Posted on 10/02/2011 3:57:10 PM PDT by Steelfish
Rising Atheism In America Puts 'Religious Right On The Defensive' High profile of faith-based politicians such as Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry masks a steady growth in secularism
Paul Harris in New York 1 October 2011
About 400 people are preparing to gather for a conference in Hartford, Connecticut, to promote the end of religion in the US and their vision of a secular future for the country.
Those travelling to the meeting will pass two huge roadside billboards displaying quotes from two of the country's most famous non-believers: Katharine Hepburn and Mark Twain. "Faith is believing what you know ain't so," reads the one featuring Twain. "I'm an atheist and that's it," says the one quoting Hepburn.
At the meeting, members of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) will hear speakers celebrate successes they have had in removing religion from US public life and see awards being presented to noted secularist activists.
The US is increasingly portrayed as a hotbed of religious fervour. Yet in the homeland of ostentatiously religious politicians such as Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry, agnostics and atheists are actually part of one of the fastest-growing demographics in the US: the godless. Far from being in thrall to its religious leaders, the US is in fact becoming a more secular country, some experts say. "It has never been better to be a free-thinker or an agnostic in America," says Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the FFRF.
The exact number of faithless is unclear. One study by the Pew Research Centre puts them at about 12% of the population, but another by the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture at Trinity College in Hartford puts that figure at around 20%.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Must be a “gay” thing.”
It is very much a “sodomite thing”, as well as a totalitarian “liberal” thing.
“Twain was critical of organized religion, but he was no atheist.”
I too am critical of organized religion. All religious systems are the systems of men. Religious systems are designed by man to control other men.
Jesus, God’s Son, did not come to establish a new religion. He came to establish fellowship between God and man. He paid the price, His blood shed, to make that possible. God wants those who will walk with Him. Enoch walked with God, Noah walked with God...they had fellowship with God.
All of the systems of men will collapse...the political, economid and religious...and not necessarily in that order. Each of these systems of men were designed to control others. They will be gone. Once we accept God’s offer of fellowship with Him, we have something that will last into eternity.
Atheists who want to make a big deal with their protests are acknowledging the God that they claim does not exist.
I bet the numbers of so called Atheists include No stated religious preference responses. There are many believers who do not belong to a church.
It was never about religion..
What religion is GOD? That’s right he has none....
Before the Jews, mankind was worshiping all kinds of False god’s, Idols, objects, animals etc...
Pagans were all over the place causing War with other’s because they wanted other’s to believe what they did....
Monotheism was birthed with Abraham and the Jewish people, who embraced 1 GOD the creator of everything created....
The Law of GOD was to show us our shortcomings that no man measured up to a Perfect, Holy Infinite Alpha and Omega Creator...
Christ was a gift from GOD that bring us back into a relationship with the GOD who created us...
This has no religion..Just truth, if you are willing to accept it.
I noticed a few of them crawling out from under their rock lately. Nothing like stirring the pot right before the election, wouldn't you say? At least they're not posting Crevo thread after Crevo thread after Crevo thread as a fig leaf this time.
A lot of times I find myself moving the mouse to click for it only to realize I’m on FR... :-)
A good book on the subject is “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist”
I do too! Glad I’m not the only one. JimRob...? Any chance? A programming hassle, no doubt, but it would save bandwidth in the long run.
I am not sure but if you look at my history I have been a member of FR prior to the existence of DC.
Wazzup with some of the DC crowd supporting Palin anyway? I thought the reason there was a split with FR in the first place was the idea that the "ignorant Christianists" would cost the right all future elections due to the easily-spread liberal meme that they want to suppress all science.
I am not sure what you are talking about, but DC was created because so many intelligent, articulate, conservative people were getting booted from here, by your ilk, grey_Whiskers.
Who are you supporting for President? Most of my friends seem to be leaning to Cain.
I have tried to embrace atheism, but then I look up to the sky, see a newborn baby, feel the love of another human, see pictures from the Hubble telescope, read writings of the intelligent people over the ages (not Mark Twain nor Katherine Hepburn)and I just cannot muster up enough faith to believe that all this “just happened”.....one day there was nothing......nothing.....and the next day we have everything known to man.......you may be able to accept that, I’ll keep going to Mass just in case there is a God.....(I’ll bet I win!!)
