Especially during MahonyFest 2006! Somehow I doubt anyone noticed those little hymnal tracts.
Posted on 04/10/2006 11:15:15 PM PDT by Aussie Dasher
A media company that produced a best-selling documentary asserting that Jesus Christ never existed today launches its "War on Easter," encouraging volunteer atheists to plant copies of the film "The God Who Wasn't There" in churches across the United States.
Dubbing the effort "Operation Easter Sanity," Brian Flemming, a self-described "former Christian fundamentalist" and president of Beyond Belief Media, hopes to covertly place 666 copies of the documentary in churches by Easter Sunday, April 16. The number 666 is the biblical mark of "The Beast," which also is the name of another film by Flemming set for a 06-06-06 release.
"People go to churches to hide from the truth," Flemming said in a statement. "At no time is this more apparent than Easter, when Christians get together to convince each other that a man died, stayed dead three days, rose from the dead and then flew into the air above the clouds.
"Our nonviolent campaign sends the message that nowhere in the country is safe from the truth. Wherever Christian leaders are indoctrinating children with 2,000-year-old fairy tales, the truth may just find its way there."
Continued the former Christian: "Our 'War on Easter' is of course completely without violence of any kind. Christians believe that beating a man to a pulp and nailing him to a cross somehow solves all the world's problems. Beyond Belief Media does not."
"The God Who Wasn't There" is currently No. 5 on Amazon.com's list of best-selling documentaries.
Fleming claims to have planted copies of the DVD at Our Lady of the Angels Catholic cathedral in Los Angeles Sunday morning.
"I put the DVDs in my right inside jacket pocket," he explained on the War on Easter website. "It was a gorgeous Palm Sunday. The kind of day that makes you want to ride on a donkey and get hit with palm fronds. …
"As soon as the Mass was over, I got to work hiding DVDs and flyers in hymnals and the like."
Fleming posted a photo of Cardinal Roger Mahony and himself allegedly taken after the Mass.
Responded "Eric" on the site: "Why do you feel the need to spread hate? Just because you are miserable doesn’t give you the right to lash out. Listen, you need some professional help. You remind me of Hitler and what he was trying to do. Are you proud of that?"
Another poster encouraged Flemming: "That is just awesome. Someday people will wake up, and I hope your crusade helps to do just that."
There are a lot more than 666 churches in the USA so who cares? Just more junk mail to throw out, I guess. He's just getting free publicity for his other movie.
Hmmm. Crusade, interesting choice of words, eh?
Wow. What a jerk.
I have no problem if someone wants to be an atheist. But when they make it their life goal to drag down with them as many people as they can, that's crossing the line.
And why the 666? If this guy is an atheist, he surely doesnt believe in Satan, so he's only using the number for shock value. What an attention whore.
Prayers for his pitiful soul.
"As soon as the Mass was over, I got to work hiding DVDs and flyers in hymnals and the like."
Can we cite this guy for littering?
I wonder what would happen if he said any of these things about ISLAM....
Bet he has no problems with Islam. The usual suspects that decry Christian fundamentalism have respect for "the religion of peace". It's the American way they really hate, not religion.
'No. 5 on Amazon.com'
Well, that confirms why I have never bought
anything from them. There are plenty of other
e retailers out there.
A person who is this emotionally involved against anything, including religion, is (often) showing that he is reacting to some bad emotional experience. Somebody or something obviously turned him against Christianity. Before I became a Christian, I was just indifferent to Christianity. I think that is true of most non-Christians. When a person is vehemently against it, it shows that it's not just an intellectual problem; it's emotional. Who knows, maybe a Christian gal dumped him when he was younger, and he's still angry.
And WND just had to give him even more, didn't they?!
We'll see what Mr. Brian Flemming has to say for himself when he one day stands before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords to be judged, and His Name is JESUS!
Justice WILL be done, and Flemming may or may not be allowed to change the pants he craps in just before he hears those words "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."
- Matthew 25:41
Yes, we should be praying for Flemming's soul, but that may be an exercise in futility, as Flemming has denied the Faith that he once embraced, and like any pig, he has returned to the trough from whence he came.
****What an attention whore.
And WND just had to give him even more, didn't they?!
*****
haha good point.
and so are we. my last comment on the topic.
slime like this doesnt deserve the 34 seconds it takes me to type this post.
Which is probably why I don't really read their stuff anymore.
People drop those stupid Chick tracts in public spaces too. Stupidity all around, I guess.
Amazon doesn't take a position on what they sell, it's all based on sales numbers.
If you believe in Easter so much, then get out in the streets and demonsrate by the tens of thousands strong. Otherwise, anyone protesting the demise of Christianity in U.S. culture is just making no more noise than the keys clicking on their keyboard.
Especially during MahonyFest 2006! Somehow I doubt anyone noticed those little hymnal tracts.
Can anyone say BIGOTRY!!!!!
Technically, what he's doing is no different than the folks who leave tracts at bus stops; or who ask you if "you are saved;" or who knock on your door at dinner time to talk with you about your immortal soul. Indeed, what this fellow is doing is a lot less intrusive and annoying than the latter two tactics.
Can we cite the folks leaving religious tracts at bus stops and hotel lobbies for littering?
"Freedom of religion" cuts both ways; don't push for regulations that will come back to haunt you later.
You really have no evidence to back up this assertion, do you? It's simply your bigotry showing through.
