One Sees God, argues that believers and nonbelievers often share experiences, including times of doubt. Does doubt lead to disbelief? Does faith always involve leaving reason behind? In this Beliefnet Blogalogue, skeptic and journalist Heather MacDonald, takes on Michael Novak in a lively discussion. Join this conversation about faith and doubt, belief and reason, and whether there is common ground for believers and nonbelievers.I think this video is fascinating. It's been a question which I've been... more
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"Author William Hopper describes his work as "an examination of the lust, greed, murder, and sheer stupidity that have contributed to the history of the world’s religions."
By tracing each faith from its inception to modern day, Hopper's book is a rare combination of exhaustive research and flat-out hilarity. “I tend to stomp where angels fear to tread” Hopper explains.
And stomp he does. From Moses to Mohammed, Buddha to Baha’u’llah, The Heathen’s Guide spares no faith from Hopper’s acerbic examination of their history, tenets, and origins.
“I genuinely believed in religion at one time.” Hopper explains. “Then I did the one thing that religions hate: I educated myself. I studied World Religions at university, and that pretty much killed any faith I had. I soon discovered that there was far more documentation and history out there than is taught from the pulpit.”
Will you read it?"Author William Hopper describes his work as "an examination of the lust,... more
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"Atheists celebrate Christmas? Famous atheists such as Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris do, and greeting card publisher Order of St. Nick is betting that millions more do as well.
"Nearly 15% of Americans identify themselves as ‘non-religious,' but surveys have consistently shown that 95% of Americans celebrate Christmas," says Andrew Shaffer, Order of St. Nick's owner and creative designer. "Order of St. Nick seeks to bridge the gap between belief and observation.
"Christmas is a national holiday in the United States. Everyone, regardless of religious beliefs, should be able to
celebrate with family and friends at this time of year," says Shaffer."
Now y'all know what to get me for Christmas :)"Atheists celebrate Christmas? Famous atheists such as Richard Dawkins and Sam... more
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Posted By: Sorenthia @ 11/01/2008 8:57:01 PM
Comment: Bill Nye, the harmless children's edu-tainer known as "The Science Guy," managed to offend a select group of adults in Waco, Texas at a presentation, when he suggested that the moon does not emit light, but instead reflects the light of the sun.
As even most elementary-school graduates know, the moon reflects the light of the sun but produces no light of its own.
But don't tell that to the good people of Waco, who were "visibly angered by what some perceived as irreverence," according to the Waco Tribune.
Nye was in town to participate in McLennan Community College's Distinguished Lecture Series. He gave two lectures on such unfunny and adult topics as global warming, Mars exploration, and energy consumption.
But nothing got people as riled as when he brought up Genesis 1:16, which reads: "God made two great lights -- the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars."
The lesser light, he pointed out, is not a light at all, but only a reflector.
At this point, several people in the audience stormed out in fury. One woman yelled "We believe in God!" and left with three children, thus ensuring that people across America would read about the incident and conclude that Waco is as nutty as they'd always suspected.
This story originally appeared in the Waco Tribune, but the newspaper has mysteriously pulled its story from the online version, presumably to avoid further embarassment.
Posted By: Sorenthia @ 11/01/2008 8:57:01 PM
Comment: Bill Nye, the harmless... more
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Senator Dole has launched an attack against some of her constituents as part of her campaign for re-election. Dole attacks her Democratic opponent, Kay Hagan, by pointing out that she attended a fundraiser held by a couple of atheists, whom she describes as "vile" and "godless".
she describes atheists as people most North Carolinians would not be comfortable having over for dinner (Again, this is a U.S. Senator). My thought is as an American you have the right to choose who you want to be without being ridiculed.
Here is description of the one of her mailers
FRONT PAGE: Image of torn photo of children saying the Pledge of Allegiance. "Godless Americans PAC wants to remove 'Under God' from the Pledge of Allegiance. And now, they want Kay Hagan in the U.S. Senate ..."
INSIDE PAGES: Pictures of Hagan and supporters of the Godless Americans PAC. "Liberal Kay Hagan flew to Boston to pocket campaign cash from leaders of the Godless Americans PAC. What is Godless Americans PAC? Godless Americans Political Action Committee is a left-wing organization based in Washington, D.C., dedicated to 'Mobilizing America's nonbelievers for political activism.' They actively support political candidates who are Atheists and who also support their liberal agenda to remove 'under God' from the Pledge of Allegiance and force the Boy Scouts to accept atheists and homosexuals as troop leaders. Their goal is to remove any reference to God in the public arena, including eliminating the Christmas holiday.
"Kay Hagan & the Godless Americans PAC. Liberal Kay Hagan flew to Boston to pocket campaign cash from leaders of the Godless Americans PAC, Wendy Kaminer and Woody Kaplan. They held a private fundraiser for Kay Hagan at their home in Boston, Massachusetts on September 15th. In North Carolina, Kay Hagan says she shares our values. But, behind our backs she's the guest of honor at a fundraiser hosted by the most vile, radical liberals in America."
