Why do atheists only seem to go after the Judeao-Christian religion?

[RichardMooner]

Anyone remember this? That'll sure get people to take atheism seriously. It's the same people that sit down for the pledge of allegiance and are offended that money says "In God We Trust". Like some small print that you can barely see on your greenbacks is going to have some great impact on your day to day life. I also wonder why some atheists get so outraged over something they don't even believe in.

I have a friend that sits down during the constitution, but it has nothing to do with religion, he's native-american, or as he prefers, an indigenous person of the North Western hemisphere; and I completely support his decision. I don't sit down during the pledge, but I don't say it. I would sell my soul to Satan before I pledged my allegiance to this country...............oh wait.. As for the lawsuit, it is kind of unconstitutional given that there is to be a separation of the Church and State, but what value does the constitution hold?

Tiny print on a dollar bill wouldn't have impact on someones daily life, but that's not the problem. If you're a woman, black, LGBTQ, mentally ill, or poor, and you have to fight for not only your civil liberties, but your life, depending on where you are on the socioeconomic food chain, because of corrupt religious values implemented by the State and posed into society, it becomes a problem. It's the broader picture, not the actual print on the dollar bill. However, I do not believe that ridding the earth of religion is going to happen, nor do I think it would be a good thing, and the way to go about correcting the shit values would be to change them inside of of their paradigm. With the Bible, you pretty much just need to teach love, acceptance, free choice, and Romans Chapter 2.

 

[nuttynutskin]

I have a friend that sits down during the constitution, but it has nothing to do with religion, he's native-american, or as he prefers, an indigenous person of the North Western hemisphere; and I completely support his decision. I don't sit down during the pledge, but I don't say it. I would sell my soul to Satan before I pledged my allegiance to this country...............oh wait..

In junior high I used to stay seated but when I became older I realized it's just a respect thing. To me it's just an acknowledging of your country. I don't take it as meaning you think that your country is perfect and that you agree with everything about it.

As for the lawsuit, it is kind of unconstitutional given that there is to be a separation of the Church and State, but what value does the constitution hold?

I don't know, I just think it's silly to act so offended by a monument that was donated. In the article it says...

"While at the state Capitol, (Breeze) is confronted by the Ten Commandments display, which she views as hurtful and exclusive and therefore avoids the area of the display while at the Capitol," the complaint says.

I mean seriously? Give me a fucking break. How hard is it to just ignore it? What does she do if she's walking down the street and passes a church, go into cardiac arrest?

Tiny print on a dollar bill wouldn't have impact on someones daily life, but that's not the problem. If you're a woman, black, LGBTQ, mentally ill, or poor, and you have to fight for not only your civil liberties, but your life, depending on where you are on the socioeconomic food chain, because of corrupt religious values implemented by the State and posed into society, it becomes a problem. It's the broader picture, not the actual print on the dollar bill.

Can you elaborate on that because I fail to see how Christianity itself is holding all of these people back to the point that they have to fight for their lives. That's absurd. You know who operates most homeless shelters and soup kitchens? Churches. As far as the political realm lots of politicians will use religion for their own motives obviously, but besides that I don't really see where you're coming from. A true Christian is not supposed to judge.

But besides all of that a lot of atheists just seem like frivolous hypocrites to me. They want to remove anything that even has the word "God" in it and replace it with their own agenda. I mean seriously you want to put a statue of Satan on capitol grounds. I'm not even really religious and I think that's asinine just as I suspect most people would. And what good do they think would come of that anyways? They only want that done out of spite to offend people, not to promote any civil thought or discussion on the matter. And the ironic thing is Satan is out of the Bible.

However, I do not believe that ridding the earth of religion is going to happen, nor do I think it would be a good thing, and the way to go about correcting the shit values would be to change them inside of of their paradigm. With the Bible, you pretty much just need to teach love, acceptance, free choice, and Romans Chapter 2.

Nope, religion has been around since the first civilization Sumeria and I don't think it will ever go anywhere because man will always feel the need to explain the unexplainable. As far as Christianity I think most Christians are good people, but like anything else you get the hypocritical ones, and ones that will use their religion for their own agenda just as people in other religions do.

 

[Ninae]

You take it out on your brother more than anyone else.

 

[spacejunk]

I mean seriously? Give me a fucking break. How hard is it to just ignore it? What does she do if she's walking down the street and passes a church, go into cardiac arrest?

Is it that hard to ignore atheists?

Is it that hard to understand that many people strongly believe that the church/religion and the state/politics should be kept separate in a healthy functioning democracy?

Putting aside your personal feelings on each concept just for a moment...