Mark Twain. “Faith is believing what you know ain’t so,”
The easy confidence with which I know another man’s religion is folly teaches me to suspect that my own is also. I would not interfere with any one’s religion, either to strengthen it or to weaken it. I am not able to believe one’s religion can affect his hereafter one way or the other, no matter what that religion may be. But it may easily be a great comfort to him in this life—hence it is a valuable possession to him.
- Mark Twain, a Biography
I have a religion—but you will call it blasphemy. It is that there is a God for the rich man but none for the poor.....Perhaps your religion will sustain you,will feed you—I place no dependence in mine. Our religions are alike, though, in one respect—neither can make a man happy when he is out of luck.
- Letter to Orion Clemens, 10/19-20/1865
Was he an Atheist? We will never know. Oh you might know someday, at least that is what you believe I am sure.
<snip>
I am not sure what you are talking about, but DC was created because so many intelligent, articulate, conservative people were getting booted from here, by your ilk, grey_Whiskers.
That's rich.
Check out this posting (source):
by Genghis » Tue Sep 28, 2010 11:03 pm
Carolina_Guitarman wrote:I'm getting a little punchy. I'm having flashbacks of Fester Chugabrew.
Who are you supporting for President? Most of my friends seem to be leaning to Cain.
Palin, then Cain. We need those who are not beholden to the current crop of DC insiders, who look like they have enough stamina and character to clean house.
Good for you. Sometimes I envy the peace and certitude of true believers.
For me, life is a journey, a journey I know I will never complete.
Palin, then Cain. We need those who are not beholden to the current crop of DC insiders, who look like they have enough stamina and character to clean house.
Since Palin isn't running (yet) it seems that our political support leans the same way.
I don't know. Can you stand having one of those soul sucking evil Atheists on the same political side as you? Does it make you want to rethink your Politics?
I know it does for a lot of otherwise conservative Jews and Blacks. And you know I am not thinking of us atheists.
Twain needed acceptance by an overwhelmingly Christian community. Even though it’s been decades since I’ve read St. Joan or a Conn. Yankee (not to mention Letters which I finally forced myself to get through), I remember well the almost uncountable snide comments he managed to insert about the Church—notoriously, of course, the Catholic Church, but just as often Christianity as a whole. If he respected Joan, it was because of the strength of her belief ridiculous as it was. Satire? Of course. But it’s Bill Maher’s version rather than Jonathan Swift’s.
He was practically worshipped and prodigiously used by communists—Ho, in particular, who cited in On Revolution whole passages as fact, proof of the evils of American democracy and hypocrisy of Christianity.
Most importantly, though, his life with all its intentions and philosophy ended. His works survive. The words are all that’s left, and the words point to his obvious disdain for what de Tocqueville found redeeming about America.
I fear that you don’t understand something rather easy to understand or maybe you don’t want to understand something which is a little bit embarassing for your rough point above.
You are understanding , or feign to, the opposite of what i said. Communists were assumed and activist atheists and you told that atheists were awoken.
This has nothing to do with the false expression of “people of the book” which is a non-sense , a kind of meaningless locution repeated by liberals or other brainwashed “awoken”.
“People of the Book” ? What “Book” ? Are you trying to understand that there is one religion, one doctrine, one book....? Stay “awoken” but not confused if possible
I was Alexander Hamilton in a recent past life.A-ha! I was Aaron Burr in a past life, and your problem was that you didn't duck!
(ducking for cover)
I think there are more atheists on this forum than a lot of members realize.I'm a pro-life, politically conservative atheist.
The Book is the Old Testament. Three major Religions and thousands of subsects believe in it. Do they all believe in the same god? Not if you ask any of them, odd how that works isn't it?
Are you joking or an utter, and guilty, ignorant while an “awoken” atheist ?
Or are you a dishonest person trying to spread a rough confusion ? Or all of the above ?
I will not take a lot of my precious time to dismiss your “point”. You are making a fool of yourself alone and you don’t my help for that.
You are only forgetting the New Testament and Jesus-Christ, that neither jews nor christians believe in a book and are silent about Koran....
Anyway , you stated that atheists were awoken....I like it !!!
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