TGA is featured in the 16th Edition of Anything Goes & General News , which offers everything from business, technology and politics to entertainment. There’s something for everybody so stop by and check it out!
This month there are two versions of the Carnival of the Godless, both at Greta Christina’s Blog. There is a Dirty Version, and a Clean Version. The same fabulous articles are featured in both, but the Dirty Version features vintage pulp fiction cover artwork. Enjoy!
You may have heard of a strain of evangelical Christianity called Prosperity Gospel, the delusional notion that being successful and filthy rich is evidence that God really, really loves you. Some of the evangelists who espouse Prosperity Gospel include Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Pat Robertson, Paul Crouch, and Joel Osteen. Prosperity Gospel sometimes is called Seed Faith, Word Faith, Positive Confession, Giving & Receiving, Health & Wealth, Name it & Claim it and –at least by detractors–Blab it & Grab it.
Of course this flies in the face of everything Jesus said about giving away your worldly goods and living in poverty, helping the poor and so on. But since when have RRRW Christians ever cared about what Jesus had to say?
So that’s where this bizarre video comes in . It’s comprised of clips of Prosperity Gospel sermons. But wait–there’s more! For just $9.99 you can get an amazing DVD that will tell you how you too can become filthy rich, God’s way.
Now when televangelists bilk destitute people out of their money by claiming God is going to take them to hell otherwise I feel bad for the fools who send in the money. In this case I have nothing but disgust for both the buyer and the seller. Both are acting out of greed. The fact that they’re using religion to justify it only makes it sicker.
Last summer Americans United for the Separation of Church and State called for the IRS to investigate First Southern Baptist Church of Buena Park, Calif. for a possible violation of federal tax law barring electioneering by non-profit groups. This came after pastor Dr. Wiley S. Drake issued a press release endorsing presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.
Flash forward to this month and Americans United was pleased to announce that the IRS was indeed investigating the church. Their joy was short lived however. For two days afterward they discovered that they were the targets of a “Death Prayer” campaign instigated by pastor Wiley Drake.
Controversial Southern Baptist Pastor Wiley Drake has again urged his followers to pray for the deaths of staff members at Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Last August, Americans United filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service about Drake’s use of church letterhead and a church-based radio program to endorse presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. Federal tax law forbids tax-exempt groups from endorsing or opposing candidates for public office.
…..
In response, Drake issued a Feb. 14 e-mail appeal to followers to engage in “imprecatory prayers” (curses) against Americans United and three of its staff members.
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“We have asked the IRS to investigate what we believe to be Drake’s violation of federal tax law,” Lynn continued. “If Drake thinks he is innocent, he has more than adequate legal representation, and there is ample opportunity to make his case.
“Trying to turn God into some sort of heavenly hit man is repugnant,” Lynn concluded. “There is more than a whiff of the Taliban in this action”
Wrote Drake, “In light of the recent attack from the enemies of God I ask the children of God to go into action with Imprecatory Prayer. Especially against Americans United for Separation of Church and State…. Specifically target Joe Conn or Jeremy Learing [sic] and their leader Rev. Barry Lynn. They are those who lead the attack.”…
This is the type of person who would claim atheists are immoral and hateful, yet he’s praying for the death of an entire group of innocent people. Why? Because those individuals had the audacity to alert authorities to his illegal acts.
Now that’s truly immoral. It’s just a good thing his plan won’t amount to anything.
Have you ever seen those “Blah, blah, blah, blah, God” billboards on the side of the highway? Of course you have. Finally somebody decided to respond in kind, if only on video. I think you’re going to like this.
 Jocelyn Salinas cries after the shooting of Lawrence King. |
15-year-old Lawrence King of Oxnard, CA, was shot Tuesday at his school. He remained on a ventilator after being pronounced brain-dead by two neurosurgeons at St. John’s Regional Medical Center.
Police have not alleged a motive for the shooting, but said there appeared to have been “bad blood” between the teens. Police said a handgun was used in the attack, which occurred with more than 20 other students in the room.
[The Los Angeles Times reports that, “The teenager sometimes wore feminine clothing and makeup, and proclaimed he was gay,” according to fellow students. “He would come to school in high-heeled boots, makeup, jewelry and painted nails — the whole thing,” said Michael Sweeney, 13, an eighth-grader. “That was freaking the guys out.”] King had been under the care of the county foster care system and lived at Casa Pacifica, a nearby center for abused and neglected children, said Steve Elson, the facility’s chief executive.