 

[nuttynutskin]

Believe it or not I've spoken out on here fairly vehemently against what used to be a mandatory faith based treatment program, (Alcoholic Anonymous), because I didn't feel that what used to be a mandatory treatment should involve religion. And I'm totally against politicians using ANY religion as a guise for ulterior motives. But when it comes to how ridiculous some atheists are about being offended by anything that even mentions god I don't really have any sympathy. I mean if it were up to them we should seriously remove god from the national anthem? Remove god from money? Erect statues of Lucifer on the grounds of the capitol? What's next, graveyards shouldn't be allowed cross shaped tombstones because they may offend someone who's not religious? That sort of shit really makes me think that the US could use MORE god, and I'm not even really religious.

 

[bit_pattern]

I mean if it were up to them we should seriously remove god from the national anthem?

Shouldn't a nation be inclusive to everybody? Why should it's anthem be exclusionary of people who don't share those particular bronze age beliefs? I would have thought the idea of a nation is to draw on the things that bring people together, not to drive wedges between people who believe different things.

Remove god from money?

Considering the feelings towards ursury and traders in the temple one would think dedicating money to god would be as much an anathema to christians as it is to atheists.

Erect statues of Lucifer on the grounds of the capitol?

Why would atheists want to erect statues to another god?

What's next, graveyards shouldn't be allowed cross shaped tombstones because they may offend someone who's not religious?

Are graveyards owned by the state? I think the issue here (which if I am not mistaken is defined in your constitution) is what constitutes the religious and the secular - the sate should be secular and separated from the church.

That sort of shit really makes me think that the US could use MORE god, and I'm not even really religious.

Well, that sounds like an exclusive notion of national identity - narrowing the definitions of who is on the inside and the outside is unlikely to lead to greater cohesion.

 

[bit_pattern]

But besides all of that a lot of atheists just seem like frivolous hypocrites to me. They want to remove anything that even has the word "God" in it and replace it with their own agenda. I mean seriously you want to put a statue of Satan on capitol grounds. I'm not even really religious and I think that's asinine just as I suspect most people would. And what good do they think would come of that anyways? They only want that done out of spite to offend people, not to promote any civil thought or discussion on the matter. And the ironic thing is Satan is out of the Bible.

Wait... You think satanists are atheists? Um... what?

 

[RichardMooner]

In junior high I used to stay seated but when I became older I realized it's just a respect thing. To me it's just an acknowledging of your country. I don't take it as meaning you think that your country is perfect and that you agree with everything about it.



I don't know, I just think it's silly to act so offended by a monument that was donated. In the article it says...



I mean seriously? Give me a fucking break. How hard is it to just ignore it? What does she do if she's walking down the street and passes a church, go into cardiac arrest?



Can you elaborate on that because I fail to see how Christianity itself is holding all of these people back to the point that they have to fight for their lives. That's absurd. You know who operates most homeless shelters and soup kitchens? Churches. As far as the political realm lots of politicians will use religion for their own motives obviously, but besides that I don't really see where you're coming from. A true Christian is not supposed to judge.

But besides all of that a lot of atheists just seem like frivolous hypocrites to me. They want to remove anything that even has the word "God" in it and replace it with their own agenda. I mean seriously you want to put a statue of Satan on capitol grounds. I'm not even really religious and I think that's asinine just as I suspect most people would. And what good do they think would come of that anyways? They only want that done out of spite to offend people, not to promote any civil thought or discussion on the matter. And the ironic thing is Satan is out of the Bible.



Nope, religion has been around since the first civilization Sumeria and I don't think it will ever go anywhere because man will always feel the need to explain the unexplainable. As far as Christianity I think most Christians are good people, but like anything else you get the hypocritical ones, and ones that will use their religion for their own agenda just as people in other religions do.

To elaborate, the Church has twisted the values of Christ, and because of that, we still see women who are greatly oppressed (lower wages than men, considered to be sexually immoral if they have sex before marriage, considered to be "slutty" if they dress in "immodest" clothing, being shot down and hated for having an abortion etc...) if you're black, he common peoples of the U.S use to justify slavery because of African religious beliefs, and while that isn't that around as much anymore, black men and women are still oppressed immensely because of the past oppression they dealt with due to our corrupt view, and now, the State uses the past to carry on with the oppression of black men and women because they're an easy target, and many Americans have seen them as inferior, generation after generation just because they're treated that way and always have been. If you're anything but straight, you're fighting for your marriage rights, if your transgender, you risk being beaten to death by the police on a daily basis, and all of that has to do with people reading Romans Chapter 1, and forgetting to read Romans Chapter 2. And if you're mentally ill, a lot of the diagnosis for mental disorders are still based off Catholic values. For instance, "bodily piercings" is classified under self mutilation in DSM 4. A lot of the treatment methods in Mental Hospitals are still subject to the past models developed by the Roman Catholic Church. Many mentally ill people are considered to be the way that they are because they are "sinners", and trust me, that's still around. The way that our culture views the mentally ill still has strong Roman Catholic ties. And if you're poor, the right wing use their personal property rights to oppose welfare. Not to mention, the poor have always been seen as inferior, due to the Catholic Church, and that has carried on even today, and is once again used by politicians to keep the oppressed, oppressed, even if it isn't directly linked to The Church anymore. The Church is the cause of the view.

