Posted on 12/08/2013 12:35:03 PM PST by CHRISTIAN DIARIST
Imagine if an activist group blanketed a major city with 55 billboards urging that illegal aliens go back to their own country. Or that homosexuality is a crime against nature. Or that Muslims are responsible for most of the world’s terrorist attacks.
The mainstream media would be all over the story. Organizations – like La Raza, like GLAAD, like CAIR – would organize protests. President Obama would publicly condemn the billboards (while defending illegals, homosexuals and Islam). And the sponsors of the billboards would be branded a “hate group.”
Yet, there has been little outrage over the 55 billboards that started going up last week in Sacramento, California that mock Christians, that blaspheme God. They are sponsored by the so-called Freedom From Religion Foundation, an atheist organization based in Madison, Wisconsin that truly is a hate group.
“I don’t believe in Odin, either,” sneers one billboard. “Studying the bible made me an atheist,” disparages another. “Without god I am full of love,” declares still another.
Yet, Judy Saint, director of FFRF’s newly formed Sacramento chapter, insists that the 55 billboards are not anti-Christian, not anti-God. They just thought it would be a good way to encourage atheists on the down low to “come out of the closet”
“There are thousands of us here,” she said, “and we are reaching out to them because it’s such a maligned minority. If the message at all is to believers, it would be that we are good moral people, too.”
But, by her own words, Saint reveals the nefariousness of the atheist movement in this country.
She suggests that atheists are an unfairly maligned minority. But if the noisome atheist community – which constitutes less than 1 percent of the U.S. population – is maligned, it’s because of their attacks on Christians by in-your-face atheist groups like FFRF.
Indeed, not only are the atheists putting up 55 billboards that bash the religious faith of more than three-quarters of Americans, they have deliberately chosen to do so during the Christmas season, defecating on a holy day on which Christians celebrate the birth of Christ the Lord.
Saint also claims that she and her fellow atheists are both “good” and “moral.”
But there is no good in the atheists’ (un)holy war against Christianity, using billboards as their weapon of attack. And there is no morality in the atheist community’s endorsement of such practices as same-sex marriage.
Indeed, one of FFRF’s 55 billboards features Saint, the atheist hate group’s Sacramento front woman, and her wife with the message: “Reason. Equality. Doing Good – All without gods.”
That’s the arrogance of atheists that they inherited from their father, the devil. They think that “doing good” means they are good. But the Bible advises that their good works, whatever they might be, “are as filthy rags” before the Almighty.
The Word of God also tell us, everyone, “There is none righteous, no not one.”
The difference between unrighteous Christians and unrighteous atheists is that Christians are born again; their sins covered by the blood of Christ. Atheists, on the other hand reject Christ, and shake their fist at God.
And for their unrepentant, unforgiven sin, the unGodly will spend their existence beyond this fallen world in everlasting torment.
Intolerance, unfortunately, tends to become a big deal. It ends up with no one being able to say anything that might be construed as offensive.
In an affluent local town, a PTA had a “winter” party and the organizers stipulated that no greeting with a religious meaning was to be used, and no students was to wear red and green.
Romans 2 and John 3. Praise God, and by whom we were bought with a price, "with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." (1 Peter 1:19)
But we must be willing to be bought, by God's grace, and Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! (Isaiah 45:9).
Communism
Amen. Preaching to the choir!
True, as while atheists can be relatively moral people, there is not appeal to a supreme transcendent authority, which, even allowing for some interpretation, sets the standard for morality, and even valid reasoning.
Avoid that on FR? Kinda like politics and religion.
