Atheist Bilboard: Predict xtian reaction!

And to think, I live south of these folks, and I bet that the locals in this area would get even more irate! And is so fucking predictable! I love the way the author of this particular blog starts off with a parody of the situation. Anyway, here is the write up. Oh, the amusement and irony!

Atheist Billboard Outrages Alabama Christians

Once again, loving Christians are demonstrating just how much more tolerant and respectful they than the militant atheists in their midst. Atheists in Alabama have erected a billboard declaring religion to be the cause for all evils and demanding that it be stamped out while religious believers, despite disagreeing with and objecting to the message, are firmly defending the rights of atheists to express their views just like all other citizens.

No, I'm just kidding — atheists merely put out the mild idea of imagining the absence of religion and Christians are howling with outrage. One company refused to rent them billboard space and, after finding a place for their sign, the atheists are receiving lots of complaints. This is pretty much how it always goes: atheists express something fairly mild and innocuous and Christians throw a fit.

Freethought association member Pat Cleveland of Talladega said she’s gotten about 50 irate calls about the billboard, but that the group’s intentions aren’t hostile. The Talladega Daily Home reported that a petition drive has been started to take it down.

Cleveland, 63, said the calls she’s received are “ugly” and “hateful.”

“They said I ought to be where John Lennon is, burning in hell. I’m sorry if anybody is offended, but I’ve seen billboards that offend me, like ones that say ‘Jesus is Lord’ over Talladega.”

“I’m proud to be an American,” Cleveland said. “I refrain from any religion. I’m a good person. I pay taxes, abide by the law and I’m good to my family. I help people. I believe hands that help are better than hands that pray.”

Source: Tuscaloosa News (via: Friendly Atheist)

So it's disrespectful and intolerant for atheists to suggest that people imagine the absence of religion, but it's perfectly respectable and respectful for Christians to tell atheists that they belong in hell — that they deserve to suffer infinite torment for an infinite length of time simply for daring to believe differently. This is hardly a surprising double-standard since hell is an orthodox Christian doctrine which Christians seem unable to recognize as evil.

The attitude seems to be that since God is responsible for it existing, then it can't be regarded as problematic. If anyone ends up there, it's entirely their own fault and there's nothing morally problematic about telling people that they belong there. Since religion generally and Christianity in particular are the source for all that's good in the world, however, even suggesting that one should imagine their absence might be regarded as an unmitigated evil itself.

The original billboard was supposed to be put up by Lamar Advertising, but they refused:

“It was offensive to me,” said Tom Traylor, general manager of Lamar Advertising in Birmingham. “We have the autonomy to decide what’s in the best interests of our company and what’s offensive. I don’t think it was the kind of message we wanted to stand behind.

“You have to know what area of the country you’re in,” he said. “A heavy percent of our population is Christian. That’s who we cater to.”

Gee, I didn't realize that advertising companies "stand behind" every ad that they place on a billboard. If that's the case, then Lamar Advertising can and must be held legally and morally responsible for ever advertisement they place on every one of their billboards. Tom Traylor has, it seems to me, made his company beholden to whatever ads they run. If some ad turns out to be false, then, doesn't that mean that Lamar Advertising can be held just as legally at fault as the company paying for it?

Tom Traylor's reference to how many Christians are in the local population is interesting. Since the ad says nothing more than "imagine no religion," Traylor is effectively saying that a heavy percentage of the people who would see the sign — and hold his company responsible for renting it — are irrational, unreasonable, and bigoted. What's more, he's identifying those irrational, unreasonable, and bigoted people as being Christian. What does that say about the nature of Christianity in Alabama?

Creationism as a Thinking Disorder

The following article, Creationism as a Thinking Disorder, by Rev. Richard Bradshaw, Mental Health Chaplain, Teesside, England, was originally posted at No Answers in Genesis!, which I have re-posted here and edited for grammar/disambiguation, provides a good understanding of the creationists' mentality. I am reposting this from several other different blog entries that I have spread this around so folks can find it. And to that anonymous asshole that can't seem to read; look, this paragraph is mine, and the rest is a republishing...

Creationism as a Thinking Disorder

by Richard Bradshaw (Rev.)

Mental Health Chaplain (September 2007), Teesside, England.

Creationism is a curious phenomenon which calls for an explanation. Some would say that applies to all religious belief and maybe so, but there can be few philosophies in the modern West that display such intense irrationality; that require devotees to set their faces against such a vast body of modern knowledge – cosmological, biological, geological, anthropological. I was warned early on in my attempts to understand creationists that any attempt at debating with them is futile, and my experience confirms this, although I have had some perfectly civilised exchanges, verbal and written.

