Reagan Was Right, ACU Wrong: Atheism Is Enemy of America

Townhall.com ^ | March 5, 2014 | Terry Jeffrey

[Kaslin]

Are atheism and promoting atheism consistent with American -- let alone conservative -- values and principles?

The operational policy of the American Conservative Union now appears to contradict Ronald Reagan's view on this.

Reagan believed atheism was not merely wrong, but the enemy of freedom. The ACU has functionally adopted the position that groups promoting atheism can be featured at its annual Conservative Political Action Conference -- so long as they promote godlessness with civility.

In the same 1983 speech in which he declared the Soviet Union an "evil empire," Reagan unapologetically spelt out the "ideals and principles" that brought him into politics.

"The basis of those ideals and principles," said Reagan, "is a commitment to freedom and personal liberty, a commitment that itself is grounded in the much deeper realization: That freedom prospers only where the blessings of God are avidly sought and humbly acknowledged.

"The American experiment in democracy rests on this insight," Reagan said, "its discovery was the great triumph of our Founding Fathers voiced by William Penn: 'If we will not be governed by God, we must be governed by tyrants.'"

CNN reported last week that American Atheists would be sponsoring a booth at this year's CPAC.

American Atheists' point of view is plainly discernable from its website, which features a recent press release applauding President Barack Obama.

"Obama's administration has recognized atheism as having a place at the table more than any previous administration," the group said. "There is still a lot of work to do, and we have a long way to go, but this is progress."

Explaining American Atheists involvement in CPAC, ACU Communications Director Meghan Snyder told CNN: "The folks we have been working with stand for many of the same liberty-oriented policies and principles we stand for."

In the same article, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins rebutted this contention.

"Does the American Conservative Union really think the liberties and values they seek to preserve can be maintained when they partner with individuals and organizations that are undermining the understanding that our liberties come from God?" said Perkins.

"If this is where the ACU is headed, they will have to pack up and put away the 'C' in CPAC," Perkins said.

Also in the same CNN article, American Atheists President David Silverman said: "The Christian right should be angry that we are going in to enlighten conservatives. The Christian right should be threatened by us."

By the end of the day, ACU had disinvited American Atheists -- not because it was promoting atheism but because of the way it attacked Christians.

"We spoke with Mr. Silverman about his divisive and inappropriate language," ACU Communications Director Snyder told Breitbart.com. "He pledged that he will attack the very idea that Christianity is an important element of conservatism. People of any faith tradition should not be attacked for their beliefs, especially at our conference. He has left us with no choice but to return his money."

William F. Buckley Jr., the founder of National Review, described atheism as the main enemy in his classic first book, "God and Man at Yale." "I myself believe the duel between Christianity and atheism is the most important in the world," said Buckley. "I further believe that the struggle between individualism and collectivism is the same struggle reproduced on another level."

Whittaker Chambers, an early senior editor for National Review, expressed the same view in his own classic book, Witness.

Ronald Reagan, the greatest American political leader of the 20th century, often cited Chambers -- including at CPAC.

"The crisis of the Western world, Whittaker Chambers reminded us, exists to the degree in which it is indifferent to God," the newly elected president told the 1981CPAC. "'The Western world does not know it,' he said about our struggle, 'but it already possesses the answer to this problem -- but only provided that its faith in God and the freedom He enjoins is as great as communism's faith in man.'"

"This is the real task before us," Reagan told CPAC, "to reassert our commitment as a nation to a law higher than our own, to renew our spiritual strength."

Two years later, in his Evil Empire speech, Reagan declared: "We will never abandon our belief in God."

"A number of years ago, I heard a young father addressing a tremendous gathering in California," said Reagan. "It was during the time of the Cold War when communism and our own way of life were very much on people's minds. He was speaking to that subject.

"Suddenly," said Reagan, "I heard him saying, 'I love my little girls more than anything in the world, but I would rather see them,' and I thought--oh, no, not that. But I had underestimated him.

"He went on: 'I would rather see them die now, still believing in God, than have them grow up under communism and one day die no longer believing in God,'" Reagan continued.

"There were thousands of young people in that audience. They came to their feet with shouts of joy," Reagan said. "They recognized the profound truth in what he had said."

Now the ACU seems ready to welcome the right types of atheist groups to promote their godless vision to the young Americans attending CPAC.

[re_nortex]

Ayn Rand?

You do mean the abortionist Ayn Rand don't you?

