Merged American Atheists unveil Atheist Monument on Gov't property in Florida

[Cleon]

First you want to make atheism a religion then you want to install Mad Madelene as the pope?

It wasn't Brainster who literally carved her words into stone.

 

[Aepervius]

About the drivel I'd expect from her. Is she aware of how many hospitals have been built by churches?

This sort of crap is why I don't consider myself an atheist. I prefer non-theist. The difference between an atheist and a non-theist is simply the lack of hostility towards religion and the religious. As I've said in the past, atheism is the least tolerant religion of all.

Overgeneralizing ? Much ?

You are an atheist. Just a tolerant one or whatnot. But trying to define non theism as tolerant atheist is dumb. Atheism is not more or less tolerant than any other religion. Atheism is jsut that "there is no god". people are what is more or elss toelrant.

 

[Brainster]

She's dead. Why would you let the opinions of a dead woman influence you?

Well, in this case it doesn't influence me much, but what does her being dead have to do with it? Voltaire and Thomas Jefferson are both dead too, but their opinions are very influential.

So you are hostile towards atheists and this makes you better than them?

Errr, no, I am not superior because I am hostile towards atheists. I am superior because I am superior.

But seriously, I am hostile towards professional atheists mostly because they pull juvenile crap like this and think they're being very clever. It's the same "us versus them" mentality that they supposedly put behind themselves when they stopped believing in religion.

First you want to make atheism a religion then you want to install Mad Madelene as the pope?

No, I think Dawkins has that post covered.

 

[Mister Earl]

So... again, making a point by putting a monument to atheism next to a monument to christianity, in an equal setting, is somehow reason enough to make you hostile to them? Why?

At most this stunt rates nothing more than a contrived chuckle. I can't fathom why your hackles are up over this.

 

[zeggman]

About the drivel I'd expect from her. Is she aware of how many hospitals have been built by churches?

No, she isn't.

I would guess it's more than zero, and less than half the number of hospitals that would have been built if hospitals were built in lieu of churches. Am I close?

This sort of crap is why I don't consider myself an atheist. I prefer non-theist. The difference between an atheist and a non-theist is simply the lack of hostility towards religion and the religious.

I call myself a secular humanist, because that way I'm only likely to upset the fundamentalists, presuppositionalists, and literalists who are militant enough to know what that means. They're essentially the only religious toward whom I feel hostility.

As I've said in the past, atheism is the least tolerant religion of all.

You may have said it, but I don't believe it's true. If atheism is stoning, incinerating, and beheading people for subscribing to the wrong beliefs, I haven't seen the reports.

 

[Lanzy]

Atheism = free thinking.

 

[tsig]

Well, in this case it doesn't influence me much, but what does her being dead have to do with it? Voltaire and Thomas Jefferson are both dead too, but their opinions are very influential.



Errr, no, I am not superior because I am hostile towards atheists. I am superior because I am superior.

But seriously, I am hostile towards professional atheists mostly because they pull juvenile crap like this and think they're being very clever. It's the same "us versus them" mentality that they supposedly put behind themselves when they stopped believing in religion.


No, I think Dawkins has that post covered.

So you're hostile towards them because you're superior and they don't agree with you.


Us vs them is characteristic of humans in groups so to fault atheists for it is to fault them for being human.

 

[Baylor]

As I've said in the past, atheism is the least tolerant religion of all.

Phoenix must have a lot of atheist suicide bombers. That's not a problem where I'm from.

 

[Cain]

I'm not a fan of obnoxious religious displays. Or obnoxious non-religious displays. But between the two, I have slightly more affection for whatever is less popular, which in this case is prob'ly the opinion that both should be removed.

 

[thaiboxerken]

Nothing beats a strategically placed erection.

Some Christians took it hard.

I see what you did there!!

 

[thaiboxerken]

Overgeneralizing ? Much ?

You are an atheist. Just a tolerant one or whatnot. But trying to define non theism as tolerant atheist is dumb. Atheism is not more or less tolerant than any other religion. Atheism is jsut that "there is no god". people are what is more or elss toelrant.

But you don't understand.. if you criticize religion, you're EVIL!

 

[autumn1971]

I'm not a fan of obnoxious religious displays. Or obnoxious non-religious displays. But between the two, I have slightly more affection for whatever is less popular, which in this case is prob'ly the opinion that both should be removed.

This is right in my backyard, (I live about 20 miles from Starke,) and I can assure you that this monument is neccessary. This is a rural area where most of the population barely realize that anyone exists outside of Protestant Christianity. They are aware of Catholics and Muslims, but think of them as only existing in little out-of-the-way places. It isn't a case of being mean, or taunting the Christians, but a way of proving our own existence to them.
There is also the need to demolish the arguments from tradition. I can't even estimate the number of times that things like "in God we trust" being on currency, or the fact that the City Commission has "just always" opened with a Christian prayer, are used as evidence of the need for everyone to be Christian.
The thing is, the people around me aren't mean, they're just befuddled and blindered. Normalizing the existence of non-theists will simply pull the blinders back a bit, and most of the Christian community will welcome, if not agree with, the atheists in their midst.