It is rather like dealing with anorexics: thin people who are convinced [that] they need to lose weight, to the point of putting themselves at risk. Plonk them on scales and the scales are wrong. Show them their emaciated reflection in a mirror and they will still see a plump person. [Try to reason] with them and you are part of the conspiracy to make them obese. While anorexia is normally referred to as an eating disorder it is also, clearly, a form of mental illness, whose victims can be sectioned and force-fed to keep them alive – which they will interpret as cruelty. Anorexia is something that happens to other people; they are perfectly normal.

The parallels with creationism are as obvious to anyone who has engaged with it as [the notion] will seem outrageous to creationists themselves -- which proves my point. Anorexics, victims of an eating disorder, cannot always be helped because the very condition leads to denial of what's wrong with them; creationism we might say is a thinking disorder which also generates denial about its own irrationality. In their own eyes, [it is the] creationists [who] are sane and impartial; the competent scientists; the faithful interpreters of scripture, and the true Christians. [As for] everyone else, [it is] their science [that is] worthless and their religion deviant, [but] they can't see it, so they're crazy; they have a religious disability. You can do the equivalent of holding a mirror up to the anorexic, which is to quote the immense body of scientific and theological expertise proving their errors; [however], to the creationist, this simply proves that you are part of a Satanic conspiracy to undermine the true faith.

Pursuing the parallel further, I think it follows that certain approaches to creationism should be avoided. You do not arrange debates between anorexics and people with a properly adjusted body image; you call sickness by its name and attempt to treat it. They are mentally ill, so they're not fully aware of what's wrong with them; you make allowances for this. Humour them, up to a point. So with creationists: their thinking is disordered; they're in denial about it; they're convinced you're out to get them, so to debate with them is not only futile, it's actually inappropriate, because it treats them as equal partners in a search for truth and insight – which they are not. It will not help their recovery. Books and pamphlets that put both sides of the case, as though there are arguments for and against creationism worthy of equal consideration, are similarly misguided. This would be like publishing the anorexic's argument for starving herself to death and weighing it respectfully against her consultant's view that she's a very ill person.

You do not, you cannot, respect an anorexic's beliefs; you respect her as a person, which of course is quite different. Ditto with creationists; ridiculous though their beliefs are, it's important to respect them as people. This will not be reciprocated. You may treat the creationist as a Christian, but he will not so regard you [as one] unless you buy into his world-view, which you can't. (If you don't profess to be a Christian anyway, you don't have the same problem.) [Furthermore], you do not put the anorexic in charge of the food counter at Wal-Mart, because she doesn't understand what a normal diet is; likewise, you don't let creationists anywhere near a school curriculum because they don't understand what education is, certainly not what science is. You don't discuss this with them, because they [will] think [that] your intentions are sinister; [they] can't grasp that [your intentions] might be honourable. That's what having a disorder implies. [Anorexics think they are] an overweight blob. [Creationists think that] evolution really is an atheistic ["fairy tale"] with no evidence to support it. Sure. Time for your medication.

There are really two issues worth discussing here and I think that those who are trying to cure the creationist disorder should concentrate on them, rather than on sterile debates about radiometric dating and imaginary subjects like "flood geology". The first has to do with protection. Anorexics need protection from themselves; schools need protection from creationists. The debate was over long ago. The question to be asked is not whether creationism can be taught, but simply how we can ensure that it isn't taught. Anywhere, ever.

The second really interests me. Anorexia is a condition with causes, typically in the patient's dysfunctional family circumstances. Understanding these can help towards a cure of existing victims and preventing the illness from flaring up in others. What are the conditions that give rise to the disorder of creationism? It's not just the decadence and insularity of American fundamentalism, with its focus on Biblical inerrancy; although this doesn't help, not all inerrantists are YE creationists. I think it's a combination of fundamentalist culture, a particular personality profile, the politicisation of American religion and the polarisation of its popular culture. These streams feed the swamp in which the malarial mosquitoes of creationism breed. How can we drain it?

For God's sake, for humanity's sake if you don't believe in God, isn't it obvious? Rational thinkers of the world, unite! The open, pluralist society which guarantees every one's freedom – including that of creationists themselves -- is under threat here. What does rational thinking mean if not shouting from the roof tops: Beware [of] absolutes!; Beware [of] who know they're right!; Beware [of] those who can't cope with shades of grey and who insist that everything is either black or white!; Beware [of] those who would send you to hell if you don't believe in their God!

There is more than one point of view on any subject and it's a pretty boring subject on which there are only two!

