You Don’t Need Religion to be a Jerk
By L. Russell Allen - Dec 5th, 2008 at 2:15 pmEvery December there seems to be a controversy somewhere over a Nativity scene on public property. This year it looks like it’s going to be centered on the Washington Legislative Building in the state capital of Olympia. The twist? The Nativity scene isn’t the part that’s attracting all the attention. Instead, it’s a sign next to the Nativity scene that’s catching people’s eyes.
CNN reports that The Freedom from Religion Foundation has erected a sign that says the following:
At this season of THE WINTER SOLSTICE may reason prevail.
There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.
Step off.
I agree that having a Nativity scene on public property is grossly inappropriate. I also think that a pro-atheism sign on public property is grossly inappropriate. I get the tit for tat angle, but, really. Cut it out. That sign offends me and I’m hardly even a submarine Christian (surfacing every Christmas and Easter). The only thing that has ever made me less tolerant of atheists is this sign.
No bonus points for taking the beliefs of a super-majority of Americans and laughing at us. Religion is something that inspires all sorts of bad things. But it also inspires charity and love. It inspires whatever you bring into it. Mocking the people who do good works in the name of a religious deity… how is that going to inspire people?
“When people ask us, ‘Why are you hateful? Why are you putting up something critical of people’s holidays? — we respond that we kind of feel that the Christian message is the hate message,” [Freedom from Religion Foundation Dan Barker] said. “On that Nativity scene, there is this threat of internal violence if we don’t submit to that master. Hate speech goes both ways.”
The only thing Dan Barker has done is prove that fundamentalist atheists are just as obnoxious as fundamentalist Jews, fundamentalist Christians, or fundamentalist anythings.
Yes.
December 5th, 2008 at 3:02 pmI think it speaks volumes that the sign, which weighs “probably about fifty pounds,” was stolen and thrown in a ditch. It’s less intemperate to say something controversial than it is to attempt to silence that speech via criminal acts.
December 6th, 2008 at 2:43 pmHowdy folk,
As far as the wording of the Constitution goes – freedom “of” religion is correct – however, the deeper meaning of freedom “from” religion is what really counts. I’m sure that each religion appreciates being free FROM the encroachment of other religions upon their personal practices. Baptists and Methodists, etc. appreciate protection FROM having their tithing sent to Rome to support the Pope, etc.
Atheists just want one more freedom FROM religion than those of any given other religion – freedom FROM every religion.
I believe that the basic issue with the sign from the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) in the state of Washington is the same issue that created the original wording of a similar sign placed in the capital building for the state of Wisconsin – namely the religious entanglement of church and state.
One would think that with all of the tax-exempt church property all over the place – that there would be plenty of opportunity for religious folk to place “nativity scenes” on private property. The issue is when a “nativity scene” finds placement on public property that the entanglement of church and state ensues. The FFRF would never place one of their signs on a private “nativity scene” on private property.
I fully support what the FFRF is doing with their efforts in breaking up a large number of entanglements between church and state. I am proud to be an Assertive Atheist doing my part in confronting the over zealousness and audacity exhibited by many Theists that believe they have the Right to encroach upon the Public sector – with out and out Propaganda. Although to date, both Theists and Atheists tend to take a provincial view that the contest between Atheism and Theism has only been around for a few thousand years – the truth is that this contest has been going on for better than 2.9 Million years.
Recently, Assertive Atheists finally speak up and place this contest in the larger human picture.
On my new Website of http://www.assertiveatheistmoments.com I present a different orientation as to what the Epistemology of Atheism covers. The focus is on Symbols and Symbolic Form (ala Cassirer) combined with Symbolic Anthropology (ala Geertz). Roughly, the orientation is that during the evolution from proto-Homo Sapiens to Homo Sapiens, commencing 3 million years ago, the physical brain size and brain mass increased three-fold, due to the use of Symbols and Tools. During this 3 Million year evolutionary process, the Symbols for Atheism and the Symbols for Theism have also evolved.
With the written word being around for no longer than 100,000 years, there is a 2.9 Million period during which we know very little about the evolution of the Symbols of Atheism and the Symbols of Theism. It is during this 2.9 Million year period that the origins of the Symbols of Atheism and the Symbols of Theism begin. Although we know little, we can apply Cassirer’s orientations to Symbols and Symbolic Form to learn and Know more.
This places a totally different take on the notion of Assertive Atheism.
Bob
December 14th, 2008 at 9:34 am