“We’re are all stunned and it’s just an unspeakable tragedy,” Elson said.
Yet another unspeakable tragedy brought on by homophobia. This is what the attitudes fostered by RRRW Christianity enables. This is what hatred of anything and anybody “different” is doing to our world. This is the environment radicals are fighting so hard to maintain by working against SB 777. An environment where discrimination and intolerance flourish and are legal. One where it’s seemingly OK for kids to be killed just for being different.
What a vile, sick, hateful world.
The RW Christians are engaging in yet another round of outrage against atheists with a new billboard campaign. It seems they didn’t like the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s billboards that read, simply, Imagine No Religion, a reference to Imagine by John Lennon. In response, InGodWeTrustUSA.org asks: Why Do Atheists Hate America?
The nation’s largest atheist group wants you to imagine a world without the Pledge of Allegiance, without faith, without patriotism, and without America as we know it.
Right off they hit us with the big lies that atheists are not and cannot be patriots, and that without faith/Christianity patriotism would not exist. Also without faith and Christianity “America as we know it” would cease to exist. Of course to an extent that second part is true. Just imagine how much bigotry and oppression we could dispense with by eradicating Christianity alone.
The Freedom from Religion Foundation has begun posting their “Imagine No Religion” billboards all across the country. So, In God We Trust has created our own billboard campaign asking “Why Do Atheists Hate America?”
Hmmmm, I wonder what would happen if we were to erect billboards asking Why do Christians Hate America? . I imagine the furor would set the country on fire from coast to coast. But it’s still acceptable for Christians to put up inflammatory billboards like Why do Atheists Hate America? . Maybe we should be discussing why that is rather than this phony “Christian persecution”.
Why does this particular atheist group seem to want to banish people of faith? Our sign doesn’t say, ‘Imagine No Atheists.’ All we want is a public debate. We want the atheists to defend some of the Anti-American statements they’ve made.
I’m not a member of the group myself and cannot, therefore, speak for them. However speaking as an independent atheist, I don’t want to banish people of faith and I know most atheists don’t. We just disapprove of the stranglehold faith/religion has on our nation and the way it is crammed down our throats constantly. We dislike the notion many people of faith have that they have the inherent right to impose their religion on everybody, whether those people like it or not. We want people of faith to use faith to guide their own lives, not use it as a weapon against others. We’re also quite willing to defend our statements so feel free to ask us, in a rational manner, about them.
Not only that, but we would like to know how ‘Imagine No Religion’ is different than ‘Imagine No Christians’ or ‘Imagine No Jews’?
Religion is a belief system, an ideology. It is not a person, animal or other living being. Therefore if it ceased to exist no harm would have been done to anybody. Saying Imagine no Religion is not the same as saying Imagine no Christians or Imagine no Jews because the latter two statements involve living beings who could come to harm.
Think about what these atheists are really saying. ‘Imagine No Mother Theresa?’ ‘Imagine No Martin Luther King, Jr.?’ I guess that’s the kind of world in which these atheists think we would all be better off living.
Christians are very fond of citing MLK and Mother Theresa as evidence of the good religion can bring to the world. However people such as Hitler, Jack Hyles, Earl Paulk, Angel Maturino Resendiz, and countless others commit heinous acts in the name of religion/God. Religion also causes a great deal of divisiveness, bigotry, war and even genocide. Accordingly it’s easy to claim that religion is a force of evil as well as good.
They then continue with a page titled The Atheists’ Opinion of America. It includes various quotes from FFRF, no doubt cherry-picked to get the best reactions from their RRRW audience.
Finally, Christianity is harmful. More people have been killed in the name of a god than for any other reason. The Church has a shameful, bloody history of Crusades, Inquisitions, witch-burnings, heresy trials, American colonial intolerance, disrespect of indigenous traditions (such as American Indians), support of slavery, and oppression of women.
