|
Bogdan,
Again, I great appreciate your hard work and effort in putting Adland together. You are a good, caring person.
As far as this subject, unless you have "walked in the shoes" of Atheists, the ONLY minority where it is still "politically correct" to persecute and maligne, you will never understand my position.
1. IF you will go back (or just observe in the future) you will see that post after post after post after post has pro-Christian comments in them and yet I do not see you saying anything about toning them down.
2. Had Douglas said:
"I Have found the secret to MY being a good individual, is to park MY self in church as much as possible, and become active in the word."
it would have been one thing only that is NOT what he said.
He said:
"I Have found the secret to being a good individual, is to park yourself in church as much as possible, and become active in the word."
He presents the concept the "THE SECRET" (like there is ONLY ONE) to being a good person is being religious when ALL OF THE FACTS PROVE that is NOT true AT ALL.
The jails are FULL of people who are religious and nearly ALL terrorists are religious.
Many wars are the result of religious differences and nearly all terrorist attacks are the result of religious differences.
Nearly every case of a sex crime, other than what is termed "simple rape" is commited by people who were brought up in a stict religious home.
(This is not my "mere" opinion, it is provable fact.)
About 10% of the American population are Atheists and according to many religious people, we have no morals, or any idea of right an wrong.
So one would think at least 10 percent, (and probably more) of the American jail population would be Atheists when it is actually LESS than one percent.
3. It is very common for Americans who are Atheists to NOT EVEN KNOW there are other Atheists who feel about religion as they do.
They do not know they are not alone. It happened to me and I know it has, and it is happening right now, to many others
Most people have no clue there are over 29,000,000 Americans who are Atheists or well over One Billion people world wide are Atheists.
MOST Americans who are Atheists are so AFRAID of what Christians will do to them if they publicly state they are Atheists, they do not make it public they are Atheists. (And I'll bet that's true for most Canadians who are Atheists as well.)
And that Bogdan, IS WRONG!
So I make the comments I do to let the Christians know they do not run the US, and that when they say things which are not true, they will be challenged.
And I make the comments I do to let other Atheists know they are not alone. I inform and I educate.
Black people did not get treated right until they took action, until they stood up and made it clear the way they were being treated was wrong. And this did NOT happen until the middle sixties.
And the same applies to both women and to homosexuals.
Women, who have been made 2nd class in the Bible and by most religions are still held down all around the world, Even in America, they are still held down in some areas.
They did not really even start making a lot of progress in gaining their rightful place in America until the 1970's.
Homosexuals finally got the message and started coming out of the closet in the 1990's
In each case it took people who were willing to speak our about injustice and the acts of those whose actions further the problem. To let others who are like they are to know they are not alone.
I KNOW there are other Atheists in Adland and I know that most of them will NOT state they are as they do not wish to jeopardize any possible business contacts they may get by being members of Adland.
You see Bogdan, many Christians are bigots who will not do business with Atheists.
So Bogdan, I am doing EXACTLY what your quote is about.
I am being an individual who is sticking up for my rights and the rights of all Atheists.
Because as I said before, at the present time, we Atheists are the ONLY minority in the US who it is still "politically correct" to put down, to harass and to persecute.
And that Bogdan, IS WRONG!
I am very much for positive things and for motivational things. You quote a lot of them.
(And many of them are from Atheists.)
I just get sick and tired of having religion shoved at me all of the time & so SOME TIMES I respond and OTHER times, I just let it slide.
I do NOT join religious forums and post things in them.
Here are JUST A FEW fairly recent examples of WHY most American who are Atheists are AFRAID to publicly state they are Atheists.
The following examples are from an article by Margaret Downey who has experienced Christian Bigotry herself.
-----------------
Ada, Oklahoma:
A Baptist student told a local newspaper she wouldn't take professor William Zellner's classes because he was an Atheist, triggering a flurry of abuse.
Zellner received harassing notes and telephone calls, some of which were threatening.
His car was vandalized, for a time on a daily basis. A local church sold "I am praying for Dr. Zellner" buttons. His children experienced shunning and beatings from religious children.
GET THAT?
HIS CHILDREN WERE BEATEN!
BEATEN BY WHO?
BY CHRISTIANS!
---------------------
Minneapolis, Minnesota:
A first-grader Michael Bristor, an Atheist, was denied an honor roll certificate when he refused to participate in the totally unconstitutional "prayer time" at a public school.
For three years, administrators ignored the family's complaints until a lawsuit was filed.
---------------------
Caro, Michigan:
In December 2001, Anonka, who is an open Atheist (who maintains a museum of Christian religious atrocities) appeared before the Tuscola County Board of Commissioners to challenge a nativity scene placed on public land.
The Commissioners responded angrily, saying she had no right to be present and proceeding to ridicule her. Anonka and her family suffered repeated harassment including annoyance calls, threatening calls, letters, and vandalism.
