It’s December, what better time to have a little talk about
religion? I speak now to that small but
growing group known as atheists. Not all atheists, mind you. Just you angry atheists who protest anything and everything religious. You
know how you don’t like it when “bible thumpers” try to tell you about their
religion? Well, some of us don’t like it
when you try to tell us about yours.
Before we get too far, yes, atheism IS a religion. If belief in a God (monotheism) is a religion,
and belief of many gods (polytheism) is a religion, it would stand to reason
that belief in no God (atheism) falls into the realm of religion as well.
The difference between the atheists and the rest of us? None of us are trying to get laws passed to
enforce our religion. Certainly, some
laws are based on religious morals, but there are folks out there who want God
stricken from American culture. I am
amazed at the arrogance and hypocrisy of atheists who do not even want my
religion to be able to express itself, yet want their religion (or lack
thereof) forced on every American. A
nation that was born predicated on religious tolerance is now becoming a land
of religious intolerance.
Separation of church and state has been misrepresented and
twisted to become something it was never meant to be. To me the following is common knowledge, but
I’m going to write down some information just in case someone who does not know
it stumbles upon this page (probably by divine intervention!).
Separation of church and state is neither law nor written in
any official government document. The
term “separation between church and state” comes from a letter written by
Thomas Jefferson in 1802. Here is the
sentence he wrote, you can read TJ’s full letter to the Danbury Baptist
Association here
(it’s short).
Believing with you that
religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes
account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers
of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with
sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their
legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion,
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of
separation between Church
& State.
See that part he put in quotes? That’s from the First Amendment to the Constitution. In other words, the federal government may
not establish an official religion (as was the case with England; from whom, as
you may remember, America had just gone through considerable inconvenience to
liberate itself). It does not say that government cannot recognize
religion. It does not say that a Nativity scene cannot be erected, it says that IF a Nativity scene is erected a
Menorah cannot be disallowed. You see,
in America it’s freedom OF religion, not freedom
FROM religion. If you don’t like the Nativity scene… just
walk past it. It’s not hurting you. If it offends you then frankly I think you
want to be offended.
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| As nice as this looks, the best thing around a Christmas tree is family. |
Do I know I’m right about God? Well, not that I can prove with a Bunsen
burner, an astronomical observatory, or a mathematical equation. However, in my heart, I believe I am
right. It’s called faith. I believe in God, and I believe Jesus is his
son. When someone sneezes I say, “Bless
you.” It’s not an insult. Quite the opposite. You see, even if you do not believe as I do,
I have extended respect to you from my religious point of view. I am accepting and treating you as an
equal. If I say, “Merry Christmas,” I am
not implying that you are or should be Christian. I am wishing you
wellness and joy. That’s it. I would not be offended if someone wished me
a Happy Chanukah, though I do get a little perturbed with the whole Happy
Holidays thing. I can accept it from
companies, but as a person you should have conviction. Speak it.
If you don’t prescribe to any religion then be honest to yourself… don’t
say Happy Holidays, because you’re not celebrating any holidays, unless of
course you worship at the altar of Hallmark.
Maybe there isn’t a God.
Maybe there is. I feel and
believe there is. If I’m wrong I will
never know it when I die. What if you’re
wrong? No, I cannot prove there is a
God; nor can you prove that there is not
a God. I’m not saying you can’t be an
atheist. That’s part of religious
freedom too. I’m saying atheists have neither
the right to force their strictly secular viewpoints on me nor to force me to
suppress my beliefs in their presence.
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| Check yer oil? |
I need to say too that I do not believe Barack Obama is a
Christian. Yes, he went to church, but
Barack Obama standing in a church makes him a Christian as much as standing in
a garage makes him a master mechanic.
Finally, for the guy (and I know you’re out there) who is
getting ready to slam me because I only recognized Christians and Jews, you’re
a nob. I recognize all religions and every
person’s right to practice them. If you
want to call your Ford Fiesta’s spare tire “God” and worship it, by all means have at. The only people I have a problem
with are intolerant extremists, whether they be Christian, Muslim, or Wiccan… I
have a problem with intolerant atheists too.
Anyway, may God bless all of you. Merry Christmas (and a Happy Goodyear to all
you spare tire worshipers).