Do you feel the same way as those emotionally involved against atheism, Islam, porn, homosexuality, etc? Or do you reserve your psychological insights for only those emotionally involved against religion?
Excellent point.
He's an idiot, people that are in Church are not going to be swayed by one mans hate tracts.
Oh yeah? Tell that to the Christians who can't speak their minds in public, or where teeshirts with anti-abortion message or pray without some namby-pamby or activist judge shuting them up at every turn!
There is an active process in the world to shut Chirstians up, because men love darkness rather than light, haven't you heard?
It'll be really amusing to see this creep try and explain his actions and statements when standing before God to be judged. What do you think he'll say, before being inevitably chucked into everlasting fire?
So your solution is to ban the other guy's free speech? You would simply be enshrining into law the bigotry that will be used to shut you up completely.
oh I totally agree with you there!
I don't think they hate religion, I think they hate God-- they hate even the very idea of God. Allah isn't God, ditto the Hindu gods, hence, no problem. But the God of the Bible, the God of Judaism and Christianity, DOES exist and IS God. Ergo, problem.
I can't help but notice how these acts of hatred by Atheist twits are on the increase.
Poor, misguided, hate-filled little people.
It could simply be they don't believe in Him. I don't believe in Santa Claus, but I don't hate him.
Here was their press release:
Copies of Controversial Documentary Are Hidden in Churches Throughout U.S.
HOLLYWOOD, CA - April 11 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Declaring War on Easter, Beyond Belief Media has launched a preemptive attack on the Christian holiday, the company announced today. "Operation Easter Sanity" has already begun (www.waroneaster.org).
Using its documentary THE GOD WHO WASN'T THERE as the chief weapon, Beyond Belief Media is covertly planting DVDs of the film in churches throughout the United States. The popular movie, currently ranked #1 on Amazon.com's independent documentaries list, is critical of the irrational beliefs of Christians and asserts that Jesus Christ did not exist.
A total of 666 DVDs will be hidden like "Easter eggs" in sanctuaries, church yards and other holy areas by Beyond Belief Media's national team of volunteers. The DVDs will be slipped into hymnals and other locations where they are likely to be discovered by unsuspecting worshippers.
Some DVDs of THE GOD WHO WASN'T THERE will be planted by undercover operatives among actual Easter eggs at churches holding egg hunts on Easter Sunday.
"People go to churches to hide from the truth," explained Beyond Belief Media president Brian Flemming, a former Christian fundamentalist. "At no time is this more apparent than Easter, when Christians get together to convince each other that a man died, stayed dead three days, rose from the dead and then flew into the air above the clouds.
"Our nonviolent campaign sends the message that nowhere in the country is safe from the truth. Wherever Christian leaders are indoctrinating children with 2000-year-old fairy tales, the truth may just find its way there.
"Our 'War on Easter' is of course completely without violence of any kind. Christians believe that beating a man to a pulp and nailing him to a cross somehow solves all the world's problems. Beyond Belief Media does not."
A Website offering more details, including "battle reports" from covert operatives, is on the Web at: http://www.waroneaster.org
Rule #1 (IMHO/YMMV) when dealing with WND is to double-check and verify their sources. They've fallen for this little trick far too many times.
Oh, and btw, the "war on easter" website and the "beyond belief media" website are hosted by a provider from Karlsruhe, Germany. Both homepages bring up 404 errors.
Maybe, but Christianity or Judeo-Christianity is a big part of the American way.
You really have no evidence to back up this assertion, do you?
That's why I called it a bet. Guess what though, I used Google and got a direct qoute from Brian Fleming himself:
Did I have this guy figured out or not? You lose the bet, I win.
. . . He would immediately be flogged in the public square and then forced to undergo "sensitivity training."
Once again, you are drawing conclusions from facts not in evidence.
Nah, we'll just go to church. Gridlock causing demonsrations are for lefties.
Really? When was the last beheading ordered by a Christian minister?
My post was in reply to a claim the guy gave Islam a pass. The posted quote said nothing of the sort.
You paraphrased the author of the film as he made the assertion that Moslems and Christians are doing about the same thing. All I did was point out the idiocy of such a claim.
Well, I'm not a chr*stian or a defender of e*ster, and I think that people who believe in the resurrection of J*sus but who insist that the "old testament" is mythology are hypocrites who deserve a dose of their own medicine, but I'd like to point out that in the absence of a Creator G-d "truth" has no moral authority or significance whatsoever and this idiot has no business "crusading for the truth" or for any other cause.
Perhaps, but he's much more hypocritical, since in the absence of a Creator (to arbitrarily distinguish right from wrong and good from evil) his beliefs don't justify a "crusade for the truth" or any sort of crusade for any cause whatsoever. Kinda like you and your buddies basing your spartan lifelong crusade for "free enterprise" on the absolute ultimate meaninglessness of everything.
Dang--just typing that phrase makes me wanna go out and march for social justice!
But do you spend a great deal of time arguing about his existence? There seems to be a difference here.
No one over the age of five believes in Santa Claus. However, at least 98 percent of the population believes in some kind of deity (athiests make up something less than 2 percent of the population). Arguing against the existence of God does not indicate a hatred of the Almighty (which would be wierd -- you can't hate something you don't believe in). It could instead be seen as a reaction to the in-your-face proselytizing practiced by some of the more aggressive evangelical types. Hell, being Catholic I've often found myself mocking the "are-you-saved" crowd, especially when they're attempting to "save my soul."
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