 

[Ninae]

Wait, I'm sorry, but I'm a bit confused. Haha. The quote that you put under your original statement is a quote written by another that pisses you off, or it is a quote written by you and I have missed something? My apologies, I'm running a bit slow today.

Sorry for the confusion, I guess I might have thought it was something you could relate to or something.

But the quote is by no less than Lucifer - The Lucifer behind the "Lucifer", now speaking after his return to Heaven, about how he was present at the meeting were Constantine compiled the Bible and was so frustrated as he was powerless to do much apart from persuade them to keep a few of the original, beautiful passages that accurately described Christ's real life and work on Earth.

 

[Tromps]

Believing there is no God is not the same as knowing there is no god.

It's not possible to know there is no God, no one really knows either way. Believing there is no God (atheism) takes faith. By definition it really does. For lack of a better word, it is even the same kind of "blind faith."

 

[Ninae]

Tromps, the only difference is what colour the "blind faith" takes.

Although if you start moving in this direction with an Atheist it doesn't take long before he explodes and loses all his capacity for reason.

There is usually something strongly emotional behind someone's decision to become an Atheist unless he simply doesn't give a fuck (difficult childhood experiences, ego pride in what you've taken time to learn, turning to God for help during trauma and not getting any, etc.).

They can only be "objective" and "realistic" for so long and also don't realise when they lose their grip.

I think part of this is that it takes real intelligence to really understand the subject, after all (not trying to imply all Aheists are stupid - it's more that they lack the most brilliant ones).

 

[spacejunk]

^ that's extremely presumptuous of you.
I don't even know where to begin in responding to this post.

Have you ever read any philosophy, Ninae?
Any Kierkegaard? He wrote extensively on concepts of 'faith'.

Or, for that matter - any Nietzsche? A bit of an obvious choice, perhaps - but great minds have been applying critical thought - in great depth - to concepts surrounding faith, the existence of god and a lot of the other things mentioned in this thread for hundreds of years.

To state that atheists lack objectivity and reason - without backing up that claim with any examples - gives me the impression that you haven't looked too far into the philosophical elements of theology and religion.

Is that a reasonable assessment to make?
Who do you class as an atheist? The so called "new atheists" (such as Dawkins and Hitchens) are not so much typical atheists as they are shit-stirring polemicists.
I don't like labels like "atheist" - but even if I did, I do not think you should base all atheist thought on the modern, staunchly anti-religious sentiment espoused by the likes of those two (as entertaining as Hitchens could be at times).

The sweeping claims you make about 'atheists' are rather mystifying. You are simplifying and generalising, uh - just a little.

One of the worst things about religion - all religion is this tribal arrogance that we know something those ignorant [insert other religion, non believers, etc] don't know.
Faith is all well and good, but making such bold statements about everyone that doesn't happen to share your belief system is making exactly the same baseless assumptions you accuse 'atheists' of.

 

[VitamaN]

As an atheist with many friends of different beliefs from Islam to Buddhism to good ol' Christianity , I can tell ya... I equally make fun of all of them. No but seriously, you're in the USA? Right? Lots of us atheists here have been exposed to Christianity the most and that's probably why they get hit the hardest .

 

[paranoid android]

Believe it or not I've spoken out on here fairly vehemently against what used to be a mandatory faith based treatment program, (Alcoholic Anonymous), because I didn't feel that what used to be a mandatory treatment should involve religion. And I'm totally against politicians using ANY religion as a guise for ulterior motives. But when it comes to how ridiculous some atheists are about being offended by anything that even mentions god I don't really have any sympathy. I mean if it were up to them we should seriously remove god from the national anthem? Remove god from money? Erect statues of Lucifer on the grounds of the capitol? What's next, graveyards shouldn't be allowed cross shaped tombstones because they may offend someone who's not religious? That sort of shit really makes me think that the US could use MORE god, and I'm not even really religious.

