It's dangerous for kids to even know that Atheism exists

ZorbaTehZ

Listen to this mp3 file.

In it, a representative from the US state of Illinois Monique Davis responds to Rob Sherman (an atheist). Transcript and article here. Shocking tbh.

stink_fist

its America what do you expect?

Dades

A dangerous philosophy indeed.

She doesn't seem to put much stock in the capability of people act in a humane manner once the threat of damnation is removed.

Galvasean

You believe in destroying what this state was built upon.

Is she referring the the secular state of America?

eoin5

Ah sure theres no harm in critizing atheism, its the most hated minority in America.

adamd164

This is why the Out Campaign has to be taken seriously by atheists. We need to speak up and acknowledge that standing idly by while the religious run riot is not acceptable.

estebancambias

eoin5 wrote: »

Ah sure theres no harm in critizing atheism, its the most hated minority in America.

Christians must be the most hated majority.

Ciaran500

estebancambias wrote: »

Christians must be the most hated majority.

How could you think that?

Atheists are, more than Muslims and homosexuals. A quick google and you should find the article.

humanji

he said majority.

estebancambias

Just so you know I woundn't trust some of those people either, but I prefer to judge everyone individually.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

surely muslims are the most hated majority atm

adamd164

It would be no wonder if they were. The Dutch film Fitna only last week was greeted with a campaign of intimidation and threats, which forced it to be removed from LiveLeak. How dare anyone insinuate that Islam has the slightest connection with terrorism

Pompey Magnus

What I liked about her comments was that she said "This is the Land of Lincoln, where people believe in God" - the humour being in that Lincoln was quite likely an atheist, at any rate he was certainly not a Christian.

JC 2K3

It's dangerous to delude young children with the idea of a God.

estebancambias

JC 2K3 wrote: »

It's dangerous to delude young children with the idea of a God.

Nope, can't agree with that at all. I would accept that it is dangerous to force children to learn off a book word for word, and to be told that everything in the book is fact.

Believing in a God is not dangerous.

Sangre

estebancambias wrote: »

I would accept that it is dangerous to force children to learn off a book word for word, and to be told that everything in the book is fact.

I guess you think the Leaving Cert is pretty dangerous then.

estebancambias

Yep, it almost killed me...literally.

Sangre

those bunsen burners are lethal

Dades

Mordeth wrote: »

surely muslims are the most hated majority atm

I can't see how it's even possible to have a most hated majority, tbh.

Does not compute.

Sangre

thats what thought but then i assume we're talking about more than religion e.g politics, race, sex etc.,

Galvasean

There can only be one majority. Ergo they are automatically the most hated majority, but also the most loved. :cool::D:pac::eek::o:p:)

estebancambias

Its not dangerous at all. I think it would be beneficial for kids to be told about it by parents. Kids are stupid, when they get to 13/14/15/16 if they 'discover' Atheism in some indirect way, it could be dangerous, especailly if they're emo.

Zillah

estebancambias wrote: »

when they get to 13/14/15/16 if they 'discover' Atheism in some indirect way, it could be dangerous, especailly if they're emo.

You've done it again.

Akrasia

'We believe in something, you believe in destroy'

Best quote ever.

Believing in something is a virtue now?

If I believe that David Blaine levitates does that make me better than an atheist scientist who knows that it's just a cheap parlour trick?

If I believe in satan, does that make me better than someone who believes that satan is just a myth invented to scare school children and simple minded adults?

Dan Dennett said it very well at the atheist alliance conference when he said that the majority of people out there don't believe in god, they believe in belief.

They believe that having any belief is better than having no belief, and they believe that having a belief in something unites people because they have something in common.

He used a very clever analogy to explain the ludicrousness of that statement.

"John and Mary Both love Rock."
That statement appears like it suggests they have something in common, but actually, John loves Rock music, but Mary loves Rock Hudson (the actor).
They have nothing to do with each other, but they both love rock.
Dennett says that rock music and rock hudson are probably more closely related than some of the different conceptions of 'god' that people claim to 'share' a belief in.

Belief is not uniting if the object of that belief is undefined.

estebancambias

Zillah wrote: »

You've done it again.

Did you miss the part where I said it would be beneficial to learn about it from parents?

Overheal

eoin5 wrote: »

Ah sure theres no harm in critizing atheism, its the most hated minority in America.

in some published statistics a while ago Atheism was actually seen to be on the rise in the United States. Thank God.

estebancambias wrote: »

Nope, can't agree with that at all. I would accept that it is dangerous to force children to learn off a book word for word, and to be told that everything in the book is fact.

Believing in a God is not dangerous.

I was taught to make up my own damn mind, but my parents did take some time to show me what they believed.

Galvasean

Overheal wrote: »

Atheism was actually seen to be on the rise in the United States. Thank God.

Dades

Galvasean wrote: »

Twas a little bit of humour, I assumed!

AtomicHorror

Sangre wrote: »

I guess you think the Leaving Cert is pretty dangerous then.

It's a system than values memory over reason. It's not dangerous, it's just ****.

adamd164

It's always people with rubbish memories that criticise the LC.

AtomicHorror

adamd164 wrote: »

It's always people with rubbish memories that criticise the LC.

You got me. My memory is weak- whereas my intelligence has brought me to the final year of my PhD. I felt pretty short changed by the leaving cert as exams go. It came very very close to denying me my career in science because I have trouble conjugating the verbs of a dead language I never chose to study.

estebancambias

AtomicHorror wrote: »

You got me. My memory is weak- whereas my intelligence has brought me to the final year of my PhD. I felt pretty short changed by the leaving cert as exams go. It came very very close to denying me my career in science because I have trouble conjugating the verbs of a dead language I never chose to study.

