ATHEISTS DESERVE THEIR OWN HOLIDAY—NOTHINGDAY

Catholic League ^ | December 23, 2004 | William Donohue

[NYer]

 

December 23, 2004 

ATHEISTS DESERVE THEIR OWN HOLIDAY—NOTHINGDAY 

Catholic League president William Donohue released the following comments on the Christmas wars today:   

 

“Robert Tiernan, a spokesman for the Freedom from Religion Foundation, is demanding that atheists be represented in next year’s Parade of Lights in Denver.  He wants a ‘winter solstice’ float instead of a Christian one.  He deserves better.

 

“Atheists deserve to have their own holiday—Nothingday—the purpose of which would be to honor what they believe in, which is absolutely nothing.  Nothingday would be held on the day of the winter solstice and would be celebrated by holding nationwide conferences explicitly designed to accomplish nothing. 

 

“For example, there would be seminars and workshops on the virtue of standing for nothing.  Participants would be invited to watch a video on the meaning of Nothingday and would then discover—to their utter delight—that there’s nothing on the tape.  Tables outside conference rooms would be set up, though there would be nothing on them.  Breakout sessions would allow participants to huddle in corners for the express purpose of doing nothing.  When they reassemble, their team leader would be able to report that they have accomplished absolutely nothing.  Naturally, no minutes would be kept. 

 

“They would then repair to the cocktail lounge where they would all be given empty glasses.  Dinner would follow, though nothing would be served.  At the awards ceremony, those who best represent the spirit of nothing would, of course, be given nothing for their efforts.  Best of all, the keynote speaker wouldn’t open his mouth, allowing everyone to just sit there, staring endlessly into space.

 

“Quite frankly, this sounds a heck of a lot better than the conferences I’ve been to.”

 

The Catholic League is the nation's largest Catholic civil rights organization. It defends individual Catholics and the institutional Church from defamation and discrimination.
 

[Aquinasfan]

Actually they have all been refuted

Without even a hint of irony...

[Rytwyng]

Why not let them celebrate on Darwin Day?

[Rytwyng]

What in the Consitution would drive the Secular folks nuts

It's not obvious to the casual observer, but a little research will show that quite a bit of scriptural ideas made their way into the document. I did a study on it a long time ago -- it was mindblowing.

[dmz]

I don't find moralizing by avowed atheists at all ironic. Ethics and morals were discussed in pre-Christian times (see the ancient Greek philosophers).

[Aquinasfan]

I don't find moralizing by avowed atheists at all ironic.

It's all matter in motion, right? So where do "should" and "ought" come in?

[dmz]

As a philosophy student (you know, physics for dumb people), one of my favorite titles for an article I read was "Is justified true belief knowledge?".

The snow is Siberia debate reminds me of that.

[navygal]

How can people base their beliefs on nothing?

[Jersey Republican Biker Chick]

I suppose if we all learn to tolerate each other's beliefs and not impose restrictions on those beliefs, we can get along.

[L98Fiero]

"That doesn't sound like benign Atheism."

Nope, sure doesn't. I would say she falls into that second category. Notice how she singled out Jesus.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

Thanks for posting that. (I orignially posted to the wrong person.) I am speaking of #99 and the links.

[Barnacle]

WWND

[Veritas et equitas ad Votum]

"and would be celebrated by holding nationwide conferences explicitly designed to accomplish nothing."

It's called the United Nations.

[CThomasFan]

Here is some very dangerous reading for atheists:

He is There and He is not Silent by Francis Schaeffer
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
On Looking into the Abyss by Gertrude Himmelfarb
..........................................................
For atheists to celebrate anything or find value in anything is a contradiction to their position.
If there is no God, there is no value...all is a matter of interpretation and perspective. And if all is a matter of interpretation and perspective, then their stance requires much more than canceling Christmas.
If there is no a priori assumption other than that there is none, then not only are all views of afterlife meaningless, but to die has the same inherent value as to live, to suffer the same as health, one's personal pleasure the same as one's personal tragedy. Nothing means anything. In fact it cant really mean anything without contradicting their philosophical position.
However they go through their days living as though things had meaning. Earning a living and supporting their families, stopping at red lights and expecting the other party to do the same. Their behavior testifies that it is impossible for them to live a life based on the philosophy they espouse. Even in the face of the position that nothing has value, they of necessity live as though it did. Their minds espouse one doctrine while their behavior naturally testifies to another.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

One of my favorite Mark Twain quotes (or was it Will Rogers?) was, "It is not so much what we know that is dangerous, but what we know that is not true." Applies to many we know.

[oldbrowser]

Sounds like much ado about nothing.
Somebody said that there are more people that believe
that Elvis is alive, than there are atheists.
I for one think we give them too much attention. As a
matter of fact atheist I ever met was an emotional
black hole.

[TheDon]

Yep, and it takes a great deal more faith to not believe in God than to believe in him!

[Clorinox]

"The reason polytheisim is illogical is because it self contradicts. On the one hand it declares many Gods while on the other it declares a body working as one. If theism is to exist it must be one all powerful God. If there are multiple God's, either one has to reign supreme which results in there being one God or all have to work together like the cells in the human body, which results in one God. So, polytheism is either describing many gods acting as one or many gods ruled by one."

So how do explain the trinity? And how does Satan fit into this mix?

[Right Wing Professor]

Give me a break. You have various chunks of mummified flesh (maybe, if the True Believers who conducted the tests didn't introduce a little personal bias into the results), of very dubious provenance, and these are supposed to prove something? The Shroud of Turin has been carbon-dated and was likely created in 1355.

We have the same sort of thing in Ireland, where the head of 'Blessed Oliver Plunkett' was supposed to have been preserved incorrupt since he was offed by the Brits. I remember, back when I was still a Catholic, looking at it and wondering 'Is this really any different than any other 300 year old head would look?'.

I mean, just a modicum of skepticism here, please? You might have been able to sell this stuff to poor, ignorant 18th century peasants, but I think you better update the shtick.

[tob2]

Very appropriate!

[ZeitgeistSurfer]

A philosopher friend of mine once said "Whether there is a God or there isn't, both possibilities are amazing."

The true atheist position is without a doubt irrational. Why? Because it assumes we can know all that can be known from our finite position in space and time.