In February 2004, the county settled in U.S. District Court, agreeing to pay an undisclosed sum and to issue a "public expression of regret."
---------------------
Pocopson, Pennsylvania:
My own (Margaret Downey's) Atheism came to prominence when I became involved in a legal challenge to a Ten Commandments plaque on the wall of the Chester County, Penn, courthouse.
My neighbors organized a shunning campaign, some area merchants refused to do business with me, and I received hundreds of threatening letters and phone calls.
(The depth of public animus against me became a subject of local news and magazine coverage.)
I was forced to close my interior decorating business because of death threats which compelled me to stop visiting the homes of persons unknown to me.
---------------------
Calgary, Alberta:
An eleven-year-old boy, after protesting intercom readings of the Lord's Prayer in a public school, experienced daily physical attacks and threats against his life by schoolmates, notably the sons of three local pastors.
He was repeatedly body- checked into hallway walls and attacked in the rest rooms. One pastor's son stalked him with a butcher knife in an empty portable classroom.
Despite the seriousness of this incident, no action was taken.
NO ACTION TAKEN?
IF THE ATHEIST BOY HAD DONE IT, HE WOULD BE IN JAIL!
The boy's parents transferred him to another school for his own safety
SAFTEY FROM WHO?
FROM CHRISTIANS!
-------------------------
Gray, Tennessee:
Carletta Sims joined a financial firm in June 2001. Shortly afterward, two Baptist co-workers took offense upon learning Sims was an Atheist. So management granted the co-workers' request to be assigned workspaces further from Sims.
When Sims complained about a picture of Jesus being left on her computer, the management fired Sims. So Sims filed suit, seeking $250,000;
U.S. District Judge Thomas Hull ruled "religious discrimination (or preferential treatment of Christians) can be inferred."
In January 2004, the major bank which had since acquired the firm settled with Sims for an undisclosed amount.
---------------
Neil Sez: Maybe those two co-workers read this passage in the Bible:
"Don't associate with non-Christians. Don't receive them into your house or even exchange greeting with them.
2 John 1:10"
---------
Margaret Downey founded the Anti- Discrimination Support Network in 1993.
She attributes her activism to growing up in a multicultural family in highly prejudiced southern society in the 1950s.
She is also the founder of the Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia and a member of the Thomas Paine Memorial Committee.
-----------------------
Just a few days ago, I read where a univ. of Kansas professor was BEATEN by two Christians who did not like what he had said about the teaching of "Intelligent Design"
HE WAS BEATEN BY CHRISTIANS FOR EXPRESSING AN OPINION!
-----------
And I recently read about a married student, who had a job delivering pizzas (to earn a living for himself and his wife while he was going to college) and who had a very good work record was reprimanded because some Christian bigot complained about his bumper sticker.
As he's an American, and because of his believing in his right of his Freedom Of Speech, he refused to remove his bumper sticker.
So HE WAS FIRED!
He was FIRED ONLY because of a bumper sticker some Christian BIGOT did not like!
And what terrible thing did his bumper sticker say?
"Darwin Loves You"
I will bet there has never been an example of a Christian even being reprimanded, much less fired, over their having a "Jesus Loves You" (or any other Christian religious saying) bumper sticker on their car.
Sorry to say, here in the United States Christians not only persecute, and beat, threaten, harasses us and our children, they even try to, and have, killed us!
-----------------------
Bogdan, some Christians in America complain about how their religion is being bashed and attacked.
WHAT TOTAL CRAP THAT IS!
I dare anyone to show me even ONE example where an American Atheist has ever done anything to any Christian only due to a difference in religious belief which is anywhere EVEN CLOSE to being as bad as what Christians have done to us as shown in the few examples above.
(And there are MANY more examples of Christians physically attacking Atheists here in the US!)
-----------------------
When I point out that (to name a very, very few) Mark Twain, Tom Edison, Henry Ford, Carl Sagen, Gene Kelly, Hitchcock, Hemingway, Louis Pasture, Burbank, W.C. Fields, Jody Foster, Chris Reeve, Ayn Rand, Mozart, Beethoven, Brams, Marie Curie, Dennis Hopper, Marlon Brando, Pauling, Jack Nichleson, Ted Turner, George Soros, Susan B. Anthony, Richard Branson. Bill Gates, K. Hepburn, Richard Burton, Pat Tilman and Lance Armstrong (to name a very, very, very few) who have all achieved fame and success WITHOUT any beliefs in one or more gods.
I AM offering information and motivation to people.
When I say (& can PROVE) you do NOT need a belief in a religion or in gods to be a good, caring, honest, fair, truthful, compassionate, helpful, courageous, trustworthy brave, just & intelligent person, I AM offing both information & motivation.
And I am also sticking up for the single MOST persecuted miniority in the United States today!
|