Atheist vs Christians at the Capitol

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http://www.christianpost.com/article/20 ... apitol.htm

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(I'm a Girl... )

"The person who knows everything has a lot to learn."

"Dubito, ergo cogito, ergo sum" (I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am) René Descartes

Everyone who participated in this protest are hypocrites.
They believe that these myths are facts and that prayer is the answer to everything, and yet they have the nerve to rely on science when they are sick.

What the sign said IS true, the holidays celebrate the Winter Solstice or Yule. Christians
have nothing to do with it and never did. I don't know if there is a god or not, or weither there is a afterlife, but as long as I am alive, I will rely on the natural world.

What really gets to me is why is it ok to be preaching about god, religion, ect. but it's not ok to question it. Mindless followers like the ones at this protest go nuts if someone asks "what if there is no god?"

There is nothing wrong in believing in god, but a line has to be drawn somewhere when religion interfears with common sense.

That. Is. AWESOME!! ! The irony is delicious.

Such a sign does sound rather confrontational, and allowing it on public property (the state capitol) sends a message that the state endorses the views of the atheist group. The First Amendment says that the state must remain neutral when it comes to religion. Logically, that means that taking a side against religion or for philosophies that explicitly deny the existence of God, such as some forms of humanism, is as bad as putting a cross in the rotunda. The line can get fuzzy-some states (including California) put menorahs on the capitol grounds, but not crosses or any professions of Christianity outside of secular Christmas ornamentation such as trees and Santa Claus related displays. Some Jews consider the menorah and other signs of Hanaukkah (sheesh, I can't spell it!) to be secular like a Christmas tree and Santa, since Hanaukkah has traditionally been a minor holiday in Judaism, far behind Pesach (Passover) and the High Holy Days. American Jews have used it as a Jewish gift giving holiday to counter the wide popularity of Christmas, but this is a modern interpretation. American Jews tend not to be very religious anyway, most only go to synagogue on holy days. The religious ones are all in Israel. Anyway, I can see why the Christians would have a problem with the sign's loaded language, and with it being on state property. Putting up a Christian sign that is equally loaded is not a solution. The solution is no sign.

Atheists, it's not what you say, it's how you say it. Can you state your case without being aggressive and confrontational? Instead of telling the world what you don't believe, tell us what you do believe in. Tell us what you stand for. You'll be respected for that, and hopefully the tensions will abate.

Pezar, the reason the sign was put on display was because the state had insisted on putting up a Nativity scene and a menorah, so they really had no excuse not to put the atheists' display up as well. The First Amendment angle in this instance requires all or nothing - either everyone gets denied, or anyone who has a belief set that includes a December celebration gets a shot. (Yes, that means that if an Asatru group wanted to display a Yule log, or a group of Druids wanted to put mistletoe all over an evergreen, they get to as well.)

The simplest solution would of course be to remove the creche and the menorah - but if you think the religionistas howled about the atheist sign, you should hear them scream when that idea comes up!

For example ...

Vegetarians should simply extoll the virtues of vegetarianism and explain the health benefits instead of condemning people for eating meat and telling us how we're such horrible people, and so on. You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, as the old saying goes.

What is it that you believe in? Make a positive statement instead of a negative one, an affirmation instead of condemnation. How about that, atheism?

here's my oppinion, why doesn't everyone take five minutes and watch to see if praying works? the athiests say religion is a lie and so they've done what they'vedone, now the christians have a problem so they protest and pray. if religion wasn't a lie praying would work, so how about letting them pray until christmas and then decided after when the billboard falls down or stays standing?

i think it's appaling how much defence religion gets, science books are now classed as 'theory' and 'false knowledge' thanks to christian groups yet you'd be arrested if you walked into a church and started stating scientific facts.

here's the most positive statement i can make about what i believe:

if i saw a man claiming to be jesus with my own eyes who walked on water and healed people with just a touch i would believe he was a miricle worker unless there was something to prove otherwise (such as the water being frozen, being supported on wires etc), the reason being i'm willing to change my mind if proved wrong.

it doesn't matter how much proof you give the majority of christians, they'll still refuse to listen to reason and discard all reason without being able to support it with an argument.

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most people think i'm a bit strange, even abnormal. normal is the majority, the average, what is most frequent. if you lived around here, you'll see the positive of not being normal

What a load of crap. Religionists can post holiday signs and have bumper stickers that say offensive things like "Real men love Jesus" (as if all buddhist, hindu, taoist, and other non-christian males aren't "real men") but when someone wants to present something that conflicts with the religionists ideas they flip out. Organized religion is a sham. Why do you think there is so much pedophilia in the churches? Why do you think Islamic Terrorists kill in the name off Allah? Why do you think Zionist Jews kill and steel palestinian land? If these people actually practiced what they preached there wouldn't be that kind of violence. But alas, religionists will always find a way to hide behind their dogmatic beliefs when someone points the finger at them.