– Dan Barker, Freedom From Religion Foundation Co-President in Losing Faith in Faith Page 217In any event, the Colonists of the 1630s did not establish our country. The United States of America was founded a century and a half later. If we are going back one hundred and fifty years before our founding, why stop there? Native Americans were on this continent at least twelve thousand years before the American Revolution. These were the true discoverers of our land, and if we must return to the tradition of our founders, then all “true Americans” should adopt the pantheistic, polytheistic, natural system of Native American religions. The “Christian nation” argument is racist. (So is Columbus Day, for that matter.)
– Dan Barker, Freedom From Religion Foundation Co-President in Losing Faith in Faith Page 307The Declaration of Independence had nothing to do with religious freedom . . .
– Dan Barker, Freedom From Religion Foundation Co-President in Losing Faith in Faith Page 307
All of those statements are true. They are not in any way hateful towards religion, Christians or America. Why should atheists or the FFRF apologize for stating the truth, even if it hurts the feelings of those who might find it uncomfortable?
The current climate in the United States, which is in the throes of a theo-patriotic kneejerk response to 9/11, has had a very depressing and muzzling effect on the campaign for human rights. Progressive organizations have actually all grown a bit in membership, but the economic toll is going to be bad in the long run.
– Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freedom From Religion Foundation Co-President - Keynote speech to the International Humanist and Ethical Union, meeting at Conway Hall in London, England, Fall 2003Bush’s proclamation of Friday, September 14, as a “National Day of Prayer and Remembrance” shows the pitfalls of the “God is on our side” mentality, and the dangers of religious patriotism. While it may be natural for religious persons to turn to religion or prayer for solace, it is not the role of the President of the United States, or his spokespersons, to urge citizens to pray, to go to church, to turn to faith, or to observe a National Day of Prayer with worship. Prayer had its chance on September 11, and it failed. Imagine the unanswered prayers of hundreds or thousands of the victims of these terrorists. Official prayer will not solve any problems. The “God is on our side” mentality was responsible for these tragic acts of terrorism. We must not compound the dangers by a “One Nation Under God” response.
– Freedom From Religion Foundation Press Release 9/13/07
Therein lies more of the “If you’re not with us you’re against us–and that’s bad” mentality that the RRRW harbors. Conformity at all costs, diversity is to be drummed out, naysayers are hunted down and denounced. What is wrong with somebody having a different opinion? Why does everybody have to believe exactly what you do? Why is your belief the only acceptable one? There are three colors on the American flag, not one. So why do you demand that every American fit into your narrow mold?
How does coercing my sixth-grader to endorse concepts that run counter to our family’s values promote unity? Whether my child remains seated for the Pledge or feels compelled to stand with the believers (the real Americans), a precious integrity has been sacrificed…
– Dan Barker, Freedom From Religion Foundation Co-President in Freethought Today November 2001
How would Christians feel if their children were compelled to state every day that God did not exist? How would they feel if their children were forced to say the Pledge every day, but instead of “under God” the phrase was “under Allah” or “under Thor”? It seems Christians never have a problem forcing others to comply with their beliefs, but have a very real issue when they’re forced to comply with others beliefs (or lack thereof).
Although I feel that churches should be directly taxed, the climate might not yet be ripe for such reform…Since only a tiny portion of church donations truly goes to charity, we should allow only a percentage of religious contributions to be deductible from personal income.
– Dan Barker, Freedom From Religion Foundation Co-President in Losing Faith in Faith Page 259Religion also poses a danger to mental health, damaging self-respect, personal responsibility, and clarity of thought.
– Dan Barker, Freedom From Religion Foundation Co-President in Losing Faith in Faith Page 217Christians have an unhealthy view of human nature, and they seem hell-bent on proving it. If they had a more natural view of self and sex, and if they were allowed to grow to a level of self confidence, they could become mature adults able to handle their own sexuality in a responsible and positive manner.
– Dan Barker, Freedom From Religion Foundation Co-President in Losing Faith in Faith Page 285
Once again, these are all true statements. Anybody who wishes to do so is free to dispute them but the fact that they make people experience cognitive dissonance doesn’t make atheists haters of America.
If Christianity were simply untrue I would not be too concerned. Santa is untrue, but it is a harmless myth which people outgrow. But Christianity, besides being false, is also abhorrent.