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Atheists do not "believe there is no god" Atheists accept the fact that there is no god. Atheism is not a religion because it is the lack of belief in a god or gods. The bible says that people who pray pridefully are condemned. You should not be engaging in massive displays of your faith, especially when most of your christmas faith is pagan idolatry co opted to convince German pagans to accept your god.
ReplyDeleteJust as I cannot empirically prove God’s existence, atheists cannot disprove His existence. So although they may think it’s a fact, in reality they only “believe” He is not real. Unless you can prove, beyond doubt, that God is not real, you cannot make the claim you did above. You're just taking it on faith that God is not real...
DeleteAlso, as so many people do, you have taken the Bible out of context to try to use it to deny Christianity. First, it's odd to me that so many people want to use a book they consider false to disprove something. Second, prideful prayer has nothing to do with displays. It has to do with HOW you pray. Basically, you shouldn't be boastful when speaking to God. You should be humble and accepting of your imperfect nature. Check out Luke 18:9-14... that may clear it up for you.
Finally, I do not have "Christmas Faith." I have year-round faith in the Lord. Christmas in my home is not about trees, lights, presents, or stockings. It is about God, Jesus, family, and love for all men. I apologize if that offends you.
First of all, let me draw a perspective here, this is a comment coming from a European atheist. I have been atheist ever since I could understand the concept 'god', and ever since it was explained to me, I denounced it as being ridiculous and untrue. So, basically, I figured that out when I was like 3 years old. Also, I have been given the blessing of religious freedom in my home as well, my parents never told me to believe anything, they enforced me to make the decision myself, if I had decided to be religious, they would have supported me, just like they always have. They did this to stimulate me as a thinker and a human being, and I am incredibly grateful that I have had that luxury as a child, something very, very little people in this world can say.
ReplyDeleteNow, I don't want to get into that, it's just so you know where the comment is coming from.
I've been following the entire atheists vs Christians thing in the US a little bit, and I would like to say what I understand from the entire matter. As far as I see atheists don't want to ban religion from your country, as far as I see they want to ban forced religion, something I fully support. They don't want that you say 'under god' in the pledge of allegiance, because you have to make that choise yourself, someone can be a real patriot but not believe in god, and he should not be forced to say that.
Also, they want to ban false teachings like the idea that god created the universe in 7 days, that the earth is 10,000 years old etc, while there is clearly proof that this is all false.
Now, I've had the luxury of growing up in Europe, which means that here, church and state are clearly seperated, and I went to a catholic highschool, but we were never told that god actually exists. When we get religion in school, they teach us ABOUT religion, they don't teach us religion. We saw everything in highschool, we read bible passages, learned about the life of Jezus Christ (I don't deny his existence btw, just the fact that his mother was a virgin and his dad was god), we also got taught everything about judaïsm and the islam, also Buddhism, Hindoeïsm and all the other isms in the world. This is the optimal idea of a religion class. I personally despise religion, but that doesn't mean we should learn anything about it. Despite the horrific things religion has caused in the past, it has also had a great cultural and spiritual significance in the course of history, and this should not be forgotten. It holds valuable ideas and thoughts, but it should NEVER be enforced. Enforcing ones thoughts onto someone is fascism and should be considered a crime. That's why in my opinion, your country should adopt the same thing. Ban christian teachings only, and adopt the idea that children should be taught every possible viewpoint and make their own choise. This is optimal because it stimulates children to think for their own and create their own view of the world around them, thus making them more independent.
Most people I know are atheists, and those that aren't aren't even that religious. Some of my friends (including my gf) don't want to be atheist, but they usually stick to the 'I believe there is a guiding force in the universe that gives purpose to life'. If we would all just learn to tolerate each other extremism wouldn't exist and a lot of issues in this world would simply disapear. The same goes for atheists btw, I'm not just pointing to religious extremism.
P.S: don't call atheism a religion, you'll insult quite some people, because just like most atheists I despise every form of religion. By religion I mean the organisation that is tied to any form of spirituality or belief. Being the catholic church, imams and the Califat, Synagogs and whatever organ they have in charge etc.
You say "IF a Nativity scene is erected a Menorah cannot be disallowed." By this logic, any religion can get have a display on government property. Perhaps a Santeria or Branch Dividian display. Government should not get involved in even deciding what is a religion.
ReplyDeleteI'm not offended by any of these displays. There are plenty of churches or businesses where such displays can be made. No one is stopping you. But when you a government has a religious display, the government is endorsing a religion.