well that's the thing. they want it taught as science as an alternative to evolution. that may not reflect your views, but it is one of the primary reasons atheists feel like they have to be vocal. not worth the effort of getting into specifics, but generally speaking it's humans first environment second priority type things, such as hunting-oriented lobbying, drilling in ANWR etc. 1.5 billion people is a hell of a fringe.
Creationism. I can't believe that well educated people couldn't see the possibility. WE humans have the ability to travel away from our own planet, we can grow a human ear on a mouse. We seem to have a gift of making things we thought possible only in dreams become a reality. I don't know what they specifically want to teach as this "creationism" but it sure as hell isn't impossible. Evolution could be what the creature or creatures that created us wanted to study. Who the fuck knows?
Well, the numbers show that about half the people in the US think exactly like that. To clear up any misunderstanding: I don't. Considering the last election in California (which is one of the more progressive states), I thought it was rather clear that a)homosexuals are one of the least popular minority groups in the US and b)people have strong opinions about them. Apparently both applies for atheists (despite you and some other people in here saying otherwise), too. As far as "pushing it down our throats" goes, the amount of christianity that's pushed down everybody else's throat constantly all year round in the US makes this little ad campaign laughable in comparison.
You know if Christians put out a sign that said "believe In God and be good" there would be hell to pay from the same Athesists who put there crap up. The fact is no one knows what happens after life so why spew it all over the place like you do know? Everyone is guessing and that is the issue here. Why not instead of trying to get a reaction out of people just STFU and live there own lives without dividing everyone any worse than we already are. I Believe in God, I dont believe in Religion. Religion was put on earth to divide us and well its working.
If religious people took your advice and stopped trying to make gay marriage illegal or push their mythology into science classes in public schools, then there wouldn't be a problem. As long as religious people refuse to "STFU" (as you put it) about what they believe, and attempt to influence public policy due to those beliefs, why should people who think its nonsense "STFU?"
I don't like these atheist billboards that seem to be baiting. If "goodness" was the message, they could spread that message without the baiting line. I also don't like advertisements from religious groups that are judgmental and baiting towards people who don't believe. I think they should focus more on being good towards their fellow man, helping those who need it and accepting people. In general, I wish both groups would just focus on goodness regardless of how they get there.
Did you read the last line of my paragraph "I Believe in God, I dont believe in Religion. Religion was put on earth to divide us and well its working. " Also why keep making it worse than it already is? Its like a bunch of babys killing or attacking eatchother over whos right or wrong. Guess what NONE OF US KNOW! So yes we all need to STFU and if someone wants to ask what he/she believes in then feel free to discuss no need to paint your own opinion all over town.
Oh I am sure a thousand death threats would roll in. That is typically what hypocritical religious folks do when confronted by something that challenges their beliefs.
isn't gay marriage illegal in most places? so it's not religious people trying to make gay marriage illegal, they are just trying to keep things as is while others are trying to make it legal. i can't understand what the big deal is that people have against gay marriage but at the same time, i can see churches not wanting to recognize it or perform them as it goes against what they believe in(though i don't see anyone out there forcing churches to perform gay marriages). teaching religion in science classes doesn't make sense at all to me, but these atheist ad campaigns don't seemed to be geared towards that in any way(which was someone's argument as to the reason behind them). why can't people just come out and say "hey you have the right to teach your kids creationism if you want, but since it isn't science we can't teach it in science class"?
That's a semantic issue, IMO. The point is, without the efforts of religious people, it's quite likely gay marriage would be legal. Therefore, religion is clearly having an effect on the political/legal landscape. That being the case, why shouldn't people campaign against a political force that they don't care for, just as people campaign against Democrats or Republicans? And I have no problem with chruches deciding for themselves whom they perform marriage ceremonies for. They're private entities who can make their own rules. I'm talking about organized religion impacting the state's marriage policies. Political efforts operate both ways...campaigning on specific issues and campaiging for/against political forces. Some people campaign against taxes or campaign for environmental reform, while others campaign for or against Republicans. If you feel an organized group (Republicans, Democrats, organized religion, environmentalists) tends to be a negative influence, there's legitimacy to campaigning against the group, rather than merely campaigning against single issues.
I think your personal beliefs, no matter where they lay, are best served as thoughtful, deeply personal aspects of your life. Whether you believe in one of the many variations of Religions, Atheism, Agnosticism, etc..., it is something I think should be very private and personal in most cases. Not that they should never be discussed, but I think the downfall of all those viewpoints is when they bunker down and attempt to divide. There are some great lessons to be learned from each, and unfortunately there are some will take those lessons and use them to judge and hate. An overly excited evangelical is just as obnoxious than a smug atheist, there just happens to be more of the former, which leads the latter to eventually have a breakdown and lose sight of the big picture. In this case, the big picture being "be good, for goodness sake." When one side yells, and the other yells back a little louder we are just setting in motion an incredibly divisive and obnoxious real-life O'Reilly Factor argument where the loudest voice is right. In that scenario, however,we all lose, no matter who walks away feeling like they were "right",
I read that. My response wasn't an attack on you, it was explaining why atheists don't want to "STFU." Religious people (not you) have an effect on politics, so trying to change that is perfectly reasonable. It's not a question of beliefs, it's a question of whether those beliefs are being imposed upon governmental policy. As long as they are, there will be campaigning in both directions.
Who cares? I care. Because you obviously weren't paying attention in history classes when they taught the part about North America being colonized by people fleeing religious persecution in europe, and that when they formed the USA they specifically set it up so religious persecution could not happen here. That means the government cannot show preference to any religion. It is very important it does not. Secondly, you want them to teach classes in school for which there is no basis for proof. I can make up a religion on about 10 seconds that has as much basis as any other out there. If they teach Christianity in school, I demand they teach the teachings of the Pastafarians as well. We demand equal time.
Everybody has an effect on politics. Christians have an effect. Gays have an effect. Minorities have an effect. Big business has an effect. So why is it that you want Christians to not voice our opinions and our beliefs, but you say it's okay for Gays and everyone else. To me that is bigoted. I don't have a problem with Gays voicing their opinion and standing up for what they believe in, even though I don't morally and politically agree with them. Just the same, I don't feel I should have to stimy my beliefs. I'm not forcing my belief down your throat with a gun to your head. I'm just voicing my opinion politically.
Indeed. But to everyone else, YOU are the fringe, when in fact, you are being persecuted for stating your beliefs. You of course, have a dangerous agenda. Its quite hypocritical in society.
oh no! religious persecution! look, they are a private group pushing an agenda to teach what they believe in. If they succeed, who gives a shit. Its honstely lame to fear "oh no, they're brainwashing people, blah blah blah". who gives a shit....I mean seriously. Them pushing for teaching creationism does no harm. people can choose what they want to believe. again, who cares if there is no proof. Much of the world believes in creationism anyways, so you might as well teach it so if an american....GOD FORBIDS...wants to actually travel out of the world, they'll have some fucking perspective and respect for another culture, which is precisely why Americans are frowned down upon in the rest of the world. We're so self absorbed about us being the only ones right, we don't have any perspective for other cultures.
not in science class they can't. nobody here would be against teaching about the creationist viewpoint in cultural or even philosophy classes. that's not what we're talking about.