:rolleyes:

adamd164

AtomicHorror wrote: »

You got me. My memory is weak- whereas my intelligence has brought me to the final year of my PhD. I felt pretty short changed by the leaving cert as exams go. It came very very close to denying me my career in science because I have trouble conjugating the verbs of a dead language I never chose to study.

I never counted that "language" for points; so maybe it's not my place to judge!

adamd164

estebancambias wrote: »

:rolleyes:

What would you term a "dead" language so? It's spoken by half a dozen farmers on the west coast, and inflicted upon every 4-18 year old child in the country.

AtomicHorror

estebancambias wrote: »

:rolleyes:

I wish the rolleyes emote could be banned. It is used to dismiss so much. I accept that "dead language" is a harsh condemnation, but Irish was forced upon me with the expectation that I should love it unconditionally. The study of it, the struggle, took away from subjects that were more worthwhile for me personally. Only now, nearly a decade later, do I see the value of our native tongue. The leaving cert is part of the problem- not the solution- when it comes to keeping Irish alive.

The rest of my previous post is perfectly valid.

eoin5

adamd164 wrote: »

What would you term a "dead" language so? It's spoken by half a dozen farmers on the west coast, and inflicted upon every 4-18 year old child in the country.

I like the auld Gaeilge and I think we should promote it, but the way its inflicted is pretty cruel.

Peig is dead, long live the Hector.

Sangre

The Irish language is very much alive and well in Ireland. Its importance is highlight by the fact if there is a dispute between the Irish and English texts of the Constitution the Irish version takes precedent. This fact is made all the more remakralbe by the fact that the Irish version is a translation of the English one and was done without debate in the Houses.

Pretty impressive for a 'dead' language.

AtomicHorror

adamd164 wrote: »

I never counted that "language" for points; so maybe it's not my place to judge!

Points aren't relevant- I didn't count it either (unsurprisingly since I was rubbish at it). Failing Irish means failing your Leaving Cert. Or at least it did when I did it. It's also compulsory for entry into the NUI universities. One of which was my top three CAO choices.

AtomicHorror

Sangre wrote: »

The Irish language is very much alive and well in Ireland. Its importance is highlight by the fact if there is a dispute between the Irish and English texts of the Constitution the Irish version takes precedent. This fact is made all the more remakralbe by the fact that the Irish version is a translation of the English one and was done without debate in the Houses.

Pretty impressive for a 'dead' language.

I don't think the thread should get derailed into a debate about whether Irish is a dead language. I accept that it is not. When I was 18 and was forced to study it to the detriment of my other subjects as well as the risk to my hopes as a scientist, I felt more resentful then.

Consider the term "dead" withdrawn and replaced with "irrelevant with respect to a career in scientific research".

AtomicHorror

eoin5 wrote: »

I like the auld Gaeilge and I think we should promote it, but the way its inflicted is pretty cruel.

Peig is dead, long live the Hector.

My sentiments exactly.

estebancambias

AtomicHorror wrote: »

I wish the rolleyes emote could be banned. It is used to dismiss so much. I accept that "dead language" is a harsh condemnation, but Irish was forced upon me with the expectation that I should love it unconditionally. The study of it, the struggle, took away from subjects that were more worthwhile for me personally. Only now, nearly a decade later, do I see the value of our native tongue. The leaving cert is part of the problem- not the solution- when it comes to keeping Irish alive.

The rest of my previous post is perfectly valid.

I personally believe that the language should be compulsory, but not a requirement for college.

Sangre

AtomicHorror wrote: »

I don't think the thread should get derailed into a debate about whether Irish is a dead language. I accept that it is not. When I was 18 and was forced to study it to the detriment of my other subjects as well as the risk to my hopes as a scientist, I felt more resentful then.

Consider the term "dead" withdrawn and replaced with "irrelevant with respect to a career in scientific research".

I was actually being extremely facetious

AtomicHorror

estebancambias wrote: »

I personally believe that the language should be compulsory, but not a requirement for college.

Compulsory in a broad sense perhaps- but taught in an entirely different manner. Compulsory to pass the LC- certainly not. Too many jobs demand a passed leaving cert whilst very few practically demand competant Irish.

Sangre wrote: »

I was actually being extremely facetious

Yeah I see that and I take your point. There's a certain contrived nature to the manner in which the language has been crowbarred into various levels of modern Irish society. Not surprising considering how much of modern Irish culture was invented or re-invented in the last century.

thebman

Meh, the same guy probably has the same speech with find replace run over atheism and replaced with ghey's.

I wouldn't worry about lunatics like this, they eventually expose themselves as lunatics.

AtomicHorror

brim4brim wrote: »

Meh, the same guy probably has the same speech with find replace run over atheism and replaced with ghey's.

I wouldn't worry about lunatics like this, they eventually expose themselves as lunatics.

You're right- though there are always those willing to listen to firey rhetoric. I guess we all just find it disturbing that such narrow minds are given such credence.

Reverend Paul

I listened to this yesterday. The stench of urine is still in my nostrils.

Seriously though, it's interesting how she noted "This is the land of Lincoln". Lincoln veered towards deism. He never joined any Christian Church. This validates the claim that, for the faithful, it is better to believe in something rather than nothing.

Incidentally, Rep. Davis could hardly be described as a bible bashing neo-con. If this is liberal America...

Top marks to Rob Sherman for keeping a straight face!!!