Posted on 06/21/2011 12:23:25 PM PDT by markomalley
A group of New York City atheists is demanding that the city remove a street sign honoring seven firefighters killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks because they say the sign violates the separation of church and state.
The street, “Seven in Heaven Way,” was officially dedicated last weekend in Brooklyn outside the firehouse where the firefighters once served. The ceremony was attended by dozens of firefighters, city leaders and widows of the fallen men.
“There should be no signage or displays of religious nature in the public domain,” said Ken Bronstein, president of New York City Atheists. “It’s really insulting to us.” Bronstein told Fox News Radio that his organization was especially concerned with the use of the word “heaven.” “We’ve concluded as atheists there is no heaven and there’s no hell,” he said.
“And it’s a totally religious statement. It’s a question of separation of church and state.” He was nonplussed over how his opposition to the street sign might be perceived – especially since the sign is honoring fallen heroes. “It’s irrelevant who it’s for,” Bronstein said. “We think this is a very bad thing,”
David Silverman, president of American Atheists, agreed calling on the city to remove the sign. “It implies that heaven actually exists,” Silverman told Fox News Radio.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
There is no separation of church and state. If they can find it in the constitution we’ll be glad to humor them.
America’s Talibatheists, proving once again they don’t know what “America” means.
Offended atheists invariably offend me.
These people are full of it.
They think that anything that hints at some endorsement of religion must be expunged.
I’m sure they think that, if this street sign is allowed, the next thing you know, we’ll be in a theocracy resembling Europe in the Middle Ages.
If a cross is on top of a mountain, or a 10 commandments monument is anywhere in a public place, the next thing you know, we’ll be back in Medieval Europe. People will be burned at the stake, yadda, yadda, yadda. So to prevent all of that, we have to rip down a street sign which the most extreme atheists find to be offensive.
Okay.................
Brooklyn - distinguishing itself yet again this month!
“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” In other words to the atheists, STFU!
“It’s really insulting to us.”
Tough!
You know your worldview is pathetic when you cannot so much as handle a sign that is somewhat contrary to it. These atheists need to rethink their absolutely worthless “philosophy.” Instead of of being a philosophy it’s more like sophophobia.
Oh, and does the name San Francisco also violate separation of church and state because it references the theologically-loaded term “saint”?
Atheists are always angry.
Attention, New York Atheists Association...*ahem*....
GET STUFFED!
Thank you.
Hey renegade atheists -—— boofricketywho.
The city and state should just ignore them. Don’t give them any press, nada, nothing.
“Heaven” is only religious to those who perceive it as such. If you don’t believe in God, or an afterlife, then the word “heaven” is meaningless. Heaven is a word that is used in many ways throughout the world. It does not belong to a particular religion.
“I’m in heaven over my recent marriage proposal”...
“That fudge is heavenly”...
“The vacation we took in the Galapagos Islands was heaven”...
Etc...
I’m not sure if I’d be more accurate in describing myself as an atheist or an agnostic, but as such I gotta say: These New York Atheists are jackasses! Everyone’s free to believe or disbelieve and the only restriction on religion is the one that prevents and actual government-sponsored and approved one. You know, like the Church of England that America rebelled against back in the day.
Maybe they could be chained to that Michael Newdow creep and dumped in the East River.
They don’t believe in God or in Heaven...
so why are they offended by a mention of either?
I, for one, get SO angry when Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy are mentioned that I just can’t stand it!
I can think of ways where they’d no longer be aware of those signs that offend them.
“We’ve concluded as Atheists.” Based on what?
“We’ve concluded as Atheists.” Based on what?
I’m surprised that the ACLU has not yet filed lawsuits to force name changes of cities such as St. Louis, St. Paul, Corpus Christi, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and St. Petersburg.
I’m surprised the ACLU has not sued Louisiana for calling their counties “parishes”. A parish is a Roman Catholic term for the community served by a Catholic Church. We should not be calling a governmental unit by the term used by a religion, should we?
There’s a Metro train stop in Washington, DC, named for Catholic University. Is this a governmental endorsement of religion to name the train stop after the university the stop is located at, if such name suggests a religious institution?
I’m sure we call think of equally ridiculous examples of what these guys are trying to do.
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