Atheists
Atheists and agnostics comprise 9% of adults nationwide (2007); 6% of souls over 61, 9% of those ages 42-60, 14% of those 23-41, and 19% of those 18-22. Indications from the past indicate that these beliefs stay fairly constant through life. http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdateNarrowPreview&BarnaUpdateID=272
In 2008, 70% of Americans believed in a personal God, roughly 12% of Americans are atheist (no God) or agnostic (unknowable or unsure), and another 12% are deistic (a higher power but no personal God). The American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) 2008. http://www.americanreligionsurvey-aris.org/reports/ARIS_Report_2008.pdf
Among 5 groups, American atheists and agnostics were the segment most likely to describe themselves as being politically liberal (32%) and were the group least likely to describe themselves as being conservative (4%) http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/66-american-faith-is-diverse-as-shown-among-five-faith-based-segments?tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page=
Protestants constitute 51% of the total US adult population, with Catholics being 24%, and Jewish, Mormon, Atheist and Agnostic all being 2%. Total Unaffiliated: 16%. Orthodox, “Jehovah's witnesses” (so-called) and Buddhist were at 1%, while “Other Christian, Hindus and Other World Religion were 0.5%. All figures rounded off. http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report-religious-landscape-study-full.pdf '
42% of American atheists and agnostics (who make up approx. 8% of the American adult population) claimed to be stressed out,and 14% said they were lonely. 68% were concerned about the moral condition of th country, versus 98% of evangelicals, and 4% describe themselves as being conservative, versus 64% of evangelicals, but 71% of the former said they have traditional or family-oriented values., with 96% of the latter group concurring. http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/80-peoples-faith-flavor-influences-how-they-see-themselves
Evangelicals averaged 6% participation in each of eight behaviors, (exposure to pornography, using profanity in public, gambling, gossiping, engaging in sexual intercourse with someone to whom they were not married, retaliating against someone, getting drunk, and lying.) http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/16-teensnext-gen/25-young-adults-and-liberals-struggle-with-morality Note : unlike other pollsters, Bara evangelicals, being a movement, are not identified by religious denomination or self-identification, but according to responses to basic criteria: See http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/13-culture/111-survey-explores-who-qualifies-as-an-evangelical?tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page= and http://www.peacebyjesus.com/RC-Stats_vs._Evang.html
Skeptics (atheist or agnostic) averaged five times the level (29%) of evangelicals. Common acts among skeptics included exposure to pornography (50%), gossip (34%) and drunkenness (33%) http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/16-teensnext-gen/25-young-adults-and-liberals-struggle-with-morality
While only representing 10% of the population, the segment of the prison population which self-identifies as non-religious is approximately twice as large as found in the general population.” http://www.adherents.com/misc/adh_prison.html
Among 5 groups, American atheists and agnostics were the segment most likely to describe themselves as being politically liberal (32%) and were the group least likely to describe themselves as being conservative (4%) http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/66-american-faith-is-diverse-as-shown-among-five-faith-based-segments?tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page=
70% of self-proclaimed atheists and agnostics affirmed abortion should be legal in all or most circumstances, while 60% approve of clergy performing gay marriages, and 90% approve of cohabitation. ^
More than three out of four of self-proclaimed atheists and agnostics embrace pornography as a moral behavior; and 66% deem drunkenness and using profanity to be morally acceptable acts. ^
75% of the above say that all moral truth is relative to the person and circumstances; only 10% believe in absolute moral truth. ^
Self-proclaimed American atheists and agnostics were the group that is least concerned (41%) about the moral condition of the nation. ^
30% of atheists and agnostics grew up regularly attending Christian churches. Just 10% believe that the Bible is totally accurate in all that it teaches; only 25% say their religious faith is very important in their life; and 15% reject belief in the existence of Satan; 13% do not believe in the reality of the Holy Spirit, and 20% reject that Jesus led a sinless life. ^
A major survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found that only 14% of atheists and 10% of agnostics believe that homosexuality is a way of life that should be discouraged by society, versus 51% of of Protestant churches (64% of Evangelical) and 30% of Catholics. http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report2religious-landscape-study-key-findings.pdf
Just 13% of atheists and 14% of agnostics believe abortion should be illegal in most cases, versus 49% of Protestant churches (61% of Evangelical) and 45% of Catholics. ^
Only 19% of atheists said their values are threatened by Hollywood, versus 53% of those in evangelical churches , 46% of Protestant churches and 43% of Catholics. ^
Atheists and agnostics religious skeptics were also much less likely to be driven to have a clear sense of purpose in life (55%, compared to 77% of all American adults) or to want just one marriage partner for life (58% versus an 80% U.S. average). They were also less interested in making a difference in the world (45%, versus 56% nationally) and in having close friendships, http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/18-congregations/29-survey-reveals-the-life-christians-desire (2008) and the least likely to look forward to spending time with friends http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/13-culture/145-americans-just-want-a-good-night-of-sleep?tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page=
56% atheists and agnostics believe that “radical Christianity” is just as threatening in America as is radical Islam. http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/12-faithspirituality/102-atheists-and-agnostics-take-aim-at-christians?tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page=