"We can't trust Kay Hagan to defend our North Carolina values."
Senator Dole has launched an attack against some of her constituents as part of her... more
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Nae78
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3 years ago
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BRITISH atheists have raised a pile of cash to tell Londoners there's probably no God and to get on with life.BRITISH atheists have raised a pile of cash to tell Londoners there's probably no... more
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Edward Current, the religion satirist, created this amusing video about what religious people imagine happens to atheists in the afterlife.Edward Current, the religion satirist, created this amusing video about what religious... more
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Early on in Religulous, Bill Maher throws up a bar chart illustrating the number of people in America who are non-religious. That number is 16%, more than blacks, more than Jews, more than numerous other minority groups who seem to have no problem making themselves heard and getting Congress to do their bidding. Maher wonders aloud why non-religious people are so underground, and why they aren’t having an impact on the national discussion. His film is aimed squarely at that 16% of the country, and almost no one else. His goal, and he clearly has one, is to give those people the motivation they need to come out of the closet and do something… before it’s too late.
Religulous begins with Bill Maher, standing alone in Israel at a place called Meggido; a worthless pile of rubble where many of the planet’s religions believe the end of the world will begin. From there, Maher pushes us into an intense, honest, and brutally funny discussion of blind belief, presenting the possibility that maybe we should all consider doubt instead. We follow him around the world, as he travels from place to place talking to religious people of different faiths on different continents. The surprising thing here is that even though Maher definitely has an agenda, his movie never skews into the realm of propaganda.
It’s not propaganda, because Maher isn’t running out and finding weirdos to use in smear tactics against the devout. Typically anyone trying to make a case against God goes right to the pedophile priests and the suicide bombers, but Maher makes it a point to focus on normal, reasonably sane religious people. He’s not stacking the deck in his favor, because he doesn’t need to. He talks to truckers in a roadside chapel, he chats with random, middle-class tourists at a Christian-themed amusement park. He talks to religious shop owners, small town preachers, televanglists, Jews for Jesus, fundamentalist U.S. Senators, Vatican priests, religious scientists, secular Muslims, gay Muslims, people in America, Utah (come on, we all know it’s not really America), Europe, and even in Jerusalem. Though those fumbling for an excuse to discredit him may claim otherwise, these aren’t extremists or lunatics. These are for the most part sane, rational, even intelligent people who believe something which Maher believes is insane........[more at http://www.cinemablend.com/reviews/Religulous-3380.html]Early on in Religulous, Bill Maher throws up a bar chart illustrating the number of... more
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"On Sunday, Tiernan attended the first event at the Democratic National Convention, an Interfaith Gathering attended by some 2,000 people at the Colorado Convention Center. Speaking were distinguished priests, rabbis, imams and religion scholars. "I sat through, I guess I'd have to call it, a service," says Tiernan. "People were responding in unison. In the middle, Leah Daughtry (a pastor and CEO of the Democratic National Convention Committee) spoke and said that despite what the media says, Democrats are people of faith."
Tiernan says he couldn't stand it any more. "I stood up and said, 'I'm a democrat but I'm not a person of faith.' I said, 'This looks like a church service to me and I never thought I would see the Democrats doing something like this." At that point, the police came and escorted Tiernan from the hall. They told him he could leave or stay and see what the Democrats wanted to do with him, so he stayed but nobody did anything so he left.
"The thing is," says Tiernan with a chuckle, "I'm not a career protester. I just don't like religion mixed with politics. It's wrong and it's dangerous."
The Interfaith Gathering was the first of several interfaith events scheduled during the convention. The Secular Coalition of America had written to Daughtry to ask that atheists, agnostics and secular humanists be included in these events. The Associated Press reported that she received the request but never responded.
The Democrats are in a real bind this year. In recent elections, the Republicans have owned religion. The evangelical base has helped Republican presidential candidates win elections while the Democrats have stood by helplessly. This year, the Democrats are bound to show they are just as religious as Republicans, but at what cost?
In his speeches, Barack Obama has talked not only about his own deep faith but about the rights of all Americans, including believers and non-believers. But if the Interfaith Gathering was an effort to show how inclusive they are, they failed. Between 10% and 12% of Americans openly say they're non-believers and many more privately admit to not being believers but feel it is socially unacceptable to say so in their communities."
Are atheists outcasted? Do you feel hesitation to talk about your religious beliefs in public?"On Sunday, Tiernan attended the first event at the Democratic National... more
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"The interfaith service scheduled to take place at the Democratic National Convention's Aug. 24 in Denver is supposed to be about unity.
But to a Washington, D.C., coalition that supports nontheistic views, it's about division.
