Atheist Ads on Buses Rattle Fort Worth

If this particular atheist group is so cool with their lack of beliefs, why the need to announce they are good without God?



Here we have the EXACT behavior that makes people turned off with religion....judgementalism, need to announce belief system via public method....wait a minute, isn't atheism the LACK of belief??

Huh.

FISHY.

The website I linked to is to the GROUP behind this. It is led by a man named Terry who is soliciting funds for his GROUP.

Edit to add link to the tax information of this group.

watchdog.net...

Replace GROUP with CHURCH.

I dont care what these poeple do personally but I loathe hypocrisy.

This Billboard thing looks like your garden variety money making scam, just like any organized religion.

Originally posted by DogsDogsDogs
Well, yes they do, BH. They specifically mention God- which, for atheists, generally is synonymous (or symbolic or whatever) with "religion".

God is NOT synonymous with religion. And religion is NOT synonymous with Christianity. These are connections in your mind, perhaps? But don't assume what atheists think. OK?

(What if people- Christians, specifically) threw the same kind of fit about Halloween displays?

They DO! Are you kidding? They do.

Seriously, these guys need a therapist. (So do the ones who feel the compulsion to evangelize, FWIW) If psyche's are so fragile that they need some kind of mass public validation to "feel better" (or specifically, "not isolated"), that's not good.

I happen to agree that the NEED to get together with others of like beliefs to justify and reinforce one's beliefs shows signs of insecurity, but we're all insecure in some ways. Atheists are shunned and thought of as a pariah in some circles, so there are going to be some who feel insecure about their beliefs and benefit from knowing that they're not alone. But that doesn't mean that they need therapy! You seem to be saying everyone who belongs to a religion needs therapy and I disagree.

As an aside: I was at our local Wal-Mart and I noticed that there was no Christmas music... I asked about it and a checkout person told me that someone had complained. When I got home, I called the manager and told him that I was an atheist and I thought they were making a HUGE mistake by not playing Christmas music and I registered a complaint. He said that the checkout person was misinformed and that no one had complained... He said the music system wasn't working... I'm going to keep an eye (and ear) on the situation, because I like Christmas music and the season and a Christmas tree and everything. I think I just might raise a stink. ...More as it progresses. I can't imagine Wal-Mart not having a tree or piping Christmas music through the store.

reply to post by hotbakedtater


LOL Yeah, they should fit right in with the Sal-VA-tion-uh crowd. 0_o Well, kinda. In warped kinda way. Really big cities are soo weird. These guys are so looking for a fight. N Texas is generally hard core Bible belt. I feel like they are actually (in some way) trying to ruin Christmas for people- and things are tough enough as it is. It's rotten.

Originally posted by nik1halo
Purist Atheists are just another religion, driven by their solid, unmovable belief that there is no God and the last thing we need is another organised religion in this world.

Atheism is not a "belief"; you only believe in things that cannot be proven, like a god. Atheism is therefore not a religion; it is the opposite - a total lack of religion.

Remember, everyone's an atheist at birth. You don't come into this world believing in a certain religion. The religion - if any - that you eventually follow depends mainly on your parents inclination and your geographical location.

Originally posted by hotbakedtater
If this particular atheist group is so cool with their lack of beliefs, why the need to announce they are good without God?

Why does ANYONE advertise their beliefs? Write a book? Give a speech? Why shouldn't these atheists be free to exercise the same rights that we all enjoy?

They talked about it in the article. Atheists have been shunned. Many are afraid to state their position. Many feel alone, especially when the rest of the world is celebrating the season of peace and love. This atheist group is reaching out to those people (while advertising their position). It's no different than anyone else putting their views out in public.

Originally posted by LDragonFire
Well a religious ideological propaganda war going on in more places than Forth Worth. I have always wondered why Christians get so upset with other people expressing there views publicly. Why try to limit rights? Let people learn and decide what is good or works for them. Paying for the van with the "I still love you....God" is a bit much IMHO.

Replying to an ad with an ad is not the same as "try to limit rights".

This situation is just tit for tat. There's no point attacking one side for their behavior if you are on the other side because you're attacking yourself too. Not to mention making a public display of hypocrisy.

Let the kids fight it out.

reply to post by FOXMULDER147


No, Atheism is the belief and usually assertation that there is no God. It's just as illogical as any other belief system, as it cannot be proven either way. To allow yourself to be 100% convinced one way or the other is nothing more than a 'belief', as it is devoid of provable fact, which by definition, if followed by a group of people is no different to a religion.

I don't believe in God, but neither would I ever say that there is no God. Not for rear of what the Almighty may do to me, but because I don't know. That is true lack of belief. I believe neither one way or the other.

ETA: You say that we are born atheists, yet man has worshipped one thing or another since the beginning of the human race (and possibly before for all I know), whether it be the sun, the stars, the moon or a particularly comically shaped turnip. Many scientists believe that man is genetically predisposed to seek the devine to attempt to provide answers for that which we are unable to understand. Many humans, especially leaders hate to admit that they don't know something, therefore, it's easy to simply say "It's the work of the Gods".

In other words, it's human nature to believe in deities and the supernatural.

reply to post by TheWill


how is that sign reducing God to santa. in all logical sense if you knew what the bible teaches that would in fact be what our Father, would respond. in a sad tone of course cause it pains him to see so many lost people. as you turn your back he would simply sit there and wait patiently saying i still love you.