[Heartlander]

FYI:

Name of Signer	State	Religious Affiliation
Charles Carroll	Maryland	Catholic
Samuel Huntington	Connecticut	Congregationalist
Roger Sherman	Connecticut	Congregationalist
William Williams	Connecticut	Congregationalist
Oliver Wolcott	Connecticut	Congregationalist
Lyman Hall	Georgia	Congregationalist
Samuel Adams	Massachusetts	Congregationalist
John Hancock	Massachusetts	Congregationalist
Josiah Bartlett	New Hampshire	Congregationalist
William Whipple	New Hampshire	Congregationalist
William Ellery	Rhode Island	Congregationalist
John Adams	Massachusetts	Congregationalist; Unitarian
Robert Treat Paine	Massachusetts	Congregationalist; Unitarian
George Walton	Georgia	Episcopalian
John Penn	North Carolina	Episcopalian
George Ross	Pennsylvania	Episcopalian
Thomas Heyward Jr.	South Carolina	Episcopalian
Thomas Lynch Jr.	South Carolina	Episcopalian
Arthur Middleton	South Carolina	Episcopalian
Edward Rutledge	South Carolina	Episcopalian
Francis Lightfoot Lee	Virginia	Episcopalian
Richard Henry Lee	Virginia	Episcopalian
George Read	Delaware	Episcopalian
Caesar Rodney	Delaware	Episcopalian
Samuel Chase	Maryland	Episcopalian
William Paca	Maryland	Episcopalian
Thomas Stone	Maryland	Episcopalian
Elbridge Gerry	Massachusetts	Episcopalian
Francis Hopkinson	New Jersey	Episcopalian
Francis Lewis	New York	Episcopalian
Lewis Morris	New York	Episcopalian
William Hooper	North Carolina	Episcopalian
Robert Morris	Pennsylvania	Episcopalian
John Morton	Pennsylvania	Episcopalian
Stephen Hopkins	Rhode Island	Episcopalian
Carter Braxton	Virginia	Episcopalian
Benjamin Harrison	Virginia	Episcopalian
Thomas Nelson Jr.	Virginia	Episcopalian
George Wythe	Virginia	Episcopalian
Thomas Jefferson	Virginia	Episcopalian (Deist)
Benjamin Franklin	Pennsylvania	Episcopalian (Deist)
Button Gwinnett	Georgia	Episcopalian; Congregationalist
James Wilson	Pennsylvania	Episcopalian; Presbyterian
Joseph Hewes	North Carolina	Quaker, Episcopalian
George Clymer	Pennsylvania	Quaker, Episcopalian
Thomas McKean	Delaware	Presbyterian
Matthew Thornton	New Hampshire	Presbyterian
Abraham Clark	New Jersey	Presbyterian
John Hart	New Jersey	Presbyterian
Richard Stockton	New Jersey	Presbyterian
John Witherspoon	New Jersey	Presbyterian
William Floyd	New York	Presbyterian
Philip Livingston	New York	Presbyterian
James Smith	Pennsylvania	Presbyterian
George Taylor	Pennsylvania	Presbyterian
Benjamin Rush	Pennsylvania	Presbyterian

[ansel12]

Like what I posted, almost all atheists are lefties, that is a political fact, Rand was part of both left and right.

Naming individuals doesn’t change the national voting facts about the liberal politics of almost all atheists.

[re_nortex]

Rand was part of both left and right.

I don't think we've ever disagreed on anything here on Free Republic. This might be the first time but I do so respectfully since I so value your contributions -- always factual and accompanied with citations.

In my opinion, atheist Ayn Rand can be dismissed as a Conservative and thus on the right. She was wrong with her advocacy of slaughtering innocent children. And that's the most precious right of them all -- life. Without that, nothing. Yes, she spun a few good yarns but her seething contempt for President Reagan along with her pro-abortion stance makes her wrong. I realize that plenty of FReepers (not necessarily you) have a high opinion of this woman. To me, she's first and foremost an abortionist and that cancels out everything else. Again, my opinion only.

[Heartlander]

stupid

/ˈstu•pɪd/ adj

› lacking thought or intelligence:

Consider this, to remove any ‘creator’ from our very existence including the beginning of our universe is to remove any ‘thought or intelligence’ from the equation. By definition, you are ultimately left with an existence from stupidity.

…atheism isn't exempt from analysis or critique of its real world consequences. Atheism is a metaphysical stance -- there are no gods and no God, there is no intrinsic purpose to existence, there is no natural moral law, there is no accountability in an afterlife. Those are quite explicit and consequential assertions, just as the negation of those assertions -- that there is a God, that there is a purpose to existence... -- is an explicit and consequential assertion. Atheism lacks liturgy. It does not lack beliefs and consequences. It lacks belief in God; it does not lack belief in the intrinsic consequences of God's non-existence. As Nietzsche emphatically noted, if God is dead, everything changes.
- Michael Egnor

…that if we would maintain the value of our highest beliefs and emotions, we must find for them a congruous origin. Beauty must be more than accident. The source of morality must be moral. The source of knowledge must be rational.
- Sir Arthur Balfour

Why is this important? The US Constitution assumed all human rights were bestowed to us by our Creator through Natural Law . A Humanistic belief would assume rights and morality are bestowed to us by ‘mankind’ based on circumstance - morality is a man made, relative, and an illusion. A wise man once observed that while belief in God after the Holocaust may be difficult, belief in man after the Holocaust is impossible.

[ansel12]

She hated Reagan and opposed him, she really hated his pro-life views, she was truly anti-conservative but she did support some republicans like Nixon and Ford and Goldwater, so I just meant she was part lefty and part republican, like the libertarians we see here at FR, all over the place, but among those places are elements of the left and elements of the right.