 

[zeggman]

There is also the need to demolish the arguments from tradition. I can't even estimate the number of times that things like "in God we trust" being on currency

Somewhat off topic, but I've been engaged in a personal campaign to change this on the bills I spend for years -- they always say "In Good We Trust" when I return them to circulation. I recently (two weeks ago) started using wheresgeorge.com to keep track of how many I spend, as well as switching to cash payments rather than online transfers for my recurring bills, which allows me to modify $100 bills. I also like those automated checkout stands, because they don't ask questions when I put $22 dollars in the machine for a $2.23 purchase, they just dutifully give me $19.77 in change.

 

[ShadowSot]

Some Christians took it hard.



http://news.yahoo.com/atheists-unveil-fla-monument-near-ten-commandments-195201537.html

Yeah, I had a short talk with the guy, being somewhat local myself.
They had signs telling us to go home... where exactly am I supposed to go?

I'm not a big fan of the monument, but still I see why it was necessary.

Also, Eric Hovind and Sye Bruggencate were there and up to their usual dickish behavior. They got up and jumped up and down on the monument while preaching. Lucky they didn't slip off of it.



Oh yeah, I almost forgot that this happened:

At one point someone in a car driving by tossed a toilet seat and a roll of toilet paper at the crowd. Neither struck anyone.

 

[mijopaalmc]

Somewhat off topic, but I've been engaged in a personal campaign to change this on the bills I spend for years -- they always say "In Good We Trust" when I return them to circulation. I recently (two weeks ago) started using wheresgeorge.com to keep track of how many I spend, as well as switching to cash payments rather than online transfers for my recurring bills, which allows me to modify deface $100 bills. I also like those automated checkout stands, because they don't ask questions when I put $22 dollars in the machine for a $2.23 purchase, they just dutifully give me $19.77 in change.

fyp

 

[Ryokan]

Some Christians took it hard.



http://news.yahoo.com/atheists-unveil-fla-monument-near-ten-commandments-195201537.html

"We do feel like it's a stick in the eye to the Christian people of Florida to have these outsiders come down here with their money and their leadership and promote their outside values here."

Hahahaha.... I wonder if he said that with a straight face?

 

[Gawdzilla Sama]

If Christians didn't believe they had a privileged position this wouldn't have happened. It's their arrogance that sparks such things.

 

[mijopaalmc]

YOu don't know the reason it was put there to begin with , right ?

1) A religious group put a 10 commandment monument there
2) atheist group sued under establishment clause
3) I don't recall if it was the group or the local city or the judge, but it was declared that the zone is a free speech zone and OTHER religion can put their own monument
4) as a result the atheist put their own monument and invited other religion like hinduism , muslim and so forth to put their own monument too

So your answer is fully ironic since it was the whole point of the atheist group to begin with ! ETA: and to make it more explicit for you , the point of the atheist was that the local authority cannot favor a religion (christianity/10 commandment) over the other.

Did you miss the fact that this was put up in response to a ten commandments monument?

So putting an atheist monument next to a ten commandments monument is somehow asking special treatment? How does that work?

So... again, making a point by putting a monument to atheism next to a monument to christianity, in an equal setting, is somehow reason enough to make you hostile to them? Why?

At most this stunt rates nothing more than a contrived chuckle. I can't fathom why your hackles are up over this.

You guys are so cute when you accuse people of ignoring the context of an action while specifically disregarding the context of the post which you criticize.

Gawdzilla (as per usual) is flat-out wrong that the "atheist" monument on government "doesn't break the establishment clause, because it's not promoting any religion"; promotion of non-belief is just as much a violation of the Establishment Clause as promotion of belief is. The legality of this "atheist" erection springs from the doctrine of equal treament not the fact that atheism's lack of belief in gods is not legally considered non-religious. If atheists want to address the legal equality of the their beliefs, they need to do so based on the legal framework constructed around religious non-belief, not whatever they think the legal approach to atheism should be. Claiming that atheism isn't subject to the Establishment Clause is directly contradicted by the fact that this "atheist" monument was erect specifically persuant to an injunction to provide equal representation to other religious beliefs per the Establishment Clause.

If Christians didn't believe they had a privileged position this wouldn't have happened. It's their arrogance that sparks such things.

Project much?

Don't atheists often compare religion to mental illness?

When one is so convinced of the rightness of one's position that those who disagree with him/her are mentally ill, isn't one claiming a privileged epistemic status for one's beliefs?

 

[thaiboxerken]

I like how Mijo only finds fault with the atheists, never the religious.

 

[mijopaalmc]

I like how Mijo only finds fault with the atheists, never the religious.

Evidence?

You do realize that you now have to demonstrate that I have never said anything of religion and/or religious believers?