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.
 

[NYer]

The Shroud of Turin has been carbon-dated and was likely created in 1355.

We now know, from National Geographic News, PBS and several scientific papers, that the carbon 14 dating of the Shroud of Turin was done with an invalid sample.

M. Sue Benford and Joseph G. Marino, with the help of several textile experts, undertook a detailed examination of the documentation photographs of the carbon 14 samples and identified clear indications of a medieval patch.

Perhaps, professor, it is time you 'updated' your ignorant 20th century views by examining ALL of the facts.
SHROUD STORY

[Barnacle]

Have yourself a very merry nothing.

[Clorinox]

"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."

The same can be said of any religion.

[Right Wing Professor]

One serious comment. This article makes me regret the various occasions when I've stood up for the rights of Christian students, and a couple of specific occasions Catholic students, here at the University, against the gibes and sometimes outright hostility of various faculty. If institutional catholicism has decided I'm the enemy, I guess I'll start acting like the enemy. It would be just plain foolish to do good to those that hate me.

[Right Wing Professor]

Yeah yeah. If you don't like the results, keep recounting until you get an answer you like.

http://www.mcri.org/Shroud.html

McCrone's a good analytical chemist. He knows what he's doing. The work has been published in five separate peer-reviewed papers. The shroud is not just a fake, it's an obvious fake.

[NYer]

Father of Truth

(The Last Prayer of Saint Charbel before he died)

 

Father of truth,

Here is your Son,

The sacrifice in which you are well pleased.

Accept him for he died for me.

So through him I shall be pardoned.

Here is the offering.

Take it from my hands

And so I shall be reconciled with you.

Remember not the sins that I have committed

In front of your Majesty.

Here is the blood which flowered on Golgotha

For my salvation and prays for me.

Out of consideration for this,

Accept my supplication.

I have committed many sins

But your mercy is great.

If you put them in the balance,

Your goodness will have more weight

Than the most mighty mountains.

Look not upon my sins,

But rather on what is offered for them,

For the offering and the sacrifice

Are even greater than the offences.

Because I have sinned,

Your beloved bore the nails and the spear.

His sufferings are enough to satisfy you.

By them I shall live.

Glory be to the Father who sent His Son for us.

Adoration be to the Son who has freed us and ensured our salvation.

Blessed be he who by his love has given life to all.

To him be the glory.

 

from the Maronite Liturgy.

[Diverdogz]

January 31 works for me. Thats a Monday in 2005. Long weekend, I like it.

[orionblamblam]

> Incorrupt bodies of the saints

Just on this one alone. Please note that many years after his death, Napoleons body was exhumed and - GASP! - he was foudn to be in like-new condition. Does that make Napoleon Bonapart a miracle worker?

From your Fatima website: "During the June 1917 apparition, Our Lady confided a secret to the seers. The two first parts were only divulged after the Second World War. The first part of the secret concerned the vision of hell; the second part was of universal value. In it Our Lady predicted the Second World War..."

How miraculous. A prediction of something that already happened. Behold! I predict that Time will choose Bush as Man of the Year!

The Lanciano and Januarius "miracles" are pretty easily explained. In the former case... yeah, fine, they're real human body parts fromt he 8th centuiry. What, nobody could butcher a body back then?

As for the liquifying blood trick:
http://www.cicap.org/en_artic/at101014.htm

As for the tilma: what, you've never seen a grilled cheese samich with the Virgin Mary on it?

And for the Shroud and the Sudarium... they are *at* Best* bits of cloth with blood on 'em. Nothing exactly miraculous about that.

There are so many better miracles that people could choose. But those trying hardest to push their faith always seem to go for the glitzy, cheesy and easily refuted ones.

[cosmicassassin]

I'll have to check it out. You seem to have taken a good brunt of this discussion also. Do you know the author(s), as it makes the search easier.

[DarkSavant]

That's exactly thesong that I thought of when I read the article.

[Raycpa]

So how do explain the trinity?

And how does Satan fit into this mix?

I. THE DOGMA OF THE TRINITY The Trinity is the term employed to signify the central doctrine of the Christian religion -- the truth that in the unity of the Godhead there are Three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, these Three Persons being truly distinct one from another. Thus, in the words of the Athanasian Creed: "the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods but one God." In this Trinity of Persons the Son is begotten of the Father by an eternal generation, and the Holy Spirit proceeds by an eternal procession from the Father and the Son. Yet, notwithstanding this difference as to origin, the Persons are co-eternal and co-equal: all alike are uncreated and omnipotent. This, the Church teaches, is the revelation regarding God's nature which Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came upon earth to deliver to the world: and which she proposes to man as the foundation of her whole dogmatic system.

source http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15047a.htm

And how does Satan fit into this mix?

I assume you raised this question because you assume satan is co-equal with God. He is not. He was created by God with all the other angels. Just as man denies God's sovereignty, so to did satan.

[rcocean]

You know nothing about "native Americans".

First there is no such thing. There are Cherokees, Navajos. etc. each with their own language and culture different from the other.

Second, the vast majority of "native" Americans speak English as their first language and are Christians, just like must "African" Americans.

[rcocean]

You know nothing about "native Americans".

First there is no such thing. There are Cherokees, Navajos. etc. each with their own language and culture different from the other.

Second, the vast majority of "native" Americans speak English as their first language and are Christians, just like must "African" Americans.

[Raycpa]

What brought that on ? I responded to a question about polytheism not "native" americans.

[corlorde]

I know what I'll do on nothing day, I'll quote passages from the Constitution, continue to support the troops, and feed my family.

I might even clean a gun or two.

[plain talk]

I like your analysis. It makes sense and explains several unusual things I've noticed about these people. Thanks.

Another group is the agnostics. My Dad was one. He had no hatred for religion. (My mom was born-again). He would go to the church occasionally and help various members fix their stuff. But he had absolutely no interest or curiosity in religion. I once asked him if he had ever thought about life on other planets. He said "no". No curiosity whatsoever about anything that wasn't a material object he could see. He certainly wouldn't have been bothered arguing ad nauseum about it.

[Political Junkie Too]

Can an athiest even have a holy day?

-PJ

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

"How will we know when it's Nothing Day?"
April fools day seems best.

[Long Cut]

"I love this sort of thread. It inevitably showcases the Christian virtues of tolerance and humility in all their glory."

I read the first hundred posts. It's hard to recall a more arrogant, condescending, bigoted, and all-around ignorant collection of tripe from FR, and that's a tall statement sometimes.

I'm not an atheist, but I do know that there are quite a few who are not only conservatives, but Republicans and FReepers, too. Wonder what some of them think when this kind of crap gets posted?

Not to excuse the radical atheists who seem to want to spoil Christmas for everyone, but it would seem that the venom is equally distributed on BOTH sides.

I am sure, as well, that most of the honest, decent Christians with whom I have had dealings with on this site are cringing as they read some of the bile posted here.

Once again, the extremists on our side with mouths bigger than their brains make us all look like maniacal zealots.

[Melas]

Utter BS. This atheist wakes up every morning and kisses one of those faithful folks you mentioned. I'm getting sick of the stereotyping and athiest bashing around here lately.