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]

Bump for nothing.

[cosmicassassin]

Very true. It's either one or none, you are correct.
Argueing which it is will never be resolved.

[MainFrame65]

It HAS to be February 30!

[massgopguy]

How will we know when it's Nothing Day?

[broadsword]

How about EMPTY DAY or BITTER DAY or DEAD END DAY.

[dmz]

I have nowhere suggested that your beliefs are ridiculous, and you know it. On the other hand, you are calling my thinking insane and illogical and wrong.

I am unclear as to the reasons why I must believe in nothing if I do not believe in an all powerful God.

What do I believe in? Lots of things.

I believe that 6 of the 10 commandments are critical to the success of people coming together in societies. The first 4 are not.
I firmly believe that no number of posts back and forth on this topic between you and me will cause either of us to change our point of view.
I also firmly believe that you have no cause to suggest that you know anything about why I believe as I do (despite your suggestion to the contrary).

Merry Christmas.

[Raycpa]

I think it is very difficult to discuss this with you.

The difficulty is not realizing that we all work off of absolutes. Even someone who says there are no absolutes just established an absolute. Christians base their primary absolute that God exists. Atheists establish an absolute that God doesn't not exist. Both are based on a belief without a verifiable proof. Christians base their belief on accepting evidence (which is mostly testimony) as being sufficient to establish God exists while atheists either reject the evidence as sufficient or have not studied the evidence.

The difficulty is usually that the atheist thinks his conclusion is based on logic and not belief and is often unable to see that.

[sleepy_hollow]

The best way to know is to investigate the claims of all religions. It is not enough to simply summarize their beliefs like you are building a PowerPoint briefing. You should try to find out what it means to actually believe what they believe.

You should observe what sort of worldview results from the beliefs held by these faiths. You should decide if you believe what they believe? If not, then why not.

I can guarantee that if you sincerely approach the various faiths in this way, with a discerning nature, and a hunger for real truth, then you cannot help but come away with the conclusion that the Judeo-Christian heritage and it's underlying faith is the only one founded on reality, not fantasy or political maneuvering.

Islam is a reactionary religion based on Mohammed's rejection and slighting by the Jews and Christians. That is historical fact. The Koran is a disorganized contradictory set of sayings by Mohammed that are arranged basicaly in reverse chronological order.

Hinduism also has its origins in the desire of one group to subdue and dominate another. It is a concoction for political purposes. Most of it is pure silliness.

Having said all of this, I certainly respect the rights of those of other faiths to practice them, but I do NOT have to respect their faiths if I know them to be a sham and unreal.

I would welcome the opporunity to debate the validity of other faiths against Christianity, my faith. I would always strive to be respectful of others in doing so, but I would also argue about the substance of the faiths, which many will choose to take personally.

[TheOtherOne]

Read the Constitution once. You'll find it quite full of little tidbits that will drive Secular folks nuts.

What? What in the Consitution would drive the Secular folks nuts?

[escapefromboston]

True pretty much anything can become extremist and militant. However Christians didn't fly planes into the side of a building, and if they did I suspect most Christians would speak out agains them. Most Muslims I have known have been very nice people, so I am not one to say they should all be kicked out of the US just the dangerous ones.

[massgopguy]

On a 60 Minutes segment on Madeline Murray O'Hare, her office prominetly displayed "Jesus is Lard" bumper stickers. That doesn't sound like benign Atheism.

[Raycpa]

I'm merely asking how do you know absolutely, that Christianity is the one true religion

Only one person rose form the dead.

[Blood of Tyrants]

I've encountered atheists that wanted to disrupt the faithful people's holidays.

They are not atheists. They are Christian haters who just won't admit it publicly.

[Redbob]

Nothing Day?

I know when they could celebrate it:
NEVER!

[snowstorm12]

athiest do believe in something. They believe in what is. They believe in what exists. So atheist believe in the real or reality. That's all.

[Right Wing Professor]

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

[dmz]

I've not run away, and have posted a few of my beliefs for your review.

It was your definition of atheism I "ridiculed", not your beliefs and certainly not you personally. After you referring to my thinking as insane and illogical, it's a little hypocritical to decry any perceived insults coming from me.

[Aquinasfan]

Please explain, I don't see how not believing in religion, or a God, inherently makes me insane.

When you drive down the road and see a billboard, do you believe that it was placed there by an advertising company, or that it just happened to arrive there by chance?

I think you'd agree that the latter view is insane. Why? Because the the billboard was obviously designed by an intelligent being.

The design of the world is infinitely more complex and beautiful than a billboard, yet atheists assert that the world was not designed, that it arose by chance. That's insanity.

(Moreover, how can reason itself be trusted if it has arisen by chance? Relativism and solipsism necessarily follows from the atheist position).

That's why the Bible says that atheists are "without excuse."

Romans 1:20

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

I admire my friends who are willing to question their respective religions, and still chose to believe.

The key word is "choose", as you so aptly put it. Many don't question their religion for fear that to question indicates a lack of faith, and therefore a negation of the belief. Another approach is to choose to believe and then set out to find all the evidence you can to justify that belief, knowing full well that proof is impossible and that contrary evidence will always pop up. That is what faith is all about.

[Raycpa]

I believe that 6 of the 10 commandments are critical to the success of people coming together in societies. The first 4 are not.

Jesus was asked by a legal scholar, which was the most important commandment. He said that it was Love God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind. The second is to love your neighbor as yourself. It is on these commandments that Christianity is founded. 6-10 come from the heart when are hearts are set on loving God and our neighbors. Christ taught that none of us can keep the commandments but we are called to turn our hearts, our souls and our minds to God.