Posted on 05/27/2005 7:55:56 AM PDT by Graybeard58
Dr. Michael Newdow is at it again.
The California physician and atheist whose first successful challenge against the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance was vacated by the U.S. Supreme Court, has filed a new lawsuit to achieve the same end. He called the high court's intervention a "vile abrogation of my civil rights."
Continuing his eight-year battle, Dr. Newdow argues that, "No one should be made to feel like an outsider because of their religious beliefs." He may not realize it, but that's an argument those with religious beliefs would salute. Atheists don't profess religious beliefs.
He goes on to contend that atheists are treated like second-class citizens. That's why he considers the removal of "under God" from the Pledge an important civil-rights issue. "It's not just words," he said, "When the government took down 'white only' signs, it made a huge difference because the government stopped perpetuating that view, and we are a very different society today because of that."
Despite his lofty goals and expectations, shedding "under God" would not produce a momentous change in society other than giving the doctor a dubious reason to be proud of himself.
However, his chances of succeeding could be facing stiff opposition if the Knights of Columbus, headquartered in New Haven, gets a favorable ruling on its petition to enter the case as a defendant.
A lawyer for the Knights pointed out this week that if saying "under God" is unconstitutional, so is reciting the Declaration of Independence and its references to the Creator.
Dr. Newdow would do himself a favor if he divested himself of this fetish. How often does he recite the Pledge, anyway?
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Newdow is a jerk.
Newdow needs a new hobby. He also needs to grow up and learn that your practices can make you unpopular and that's just the way life is. If you want to shove your atheism down people's throats and prevent the majority from doing what it wants, people are going to dislike you and not want to associate with you. It's just a consequence of your own actions. I think most people would not find much fault with Newdow being an atheist as long as he didn't try to force it upon the rest of us. Actions have consequences.
I know there are those who disagree, and I am not going to get into yet another argument here. But it is self-evident to me that Atheism is a purely faith-based belief about the nature and existence of a Supreme Being. Therefore, unlike Agnosticism, it absolutely is a religious belief.
I agree with you. I think there are many belief systems that are not commonly categorized as "religions" but the nature of the devotion that their adherents give to them, and the fervor of their beliefs make it either a religion or certainly equivalent to one. No one "knows" (in the scientific sense) about God or an afterlife or the spiritual realm - it's all about faith and belief. Same way with atheists - they don't know any more about it than the religious folks. They just have the BELIEF that the spiritual realm and God don't exist. Why should their BELIEF system be honored more than the majority's?
Why doesn't he do us a favor and join the Hemlock Society?
Yes they do. They have absolute faith in an unprovable assertion.
I know there are those who disagree, and I am not going to get into yet another argument here. But it is self-evident to me that Atheism is a purely faith-based belief about the nature and existence of a Supreme Being. Therefore, unlike Agnosticism, it absolutely is a religious belief.
And establishing Atheism as the official religion of the United States , which Newdow wants to do, would be a violation of the First Amendment establishment cause.
ping to self for later pingout.
What a spoiled tantrum. How can he compare being offended to "White Only" signs? What planet is this man from? For one thing, the White Only signs were ACTUAL exclusion backed up by force of law. This is just someone determined to be offended and perverting the First Amendment to prevent the free exercise of religion to protect him from deciding to get huffy. Maybe this guy never got invited to any parties in high school and is hypersenstitve to feeling excluded, but it's not the government's job to be his therapist or rewrite history to shield him from competing ideas.
Hmmmmm does this guy have any friends??
LOL! Took a moment, but I got it! Good one!
What a moron. I'm an atheist, and were it not for other people's belief in God, he'd never get to live in a nifty country like the USA. I personally am happy to take advantage of the benefits of a religious people and country, which is why the current phobias toward Christianity scare the jeebs right out of me.
If he's so concerned about constitutional rights, where does he think those rights came from? Hint: see paragraph 1. If he wants an atheist country, he can move to Russia.
Correct. Freedom OF religion is not Freedom FROM religion.
He is free to worship "no god" but he cannot make all of us live in his "no god" world.
The kicker is that schools in Russia permit prayer now and offer classes in religious studies.
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