– Dan Barker, Freedom From Religion Foundation Co-President in Losing Faith in Faith Page 215The vote by the House of Representatives on Dec. 11, 2007, to approve H. Res. 847, “Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith,” was both a meaningless exercise in pandering, and a meaningful gauge of how quickly politicians still roll over and play dead when confronted with a religious “gotcha” issue.
– Freedom From Religion Foundation Press Release 12/14/07In our religion-drenched society, it is just assumed that if it’s religious, it’s good. We question whether basing decisions on faith, which basically means with no evidence, rather than on reality, can ever be good for people or for society. Since there is no proof for various religious claims, it creates divisiveness.
– Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freedom From Religion Foundation Co-President press release 12/5/07
See my comments above.
Maybe the question we should be asking is not Why do Atheists Hate America but Why do RRRW Christians Hate America and Everybody in it? Why do they feel compelled to shove their narrow minded views down the throats of everybody regardless of what anybody else wants or feels? Why do they think they are the moral authority of the nation and feel they have the right to speak for everybody? Why do they have the right to selectively interpret the Bible and use it as a weapon against others? I could go on and on but I’m sure I’ve made my point.
Atheists do not hate America. Atheists just want to be free to enjoy it along with everybody else, free from the iron fist of busybodies who think they have the right to impose their beliefs on others. Nothing more.
Addendum. A comment has been received (and I anticipate more as this post is on the Carnival of the Godless #86). Mike H. says:
Very well done, I am glad I found this post through the Carnival of the Godless.
Thank you, Mike. I’ve been a fan of COTG for a long while, and am thrilled to now be featured on it from time to time. I’m glad you enjoyed my post.
You may have heard of The Brights. Some atheists/non-theists describe themselves as Brights, perhaps because they prefer to avoid the atheist label, which has a host of negative connotations and associated bigotries attached to it. Others may prefer to embrace the distinct philosophy set forth by The Brights over atheism, which is not a philosophy but a lack of theism.
Is Your Worldview Naturalistic?
Think about your own worldview to decide if it is free of supernatural or mystical deities, forces, and entities. If you decide that you fit the description above, then you are, by definition, a bright!
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Reason and Purpose
Currently the naturalistic worldview is insufficiently expressed within most cultures, even politically/socially repressed. To be a Bright is to participate in a movement to address the situation. (Note: the upper case Bright signifies someone who fits the definition and registers on this Web site.)
There is a great diversity of persons who have a naturalistic worldview (free of supernatural and mystical elements). Some are members of existing organizations that foster a supernatural-free perspective. Far more individuals are not associated with any formal group or label. Under the broad umbrella of the naturalistic worldview, the constituency of Brights can undertake social and civic actions designed to influence a society otherwise permeated with supernaturalism.
The movement’s three major aims are:1. Promote the civic understanding and acknowledgment of the naturalistic worldview, which is free of supernatural and mystical elements.
2. Gain public recognition that persons who hold such a worldview can bring principled actions to bear on matters of civic importance.
3. Educate society toward accepting the full and equitable civic participation of all such individuals.…..
In all honesty I have no qualms with any of those goals or views. The only quibble I have is with the name of the organization. As much flack as I encounter being an atheist, I'd just feel rather arrogant or elitist calling myself a Bright. Some people already assume atheists/freethinkers/etc. presume themselves superior to their theistic/religious brethren. To me the title Brights would only reinforce that notion. I myself can do without that. Plain old atheist is fine with me. It takes a lot less explanation anyway. At long last, verification that my humble Blog is being noticed by live people and not just comment spam-bots. Re: the neologism Bright From day one, Bright was linked to the Enlightenment — a time for hope that I have found that saying “I am a bright” inevitably leads to a positive conversation. The response is almost always “What is a bright ?” and I follow with “A Bright is a This presents the opportunity to state “I believe that the world is totally natural, The conversation goes on from there. Paul Geisert Thank you for your thoughts, Paul. I’m pleased to discover that my original perceptions about the label “Brights” were in error. It appears I may have been anticipating a particular reaction based on past experiences. You have given me much to think about.
Addendum:
science and reason would be the guiding forces of society. It has nothing to do with
intelligence.
person with a naturalistic worldview” which is almost always followed by a strange
look or “What is a naturalistic worldview”?
free of supernatural gods and mystical elements.”
Co-director of The Brights’ Net
You might be with this one. Based loosely on The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, this video presents a test that ostensibly measures your personal God Delusion.
