Christian Extremist*Video*

SonOfPerdition

Yeah, i noticed the undertones of anti Muslim feelings in that piece, it seems to me that one of the reasons atheism is so vilified is down to "the war on terror". If you're an atheist then you're probably regarded as unpatriotic ....you're either with us or against us.

Zombrex

Scofflaw wrote:

Now this isn't even a "Christian extremist video", just CNN. Here, with transcript.

cordially,
Scofflaw

Reason #983432 not to live in America

robindch

> If you're an atheist then you're probably regarded as unpatriotic

So saith Bush (the Father):

No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.

Seems to have forgotten that the "one nation under god" bit was added to the pledge of allegiance during the anti-godless-communist mid-50's.

The awful thing is that Bush (the Father) is a religious moderate compared to Bush (the Son). I wonder who represents the Holy Ghost -- the power behind the throne -- is in all of this? Must be Cheney, Rumsfeld or Rove I suppose...

<sigh>

MoominPapa

These people hate the fact that the US was not founded by dogmatic christians, in fact there plenty of evidence that at least a few were anything but christian
http://www.loompanics.com/Articles/AmericanHistory.html
and the quote from Lincoln shows their attitudes carried on at the higest levels iin the US for the best part of a century and do everything to deflect people from such notions.
My half baked theory:
It all went wrong sometime after the Civil war which wasn't long after the famine which was when the Catholic church became the domineering monster that controlled irish life until quite recently. Tragedy + emerging mass media placed religon in the driving seat particularly in the losing southern states which now dominate the electoral college, so don't expect mush change anytime soon

Scofflaw

MoominPapa wrote:

My half baked theory:
It all went wrong sometime after the Civil war which wasn't long after the famine which was when the Catholic church became the domineering monster that controlled irish life until quite recently. Tragedy + emerging mass media placed religon in the driving seat particularly in the losing southern states which now dominate the electoral college, so don't expect mush change anytime soon

As far as I know, a lot of this stuff came in in the 50's, as part of the anti-Communist hysteria (which may also be where some of the anti-atheist prejudice came from). There's probably some truth in both.

"In God We Trust", for example, came in originally at the Civil War, for coinage. On the other hand, it became the 'national motto' of the US in 1956, and appeared on paper money the following year.

Wicknight wrote:

Reason #983432 not to live in America

Have we only got that many so far?

cordially,
Scofflaw

Tim Robbins

robindch wrote:

[[how [religion] removes people's ability to reason and how it legitimizes compartmentalized reasoning. And more seriously, for how it introduces artificial divisions within groups which can then be used by unscrupulous politicians for their own steamy ends.

Well I am not sure if I would agree with that.
You have to know people have an ability to reason before you can deduce the ability has been removed.
I don't have a problem with compartmentalized reasoning, some great scientists live like this - Robert Wintson for example.

As for "artificial divisions", you could say the same for nationalism, another mad made concept - why have borders?
Capitalism also introduces artificial groups within people.
We are all humans at the end of day irrespective of what you believe in. By going to great lengths to differentiate yourself from religious people, you are in some respects just introducing artificial division.

If you are genuniely and sincerely worried about artifical division, why not go and find some religious people and tell them you want to be their friend?
Or identify any artificial division in your life and challenge it.