I think you are being a tab melodramatic there. For one thing Atheist reject all religions including Satanism which is more or less Christianity turned upside down from the little i have read on it. I have nothing against god being mentioned during Christmas or Easter or anything else. I am not American but i think God should be taken out of the national anthem as it implies that America is founded upon the belief in a religion when to have a Liberal Democracy like the US you need to have complete separation of church and state. Canada's national anthem originally had no reference to god but unfortunately some cunt had to go and change that and it should be changed beck to the original. As for god being on money well i think that is a perfect satire of how organized religion has become a cash commodity more or less.

Also i think that most Atheists including myself hardly get offended by cross shaped tombstones as why should i care if the dead person was a Christian, Jew, Muslim, etc? I think you are mistaking a few really militant atheists who really misunderstand what being a Atheist means. It's kinda like far right Christians and radical Salafi Islamist's pretending to speak for everyone really.

 

[Ninae]

Have you ever read any philosophy, Ninae?

LOL. I've barely done anything else.

But I didn't mean to offend anyone with those comments, it was maybe a bit badly worded.

I've just noticed most of the geniuses I've known of haven't been atheists, but of course that doesn't mean they can't be. If it weren't Atheism wouldn't have taken such a strong hold, after all, as human beings aren't THAT stupid.

 

[Teabag Johnny]

For the atheist on this forum:

What is the purpose of life? Does it even have a purpose?

Did the arrival of negative energy (from nowhere or a black hole) create the energy in the big bang in our pin-point sized universe from it's inception?

Why was life created and how was it created (this could of have started on a different planet light years away)? BUT what created the building blocks of life (amino acids)?

I like to get everyone's perspective. I already know the religious views to the question, but atheists usually have a different outlook.

I'd do a whole new topic but no need to.. All the Cool Guys are on this forum

 

[rickolasnice]

You find your own meaning in life. There is no ultimate, psychological meaning..

DNA, however, seems to want to copy itself.. I've always thought that it isn't so much survival of the fittest species, but genetic make up. Every successful species of life or the grey area of strains of virus' find a way to copy itself in one way or another..

Big bang question.. No idea.

Life was not created.. it happened. What created water? Nothing.. it just happens when two hydrogen atoms bump into an oxygen.. and then that molecule bumps into many more like it.. Hopefully you understand what i'm trying to get it.. With enough time and enough random collisions etc of molecules etc etc etc blah blah blah somewhere, at some point, the building blocks for life will arise and from there.. life itself.

Yes it could have started light years away and probably has.

I suggest reading up on anthropic principal if you'd like a different outlook from the religious in this area.

 

[Tromps]

Life was not created.. it happened. What created water? Nothing.. it just happens when two hydrogen atoms bump into an oxygen.. and then that molecule bumps into many more like it.. Hopefully you understand what i'm trying to get it..

I think he's asking, getting more in-depth, what created the makeup of an atom? What created matter and energy?

Matter can't create itself. Energy needs a source, it also can't come from nothing.

Some research I read on string theory (a concept that all particles can be represented as strings) suggests that every form of matter and energy is the result of a vibration of these strings. In physics, sound is a vibration. What sort of sound could set the universe in motion? The Voice of God.

 

[rickolasnice]

Science is not claiming to know the answers to those questions, hence the search to find out.

To claim you have the answer and that answer is God is bull.. It's been used to answer the unknown for thousands of years and it hasn't been right once yet.

 

[swilow]

I think he's asking, getting more in-depth, what created the makeup of an atom? What created matter and energy?

Matter can't create itself. Energy needs a source, it also can't come from nothing.

See, I don't think anyone is claiming to know how these fundamental elements of the universe came into existence. In truth, all reasonable people should say that they do not know how the universe, matter, etc. originated. One can speculate of course...But, given the huge gaps in our knowledge of such matters, I don't even think we have enough information to make any claims such as the ones you've made. I understand the temptation to do so, but I think its futile.

Some research I read on string theory (a concept that all particles can be represented as strings) suggests that every form of matter and energy is the result of a vibration of these strings. In physics, sound is a vibration. What sort of sound could set the universe in motion? The Voice of God.

How did you come to that conclusion? Sure, sound is a vibration but that does not mean that all vibration is sound. The vibrations of cosmic strings (it this concept is correct) is not occurring within the audio frequency range. Sound, as a concept, does not exist in a predictable manner beyond earth. Least of all, it does not propagate through the vacuum of space.

Trying to use fragmentary physics knowledge to deduce gods presence is really pointless. Sure, some scientific concepts may be suggestive of god, but there are a vast amount of concepts which say otherwise, and these seemingly contradictory notions are not separable.