Fundamentalists, creationists, [and] sectarians in general, can be perfectly charming people; [however], their underlying position is unavoidably arrogant, and that's the great danger. They know they're right. Rational thinking is, or should be, about humility, but it doesn't preclude conviction. It doesn't have to be woolly. I know what I think, you know what you think, but we could both be wrong, or only partly right; let's talk about it and by discussing what divides us arrive at a truth greater than either of us understood before. I believe in one God, you believe in another God, and she doesn't believe in God at all. Isn't that interesting? Let's discuss it and see where we get. It might be that we all finish up believing in something none of us do just at the moment: such as (and how many creationists dare play with this thought), whether or not there is a God; whether God can sensibly be said either to exist or not to exist, may not be the issue. Perhaps the question really is: how does "God" language work for me, and how does her "no God" language work for her? Do we perhaps have more values in common than we realise?

Rational thought is a precondition of cultural health. Rational thought provides for the flourishing of science. Absolutist positions, whether rooted in religious or secular ideology, lead to totalitarianism. Call it the Taliban, call it Stalinism, call it creationism, call it the Spanish Inquisition, any mindset that believes it alone has the truth and damns all opposition to hell, is the enemy of the free society. As someone once said, we need seekers after the truth, but protection from anyone who is dead certain he's found it.

For the evil of creationism to triumph, it is only necessary that all the good rational thinkers do nothing. [Also], perhaps, with Ken Ham's new museum drawing crowds, not all of whom can have paid their entrance fee just to have a laugh, now is the hour for rational thinkers to gird their loins.

Though I could, of course, be quite wrong about that.

Bloodthirsty Savages

Okay, I live in an area that is quite religious. I'd say they are nearly religious enough to be featured on 60 Minutes as a cult (that's just me being snarky, since I really consider all religion to be a cult). Anyway, the local paper has this fun feature where the locals can comment on the stories. Now, for a religion that claims its main tenets are forgiveness and love, you'd be amazed at the comments the locals make! In general, if there is a story about someone doing anything from spitting on the sidewalk to a felony, the standard reaction is to wish great bodily harm on them in one way or another! I kid you not! We're talking a level of violence that I can only assume was stirred up by such lovely films as Passion of the christ or something!

Now, the funny thing is, an ATHEIST makes a comment to them that they seem to be rather hypocritical, and righteous indignation wins out over their religious doctrine. Now, I intentionally worded the admonition in a way to get them wound up, just to see if they could see the underlying message. I don't think they could at all! I also created another posting account and made absolutely VILE posts (like saying I was glad some lowlife was dead from an auto accident and the like). I bet you can predict their response to those sort of comments. Yep, they seemed to wholly approve them. And they still can't see the hypocrisy of it all.

Now, there have been numerous studies that correlate low intelligence with a propensity to act out violently. I think that there may also be a correlation between low intelligence and these particularly bloodthirsty xtians! Just as there is a correlation between atheism and high intelligence. Not saying all xtians are stupid, but their representatives sure don't do them any favours.

Anyway, I was just complaining really. Sometimes it's depressing to live in such an intellectual wasteland as this area, surrounded by such hypocrites. And hypocrisy runs deep in xtians. Here is one of my favorite top 10 lists to leave you with:

10 - You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of yours.

9 - You feel insulted and "dehumanized" when scientists say that people evolved from other life forms, but you have no problem with the Biblical claim that we were created from dirt.

8 - You laugh at polytheists, but you have no problem believing in a Triune God.

7 - Your face turns purple when you hear of the "atrocities" attributed to Allah, but you don't even flinch when hearing about how God/Jehovah slaughtered all the babies of Egypt in "Exodus" and ordered the elimination of entire ethnic groups in "Joshua" including women, children, and trees!

6 - You laugh at Hindu beliefs that deify humans, and Greek claims about gods sleeping with women, but you have no problem believing that the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary, who then gave birth to a man-god who got killed, came back to life and then ascended into the sky.

5 - You are willing to spend your life looking for little loopholes in the scientifically established age of Earth (few billion years), but you find nothing wrong with believing dates recorded by Bronze Age tribesmen sitting in their tents and guessing that Earth is a few generations old.

4 - You believe that the entire population of this planet with the exception of those who share your beliefs -- though excluding those in all rival sects - will spend Eternity in an infinite Hell of Suffering. And yet consider your religion the most "tolerant" and "loving."

3 - While modern science, history, geology, biology, and physics have failed to convince you otherwise, some idiot rolling around on the floor speaking in "tongues" may be all the evidence you need to "prove" Christianity.

2 - You define 0.01% as a "high success rate" when it comes to answered prayers. You consider that to be evidence that prayer works. And you think that the remaining 99.99% FAILURE was simply the will of God.

1 - You actually know a lot less than many atheists and agnostics do about the Bible, Christianity, and church history - but still call yourself a Christian.