Originally posted by nik1halo
reply to post by FOXMULDER147

 

No, Atheism is the belief and usually assertation that there is no God. It's just as illogical as any other belief system, as it cannot be proven either way.

No.

Nothing is not an ammount.
Emptiness is not a thing.
Atheism is not a belief.

ATS needs a vocabulary test BADLY!

Originally posted by stuncrazy
reply to post by TheWill

 

how is that sign reducing God to santa. in all logical sense if you knew what the bible teaches that would in fact be what our Father, would respond. in a sad tone of course cause it pains him to see so many lost people. as you turn your back he would simply sit there and wait patiently saying i still love you.

I read that book. It was pretty messed up. That same god you speak of, he has a history of torturing and killing innocent people, he even today continues to damn people to hell. So...that is him loving EVERYONE? Sounds like a great lifetime movie.

Originally posted by Sinnthia
No.

Nothing is not an ammount.
Emptiness is not a thing.
Atheism is not a belief.

ATS needs a vocabulary test BADLY!

Then why do you take the emotional tone of someone who just had a belief challenged?

News flash: "There is no god" is a belief. I don't care if it contains a negative.

Originally posted by NewlyAwakened
Then why do you take the emotional tone of someone who just had a belief challenged?

Um...I...do...no...know? What tone are you speaking of? I am not sure that sentence actually even means anything. Can you elaborate?

News flash: "There is no god" is a belief. I don't care if it contains a negative.

News flash, that is not what Atheism is.

Originally posted by Sinnthia

Originally posted by nik1halo
reply to post by FOXMULDER147

 

No, Atheism is the belief and usually assertation that there is no God. It's just as illogical as any other belief system, as it cannot be proven either way.

No.

Nothing is not an ammount.
Emptiness is not a thing.
Atheism is not a belief.

ATS needs a vocabulary test BADLY!

If you can't prove it, it's a belief. A group of people believing the same thing is a belief system. therefore, Atheism is a religion lacking a God.

Originally posted by nik1halo
No, Atheism is the belief and usually assertation that there is no God. It's just as illogical as any other belief system, as it cannot be proven either way. To allow yourself to be 100% convinced one way or the other is nothing more than a 'belief', as it is devoid of provable fact, which by definition, if followed by a group of people is no different to a religion.

Let me ask you. Do you believe there is a Santa Claus? Do you assert that there is no Flying Spaghetti Monster? Does your position on these two questions constitute a "belief system" or a religion? Are you 100% convinced that there are no Unicorns? Is this, then, a religion?

In other words, it's human nature to believe in deities and the supernatural

Really? Then are those human beings who don't believe in deities or the supernatural freaks of some kind? Are they outside of human nature?

Originally posted by Sinnthia
News flash, that is not what Atheism is.

Nevertheless, your kind are coming on this board saying that. You are of course free to call it any word you want if it makes you feel better.

To me it is so transparently a belief that I really don't even care to argue it. I'm just pointing it out, that's all.

Originally posted by nik1halo
A group of people believing the same thing is a belief system

That is incorrect. One position in common does not constitute a belief system. A collection of beliefs (not people) constitutes a belief system.

Originally posted by NewlyAwakened

Originally posted by Sinnthia
News flash, that is not what Atheism is.

Nevertheless, your kind are coming on this board saying that.

Saying what? Are you putting words in my mouth and then failing to print them? What does the above mean? I read it as you admitting that you were wrong about atheism and then saying it is my fault for saying something else? Not getting it.

You are of course free to call it any word you want if it makes you feel superior.

No, not really. Words have meaning for a reason. We do not get to just willy nilly apply them to whatever we like. I can call my car an airplane but that wont make it fly, just me ignorant of the difference.

To me it is so transparently a belief that I really don't even care to argue it. I'm just pointing it out, that's all.

What you are pointing out is that you refuse to accept what the word actually means and would like to make it mean something else so you can argue about it. That is just not how reality works. If you can say atheism is what it is not, then by that same token I can say christianity is a pederast cult and be just as correct as you. Thanks for that but I think I will stick to words as they are defined. Can you discuss religion WITHOUT deceptive practices or is that part of gods grace, to make stuff up?

Originally posted by tristar
In the name of free speech,

How about we also have

anti muslim
anti christian
anti semitism
anti democratic

...i mean since they have a right to openly advertise their Atheist choice, i guess we all can also advertise our choice ....No ?

Atheism isn't anti christian or anti muslim.
The comparison is null.

Originally posted by nik1halo
If you can't prove it, it's a belief.

I could literally invent anything that comes to mind, and you couldn't prove it doesn't exist. Equally, I could invent anything and say it doesn't exist, and you couldn't prove it does.

This is the basis of your argument. Do you seriously consider it a rational line of thought?

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


Let's put it this way. It is illogical to believe in unicorns, so no i don't believe, but could I say 100%, with full conviction that it was completely impossible? No, because I don't know everything. For all you or I know, Unicorns could have once roamed the earth and have become extinct. Is it so impossible to imagine a one horned horse roaming the prehistoric plains?

Santa is a legend based on fact. Of a kindly man, St Nicholas or Santa Klaus, so yes, I believe in Santa, or at least that there was one. I know that the legend has been build upon to include magic etc to entice and excite kids, this is all historical fact. I can prove that the legendary Santa does not exist by going to the North Pole or Lapland or wherever your culture says he lives. He's not there.

But, can you prove there is no God?