[nightdriver]

"(But) now, even if I wanted to believe, I no longer can."

"...My spirit shall not always strive with man..." Gen 6:3

[NoControllingLegalAuthority]

We do the right thing because we think it's right -- not because we think we'll be rewarded or punished in the afterlife based on our actions.

Where do athesists think their inner voice of what "we think is right" originates? Believers try to do the right thing, not out of fear of later punishment, but out of a longing for an inner peace that comes from obedience to the life God intended for us to live. Christians can release the guilt of falling short in that quest through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ who lifts that burden from our shoulders.

[self_evident]

"We're the last group it's OK to bash,"

Malarky.

Smokers
Men
Conservatives
Pro-lifers
Anyone care to add to the list?

What's weird is that they have apparently organized a group around the absence of an organization (Religion and the Church). Makes me think these are your typical bay-area whiners.

[newfreep]

We are very ethical. We do the right thing because we think it's right --

Amazing. Belief in God provides the absolutes of right and wrong. Without God, there is no right or wrong. These intellectual midgets just don't get IT.

[RightOnline]

So the God-less want to paint themselves in the same light as blacks in the '50's and early '60's.........or better yet, maybe the gays ["You see? It's HIP to be gay......and you'd better love and accept us and elevate our status to that of 'celebrity' or you're a hateful homophobe, vilified by the media and our sheepish society!"].

Screw 'em.

[alley cat]

You should have posted a WHINE ALERT!!

[3catsanadog]

I expect that this will be the next victim group that will be holding seminars at the public schools in the interest of tolerance and acceptance. What would one be called who believed in God - an "athieaphobe"?

[RnMomof7]

"Listen," she said, "my family has vilified me since I came out. Now, at age 43, I've finally had enough. I have no contact with my family at all, and it's the best thing I've ever done. I feel free."

If she thinks that is bad ,she should be a Bible Believing Christian here or as we are called "talibornagains". And that is by our "friends" *grin*

[RobbyS]

Though atheists are quick to point out that the United States was founded as a secular nation -- there is no mention of God in the constitution -- they see religion seeping into national policy

This is flatly an unhistoric statement. Not only did many founding documents, including state constitutions, mention God, but Congress and the several state legislatures employed chaplains from the beginning. Religion provides the moral underpinning of our law, a fact symbolized by the use of religious oaths before testimony and the many religious concepts, such as intention, in the commmon law, owing to its relation to the Justinian Code, a legal code that is undeniably religious. The special place that religious bodies have in our society--as mediate bodies--is not allowed in truly "secular: governments, of whicvh the purest examples are the communists states of Cuba and China. The blatant hostility of such states to religion does not make believers feel much inclinted to listed to the whining of atheists about the minor discomforts under American law. Religion is not "seeping" into a"national policy"; rather it is refilling again its natural place by artificial dikes created by secularist bigots like those in the ACLU and other friends of the these atheists that are gathering in SF. What will they do next: petition that the name of the city be changed?

[MissAmericanPie]

I find it very hard to believe atheists are discriminated against, I rather think what bothers them is their lack of power to discriminate against believers.

I'm sure listening to "God Bless America" is like hearing finger nails dragged across a blackboard to them and they feel left out. Well gee, when you hold yourself apart, I guess you are left out. If you don't have enough compassion for your fellow man to quietly induldge the majority in their beliefs during a tragedy, then a person is right to leave himself out of the equation. I guess they just want to whine about it.

[mountaineer]

"If I were to say what I am, I'd be blackballed from jobs -- banned," he said. "I'm serious. I'm doing a job now in Walnut Creek where, if I declared who I am, they'd take away the contract."

Oh please. Does being an atheist also mean one must be paranoid and delusional?

[Urbane_Guerilla]

Belief in God, I understand ... agnosticism, I understand ... but to affirmatively say, "there is no God," that I do not understand ... there is no intellectual construct which permits the human mind to eliminate the possibility of an intelligent creator ... there might be one, it is just beyond the comprehension of human intelligence ... on the other hand, the human mind can conceive of God ...

To call oneself an atheist is an act of pride.

[Melas]

Pure unadulterated Bravo Sierra. Atheists discriminated against? Where? I'm an atheist, and I live smack dab in the middle of the bible belt, and I cannot think of a single instance where I caught the slightest bit of grief for not believing. Christians as a whole have been more than accomdating. Sure, there have been some knock down drag out fights over certain policies on occasion, but very little animosity in real life. Only on the internet, and on television have I ever seen any real hostility towards atheists.

I suggest that the members of this little group have elevated whining to a new level. The whole concept of a group of atheists boggles my mind even. I can't imagine meeting with a group to discuss what I don't believe. Am I the only atheist who doesn't see the logic in this?

[Melas]

Upon further reflection, I've decided that the events of September 11, have made life easier for atheists in America, if it has had any effect at all. After all, we're atheists, and not muslims. Not Muslim is a very positive thing these days. :)

[Zorobabel]

Another "oppressed" minority with a litany of grievances. Sheesh, when will it ever end?

[editor-surveyor]

"Way in the back of an ornate and dimly lit German restaurant in San Francisco..."

Would that be the Rathskeller? (AKA Rat cellar) Hangout of the freaks in a town devoted to freaks. Once the hangout of Edward Abbey, Jack Loffler (AKA Travis T Hip), Anton LaVey and numerous other well known freaks, all of which have at one time or other sworn that there is no God, but a couple of them now know better, I suspect.

Athiests persecuted? What a laugh! Especially in the Bay Area; it's a badge of honor.

"talibornagains"

By the most reasonable freepers here, right, 'MoM' ??

[McGavin999]

Oh please! I'm getting sick of every group with every imaginable difference getting together and claiming to be an abused minority. Get over it. If you don't believe in religion then why are you discussing it with people?

[lawdog]

'Our problem is that we've never asked others to consider our feelings the way we do theirs,"

Hard to believe considering all the shrill lawsuits you yahoos file!