22% of those who self-identified as having No Religion in 2001 were living together with a partner outside marriage (fornication), versus 6% or less of those in Catholic or Protestant denominations. ARIS 2001, p. 27 http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris.pdf However, the 2008 Pew study shows the first category as 10%: http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report-religious-landscape-study-full.pdf
51% of atheists and 42% of adults who associate with a faith other than Christianity had co-habited. http://atheismexposed.tripod.com/atheists_divorce.htm
Based upon the percentage of single adults from the The American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) 2001, atheists are 58.7 percent more likely to get divorced than Pentecostals and Baptists, the two born-again Christian groups with the highest rate of divorce, and more than twice as likely to get divorced than Christians in general. Stated in “The Irrational Atheist," by Vox Day, (Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, Inc., 2008). http://www.scribd.com/doc/7682654/The-Irrational-Atheist-by-Vox-Day based upon (ARIS) 2001 http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris.pdf
The percent currently divorced or separated varies from a low of 6% (Jehovah’s Witnesses) to a high of 14% (Pentecostals), with Catholics and No Religion being 9%. ^
At 19%, the No Religion group showed the lowest incidence of marriage of all twenty-two groups. In sharp contrast, those identifying with the Assemblies of God or Evangelical/Born Again Christians showed the highest proportions married, 73% and 74% respectively. ^
In the U.S. population as a whole, 48 percent of adults are male, as are 47 percent Catholic adults. By comparison, males account or 56 percent of the no-religion group, 70 percent of Atheists, and 75 percent of Agnostics. ^ Also, the Pew Research Landscape study finds 70% of atheists and 64% of agnostics are male, and 30% and 34% respectively, are female. http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report-religious-landscape-study-full.pdf
While Pentecostals, Baptists, and Mainline Christians are 56%-58% female, those who profess no religion or self-identified as atheists or agnostics have a ratio of 60 males to 40 females. (ARIS) 2001 http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris.pdf
37 percent of all Americans, and 55 percent of atheists are are under age 35. Only 20 percent of the latter are 50 and over. http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris.pdf ^
As regards voter registration (2001), those with No Religion were 43% Independent, 30% Democrat, and 17% Republican. Those identifying as Evangelical/Born Again were 58% Republican, 20% Independent and 12% Democrat. ^
Self-proclaimed American atheists and agnostics were the group most likely to define themselves as “mostly liberal” on current issues in 2002. They were also least likely to donate any money to a religious center or non-profit organization. Among those who did donate funds to non-profits, atheists and agnostics gave away the least amount of money during the year. 5 http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/66-american-faith-is-diverse-as-shown-among-five-faith-based-segments?tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page
78% of atheists and agnostics were registered to vote, versus 89% of active-faith Americans. 20% of the former volunteer to help a non-church-related non-profit, and 41% of said they personally helped or served a homeless or poor person versus 30% and 61%, respectively, of active-faith Americans. http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/12-faithspirituality/102-atheists-and-agnostics-take-aim-at-christians?tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page=
The typical no-faith American donated $200 in 2006, versus $1500 contributed by the prototypical active-faith adult. Even when church-based giving is subtracted from the equation, active-faith adults donated twice as many dollars last year as did atheists and agnostics, and only 7% of active-faith adults failed to contribute any personal funds in 2006, versus 22% among the no-faith adults. ^
12% of atheists and agnostics were focused on living a comfortable, balanced lifestyle, versus 4% of Christians in general. to be 10% of the former class were focused on acquiring wealth, versus 2% of the latter. ^
25% of atheists and agnostics said the phrase "deeply spiritual" accurately describes them, while 67% described themselves as being "at peace,” a state 90% of Christians affirmed. ^
About 40% of skeptics were registered as Democrats, 40% as independents and just 20% as Republicans. 76% of atheists and agnostics gave their vote to Sen. Obama, while only 23% backed Sen. McCain. That is a step up from the level of support Democrats have previously received from skeptics. In 2004, 64% of atheists and agnostics voted for Democratic challenger John Kerry. http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/13-culture/18-how-people-of-faith-voted-in-the-2008-presidential-race?tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page=
On average, weekly churchgoers donate 3.8% of their income to charity, compared to 0.8% for those who never go. Independent Sector (charitable clearing house): Atheists won’t save Europe by Don Feder; http://www.frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=27937
Religious citizens who make $49,000 gave away about 3.5 times as much money as secular citizens with the same income. They also volunteered twice as often, are 57 percent more likely to help homeless persons, and two-thirds more likely to give blood at their workplace. Arthur C. Brooks' Who Really Cares. http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2008/001/8.11.html
On questions about Christianity in 2010, which included various questions about the Bible, Mormons (7.9 out of 12 right on average) and white evangelical Protestants (7.3 correct on average) showed the highest levels of knowledge. Jews (7.9 out of 11) and atheists/agnostics (7.4) had the best grades on questions about other world religions, including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism. White mainline Protestants scored 5.8 and 4.9 respectively, and white Catholics scored 5.9 and 5.1. The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, “U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey,” Spet. 28. 2010 Back
Church Lady says...
