Atheist billboards

[catzmeow]

Yeah, that's why you guys put up a sign that says "Religion is but a myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds." in our state capital, right next to our "holiday" tree.

Eh, the truth hurts sometimes.

Every time I read a post on this thread, I'm reminded of Shogun's brilliant "dogma junkies" rant.

 

[Amanda]

I didn't see anything in there that was a personal attack on atheists. Nothing about them having enslaved minds or hard hearts. Yes, I'm offended by the bulletin board put up in our state capital that says religion is a myth and that those of us that believe are hard hearted and have enslaved minds.

Yes, exactly.

The 'God' ones aren't really trying to convince anyone not to be atheists, but the 'atheist' ones do seem to want to convince people not to be religious.

I'm not really worried about it though.

 

[YWN666]

pros⋅e⋅lyt⋅ize
   /ˈprɒsəlɪˌtaɪz/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [pros-uh-li-tahyz]
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object), -ized, -iz⋅ing.

to convert or attempt to convert as a proselyte; recruit.

So you recruit, convert or proselytize through education?

"educating" one in order to bring them into the fold so to speak is the same thing as proselytizing.

I never said that we were educating them specifically to be atheists. A general education without even mentioning atheists is a sure way to convince people to move away from fairy tales. I think extremist religion attracts people of lower education.

 

[Skull Pilot]

I never said that we were educating them specifically to be atheists. A general education without even mentioning atheists is a sure way to convince people to move away from fairy tales. I think extremist religion attracts people of lower education.

Not So Godless After All :: Inside Higher Ed :: Higher Education's Source for News, Views and Jobs

These are some of the findings of a national survey of professors at all types of institutions, conducted for a presentation sponsored by the Social Science Research Council. The survey was conducted and analyzed by two sociologists, Neil Gross of Harvard University and Solon Simmons of George Mason University.

In March, researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles released a study indicating that more than 80 percent of college professors consider themselves spiritual. The new study focuses more on religious belief — whether professors believe in God, attend services, etc., and how they classify themselves within their faiths.

On the question of belief in God, the study notes the “common perception” that professors are atheists and suggests that this view is simply not true. The following statistics show how professors aligned themselves:

Professors and Belief in God

Positions of Belief

I don’t believe in God. 10.0%

I don’t know whether there is a God and I don’t believe there is any way to find out. 13.4%

I don’t believe in a personal God, but I do believe in a Higher Power of some kind. 19.6%

I find myself believing in God some of the time, but not at others. 4.4%

While I have my doubts, I feel that I do believe in God. 16.9%

I know God really exists and I have no doubts about it. 35.7%

Professors Find God in Groves of Academe - July 10, 2007 - The New York Sun

If education fosters atheism, why do most professors in the above study say they believe in God?

You can't really say only uneducated people believe in god. I do agree that religion and all its trappings; ceremonies, gatherings etc seem to attract the less educated, however education alone does not result in atheism.

 

[Zoom-boing]

If the rabid christians stopped trying to force their religion on us and everyone else, you wouldn't hear a peep from us. We must talk about your god to show how ridiculous your beliefs are.

Is this the Merry Christmas thread? Ooops, my bad!

 

[Zoom-boing]

I never said that we were educating them specifically to be atheists. A general education without even mentioning atheists is a sure way to convince people to move away from fairy tales. I think extremist religion attracts people of lower education.

What's your definition of 'extremist religion'?

 

[YWN666]

What's your definition of 'extremist religion'?

Fundamentalists

 

[YWN666]

Is this the Merry Christmas thread? Ooops, my bad!

Of course I wasn't referring to that War on Christmas bullshit.
Nice try, though.

 

[YWN666]

You can't really say only uneducated people believe in god. I do agree that religion and all its trappings; ceremonies, gatherings etc seem to attract the less educated, however education alone does not result in atheism.

I didn't say that only uneducated people believe in god. As our society learns more and more about the world around us through science, there is less and less of a need for religion to come up with wacky explanations for things they can't explain.

 

[Skull Pilot]

I didn't say that only uneducated people believe in god. As our society learns more and more about the world around us through science, there is less and less of a need for religion to come up with wacky explanations for things they can't explain.

And you totally avoided the question I asked.

If education fosters atheism, how do you explain that most professors in the study cited said they believed in God or a higher power?

 

[Zoom-boing]

Of course I wasn't referring to that War on Christmas bullshit.
Nice try, though.

Ah come on Yawn, that was humerous. I know you chuckled.

 

[Zoom-boing]

I didn't say that only uneducated people believe in god. As our society learns more and more about the world around us through science, there is less and less of a need for religion to come up with wacky explanations for things they can't explain.

Not only are you a non-believer, you are clueless.

 

[Againsheila]

Eh, the truth hurts sometimes.

Every time I read a post on this thread, I'm reminded of Shogun's brilliant "dogma junkies" rant.

Really? You believe that religion hardens hearts and enslaves minds? How do you KNOW this is the truth?

I've found host families for Japanese students for many many years and every single one of them has been a religious household. How on earth do you equate that with a hard heart?

Can you imagine if the various religions put up a sign in our state capital saying "non-believers are going to hell". What an outcry there would be. But it's okay for atheists to insult people of all religions because you "believe" it is the truth.

Yeah, and you're not trying to convert people with messages like that...not at all.

 

[Zoom-boing]

Really? You believe that religion hardens hearts and enslaves minds? How do you KNOW this is the truth?

I've found host families for Japanese students for many many years and every single one of them has been a religious household. How on earth do you equate that with a hard heart?

Can you imagine if the various religions put up a sign in our state capital saying "non-believers are going to hell". What an outcry there would be. But it's okay for atheists to insult people of all religions because you "believe" it is the truth.
Yeah, and you're not trying to convert people with messages like that...not at all.

Well said Sheila.

 

[Father Time]

beware of dogma insults people of every faith? Oversensitive much?

 

[Anguille]

And you totally avoided the question I asked.

If education fosters atheism, how do you explain that most professors in the study cited said they believed in God or a higher power?

How do you explain Einstein being an atheist?

How do you explain yourself being an atheist?

 

[Anguille]

Can you imagine if the various religions put up a sign in our state capital saying "non-believers are going to hell". What an outcry there would be. But it's okay for atheists to insult people of all religions because you "believe" it is the truth.

.

That's funny because that has long been the cliché of intolerant religious types. I was first told that by a nice Christian girl when I was about 6. She said she heard it in church, Baptist , I think.
I've seen signs like that in my life, in West Virginia. No outcry over those. No one wanted to get shot.

 

[Steerpike]

How do you explain Einstein being an atheist?

How do you explain yourself being an atheist?

Einstein wasn't an atheist. In fact, he directly said he wasn't an atheist and complained about people who labeled him as such.

He's probably best described as agnostic or perhaps a deist.

 

[Anguille]

Einstein wasn't an atheist. In fact, he directly said he wasn't an atheist and complained about people who labeled him as such.

He's probably best described as agnostic or perhaps a deist.

He made it quite clear he was an atheist. He described himself as such. He complained about people who thought academics needed some kind of religious qualification. He did so after he attained the renown and his chair at Princeton. When the Red Scare and McCarthy would have less power to blacklist him.

Back then they tried to tie atheism to a political movement to demonize it. Just like now the ignorant do with the Moslems.

 

[Shogun]

Great Minds: Atheist Quotes

Positive Atheism's Big List of Albert Einstein Quotations