I scored a 5. I’m so proud. See how you do. (Warning, if you are religious you will be offended.)
Governor Rick Perry (R, TX) has written a new book decrying the “left wing war” on the beleaguered Boy Scouts of America. It seems Governor Perry has issues with the ACLU, atheists, LGBTs…and the truth.
Meanwhile, some excerpts from Perry’s book, which questions the American Civil Liberties Union’s efforts to open the Boy Scouts of America to gays and people who don’t declare a belief in God:
“Only they know, but isn’t it odd that the ACLU, which champions First Amendment rights, wants them applied selectively? It seems some of the most intolerant acts occur in the name of tolerance; a paradox that seems to describe much of the ACLU’s political agenda.”
The ACLU has no such desire. The ACLU champions the civil rights of all Americans, Christian, atheist, straight, gay, bisexual, transgender, black, Latino, Jewish, Asian, Buddhist, etc. Anybody who seeks their services with a civil rights case will be afforded assistance. That’s how people like the Phelps family got assistance. They asked for it. Perhaps if more Christians asked for the assistance of the ACLU instead of fighting against them they’d realize the ACLU is not their enemy.
“The point is that Scouting is not the place for sex education. When a gay or lesbian leader makes an issue of his or her sexual preference, it makes it impossible to remove sexual conduct from the Scouting realm.”
It’s not gay and lesbian leaders making an issue of their “sexual preference”, it’s people like Governor Perry and other RRRW bigots. It’s strange how they never consider a straight man or woman who wears a wedding band or shows photos of their new baby around to be “making an issue of their sexual preference”, yet a gay/lesbian who fails to stay deep in the closet is pushing their sexuality in everybody’s face.
“Though I am no expert on the ‘nature versus nature’ debate, I can sympathize with those who believe sexual preference is genetic. It may be so, but it remains unproved. Even if it were, this does not mean we are ultimately not responsible for the active choices we make. Even if an alcoholic is powerless over alcohol once it enters his body, he still makes a choice to drink. And, even if someone is attracted to a person of the same sex, he or she still makes a choice to engage in sexual activity with someone of the same gender.”
Yes, and millions of people choose to become adherents of one religion or another. They choose one denomination over another. They choose a particular church they want to belong to. They choose to commit criminal acts in the name of their religion. Yet is anybody suggesting we dispense with the laws that protect people from hate-crimes based on their religion?
“It is not as if the Boy Scouts teach intolerance toward the atheist or the homosexual; it is just not the purpose of the Scouts to engage in a debate about these issues… In a wider context, it is also not my personal belief that society should condemn either the homosexual or the atheist. We must draw a line in the sand: people have the right to decide for themselves what they will believe in the core of their being, and how they will live… For those who want to throw stones at homosexuals in the name of calling out sin, may they be just as loud about adultery among heterosexuals and pornography among their own churchgoing friends.”
The average church, however, does not preach as loudly against adultery because they know they’d lose a great number of their flock. Same with divorce, lying and the majority of “sins” the Bible condemns. Railing against gays is safe because they’re a small minority, gay sex has an “ick factor” to it and it helps inflame the base. Any sin their flock is largely guilty of is very unsafe territory because the key is to be able to cast stones at others, not look within and seek to change oneself.
“You can’t have a rational discussion with the left about nature versus nurture, global warming, or the validity of evolution because they claim science has already weighed in. Yet, science reveals new discoveries all the time and in so doing, for instance, makes the evolutionary explanation less plausible.”
On the contrary. “The Left” admits freely that new discoveries constantly occur in the scientific world. That’s the beauty of science and what makes it vastly superior to religion–its ability to grow and to evolve. Religion is static and immobile. Yes they’ll try to cram newly discovered truths into what is written in the Bible and make it “fit” but it just doesn’t work. Pretending Jesus rode a dinosaur to account for the existence of fossils doesn’t make it so.
“Scouting will survive as long as it sticks to the virtues and values of the great middle class.”
If Gov. Perry considers bigotry one of the virtues and values of the great middle class he’s clearly delusional. Scouting may survive, but I see it losing access, slowly but surely, to public funding and public venues. Embrace bigotry all you want but be prepared to suffer the consequences.