"How long was the line when YOU got in it?"
Uh; 'organized' around WHAT?
Oh; but they DO have belief - just not in the same thing as Christians do.
I see what you did, there.
There is more hope for a fool
than for one who is wise in his own eyes.
(That goes for “righteous in his own eyes” as well)
That is exactly what the scriptures teach us. And, btw, Christianity is the only religion to do so. Christianity (accurate doctrine) states that we are by nature evil. All other religions (and to be fair-some poorly educated Christians) state a person can reach a higher plain by being and doing well. If one were to look into their heart objectively, they would see we are by nature morally evil (unclean).
Morality and spirituality in Christianity has always been connected. The moral (spiritual) code is written on our hearts, but we break it. One can try to keep the Ten Commandments, but they cannot do it. One can try not to lie but eventually they will lie. The tenth commandment says we should not covet, yet we covet. The law is our measurement and reflects how we are incapable of being "moral" people in the perfect sense of the word. To be sure there are levels of morality (spirituality) but then how can we judge someone if they tell a lie verses murdering someone? What if that lie results in murdering someone? Morality is a slippery slope.
Some people have tried to separate spirituality from morality but they can't be separated. Without believing in a God handing down these moral values, morals don't matter. People are free to live their lives in any way they please. Nothing matters. Total anarchy is just the same as a civilized society. Spirituality/morality defines what "good" is.
Some people have tried to say civilization has created moral codes apart from spirituality. Yet every culture, in ever part of the world holds to the same basic moral codes (e.g. everyone knows murder is wrong). Statistically it would be impossible for every civilization to conclude that murder is wrong. Spirituality and morality are one in the same. And, yes, there have been those who believed they can obtain morality through spirituality. That always results in disaster as with the Holy Wars.
If a person does believe that morals are very important, then these morals (spiritual values) came from somewhere apart from us. It would be impossible for us, immoral people, to know what is moral. They had to be given by someone apart from us for a reason. Thus cultures derived religions to explain these moral values. If a person doesn't believe in God (spiritual) then what do they base their morality on?
If we are truthful, we find that we ourselves are incapable of living up to the high standards of the moral values we would like everyone else to follow. They represent how far short we fall.
Given that the Ten Commandments is followed in some form or another in every society on earth, one can only logically conclude that a higher spiritual being has set forth commandments for society's benefit. And, from there, it's not a short leap to recognize we cannot maintain these godly morals. There has only been one person to ever live up to these standards, and it wasn't something our Lord Jesus claimed but others claimed about Him.
One would do well to seek to see if these things are so Christ. If Christ is truly God, He will make Himself know if we seek His face. I became a Christian not by wanting something more but by understanding what I was not.
Who says it's a crime...Why is it a crime??? Because you say so??? What's wrong with the survival of the fittest???
Really? Moral compared to what? Atheism has no objective basis for morality. For the Atheist there is no objective morality, only personal preference and social convention.
Thank you for the informative post, HarleyD.
The atheist believes the faithful engage in self-deception and material spiritualism.
Atheists are idiots.
Notice he used the word "relatively."
Since "moral" is by definition an objective standard, "relative morality" is a meaningless phrase. Relative compared to what - someone else's objective standard?
Sorry; but it's in the DNA...
Matthew 28:16-20
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.
When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
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