The Secular Coalition Group, a lobbying organization for church-and-state separation, is pushing to get an atheist on the speaker list, and contends the service is divisive because it alienates nonreligious Democrats at a time when the party needs to unite to support the presumptive nominee, Sen. Barack Obama.
"We can all hold different beliefs," said the group's executive director, Lori Lipman Brown, "but we can still come together as patriotic Americans."
The interfaith service, the first official event of the DNC, has Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Buddhist speakers on the roster. Convention CEO Leah D. Daughtry, a Pentecostal minister, said in a statement that the purpose of the first-ever Democratic Convention service is "to honor the diverse faith traditions inside the Democratic Party."
Brown said the coalition wrote Daughtry twice in July asking for inclusion but has received no response. She said Thursday she didn't know if the group would make another request.
Natalie Wyeth, a convention spokesperson, said Wednesday that everyone, regardless of belief, is welcome at the public service, but would not address if an atheist would be added to the speaker list.
"The goal is to come together in the spirit of unity and start the week off right," Wyeth said.
Becky Hale, a founder of the atheist group Freethinkers of Colorado Springs, said the service discriminates against nonbelieving Democrats.
"By reaching out to people of faith," Hale said, "they have shown the back of their hand to those who do not believe."
A bit more at link- what do you think? "The interfaith service scheduled to take place at the Democratic National... more
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I’m of the opinion that morality isn’t the domain of any particular segment of society…whether that be religiously inclined groups or those who don’t believe in God. Generally speaking, I suspect morality is an individual construct…albeit influenced by many factors including the individuals one chooses to associate with.I’m of the opinion that morality isn’t the domain of any particular... more
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I saw a discussion (if you want to call it that) between Evolutionists and Creationists and the Atheists were so vile and angry in the discussion that I thought I would pose the question as to why Atheists are so angry.... Why is that? Almost every Atheist I've met has been very angry and arrogant when it comes to the topic of God. Well, at least they're not blowing themselves up over it like some other angry believers.... yet. :)
I saw a discussion (if you want to call it that) between Evolutionists and... more
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Follow up to the story about the atheist who is suing for discrimination in the military.
"An atheist soldier who claims the military violates religious freedoms should have complained through the chain of command instead of civilian courts, the government said in arguing that his lawsuit should be dismissed.
Justice Department attorneys who filed the federal court motion this week also said the military has ample policies to protect service members from religious discrimination.
Spc. Jeremy Hall and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, also participating in the lawsuit, claim the military permits religious discrimination by fundamentalist Christians who try to force their views on others, especially subordinates.
Hall alleges that while serving in Iraq, Army Reserve Maj. Freddy J. Welborn violated his religious rights when Hall tried to hold a meeting with other atheists and freethinkers. The lawsuit alleges Welborn prevented the meeting and threatened to take action against Hall.
Pedro Irigonegaray, a Topeka attorney representing Hall and the foundation, said the soldier couldn't complain to commanders because of fear of reprisal. Hall says that other soldiers have threatened him and that he was sent back to Fort Riley from overseas because the Army couldn't protect him.
Welborn has denied Hall's allegations. In arguing further for dismissal, the government said there was no indication that any injury caused by Welborn would likely recur.
The more than 300-page government filing included the Army's command policy and unit equal opportunity training guide, arguing that the military, rather than civilian courts, was the appropriate venue and that Hall has failed to exhaust military remedies.
"Judicial review would significantly interfere with Army operations and intrude on disciplinary and personnel decisions entrusted to military judgment," the government wrote. "The Army was deprived of the opportunity to promptly investigate the alleged misconduct and take appropriate disciplinary action."
Hall is assigned to a military police unit at Fort Riley and due to leave the Army next year."
Follow up to the story about the atheist who is suing for discrimination in the... more
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"LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comedian George Carlin, a counter-culture hero famed for his routines about drugs and dirty words, died of heart failure at a Los Angeles-area hospital on Sunday, a spokesman said. He was 71.
Carlin, who had a history of heart and drug-dependency problems, died at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica about 6 p.m. PDT (2 a.m. British time) after being admitted earlier in the afternoon for chest pains, spokesman Jeff Abraham told Reuters."
I once saw him perform, and it was one of the funniest nights I have ever experienced. He will be deeply missed. May the sun shine brightly upon him and Joe Pesci get a few things done."LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comedian George Carlin, a counter-culture hero famed for... more
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Extended trailer for the new TV series God Loves ME Best! The producers introduce the cast to their new home while ridiculing them from behind the scenes. Starring Allegra Cohen, Khrystyne Haje, Eric Kirchberger, Nasry Malak, Michelle Maryk, Ron McClary, Ann Scobie, and Sam Rodd.
http://www.godlovesmebest.com
http://www.youtube.com/godlovesmebestExtended trailer for the new TV series God Loves ME Best! The producers introduce the... more
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