I wasn’t trying to get into rigid or perfect definitions of left and right, I was just casually using democrat and republican.

[re_nortex]

Understood...my fault entirely for not grasping the point you were making. Good and thanks for clearing it up.

[lentulusgracchus]

That report was submitted by -- get this -- a Democrat from Texas, Martin Dies....

George H.W. Bush is well known to regard Texas Democrats before the 90s as basically an auxiliary of the Ku Klux Klan. He really dislikes people with that background .... as if they'd personally dragged a person of color behind their country Cadillacs.

They're raciss, you see.

(Also, Texans.)

[strider44]

Not all Atheists are liberals. I’ve been voting for 26 years, never once voted for any Democrat.

After reading through the thread I guess the big point is you can agree with pretty much all the political goals of this site without believing in god. It’s possible. I’m one of several.

Yes, the founders were mostly religious men. Many of them were slave owners too. Proclaiming to be an atheist in the late 1700s was probably almost as controversial as being pro slavery in the 2000s.

[ansel12]

Saying it is possible for an atheist to be conservative doesn’t contradict what I said.

It is rare for an atheist to be conservative though, atheism and conservatism obviously don’t mix, it is why atheists are democrats.

To bad you got goofy in your last paragraph, introducing slavery.

[lentulusgracchus]

In my opinion, atheist Ayn Rand can be dismissed as a Conservative and thus on the right.

Ummmm, clarification .... do you mean that you dismiss the idea that she was a conservative and a Rightist?

She was a big libertarian (hence her anticlericalism and pro-abortion views, I suppose); but her main identity has been as a radical capitalist and a powerful anticommunist, based on her direct experience of Communist horrors in her native Russia.

She will have been brought up Orthodox (I'm guessing here) which, if Orthodox Christianity, or Christianity in general, failed to sustain the people against the Communists, then she could have become embittered against both prelacy (the performance of the hierarchy) and faith itself.

So do you call her a non-Conservative anticommunist and libertarian and marketarian capitalist, or what?

I read Atlas Shrugged (my point of reference) and started Anthem but never finished it due to the press of other matters. Like, the Draft.

[Heartlander]

Look, if you want to be an atheist - fine. You are fortunate to live in a country founded on Judeo-Christian values that allows freedom. But stop throwing out these red-herrings regarding Islam (which is not the foundation of this country), arguments between Christian denominations (which you have exaggerated - both Catholics and Protestant share a common belief), and slavery (it was Christians that ended slavery). Nobody here is buying that crap.

[x]

But do those Buckley and Chambers quotes reflect what's going on in today's world?

And what happened to Ron, Jr.?

[re_nortex]

Lent -- Here's everything I need to know about Ayn Rand and yes, to clarify, I don't consider her a Conservative or on the right since she's so wrong on the core principle.

An embryo has no rights. [...] Abortion is a moral right which should be left to the sole discretion of the woman involved; morally, nothing other than her wish in the matter is to be considered. [...] For conscientious persons, an unwanted pregnancy is a disaster; to oppose its termination is to advocate sacrifice, not for the sake of anyone’s benefit, but for the sake of misery qua misery, for the sake of forbidding happiness and fulfillment to living human beings.

And in one of her final speeches, she attacked President Reagan and expressed her hatred for the God-centered belief system that's the foundation of America.

[strider44]

I certainly haven’t exaggerated the conflict between Catholics and Protestants on this site at least. Have you read through those threads? Of course I understand both are similar and embrace Jesus Christ.

I brought up slavery because someone mentioned that Atheists owe a debt of gratitude to the founders for establishing the country the way they did (based on Christian values). I get it. But they were also flawed men that owned slaves. Times change. And yes, Christians ended slavery but many Christians in the south didn’t want to end slavery.

I bring up Islam merely to point out the fact that literally billions of people disagree about religion. Every effort to disparage religion be it by Muslims against Jews, Christians against other types of Christians, or Atheists against everybody...does nothing to help Conservatism.

If someone comes to the conclusion that small government, less taxes, pro gun rights, pro life values are the best thing for this country then they are my ally. I don’t care how they arrived at that conclusion. If it was because of their religion...great. If they don’t believe in God...fine.

Let’s rally around conservative policy. Who ever champions those policies gets my vote. They could be a Catholic. Or a Protestant. Or an Atheist. I don’t care. Unfortunately, many people do care. Look what happened to Romney. How many people didn’t vote for him because he’s a Mormon? Many. Many Freepers for sure. I didn’t agree with all his stances, but can anyone with a straight face say he wouldn’t be better than the absolute cretin we have as a president now?

I will admit to one hypocrisy. Under now circumstances would I ever vote for any Muslim for any office. Not even dog catcher.

Hope people can see my point. You don’t need to agree with me. I love my country and have risked my life for it on multiple occasions over 20 years in the military. The state it’s in now is dreadful and I fear for my 3 young sons.

We have to defeat the Dems. Have to.

[ansel12]

People don’t disagree that God exists though, recognizing that God exists is universal.

You do keep going on against religion and the American founding though.

You can’t seem to learn that atheists despise the tea party, and are dedicated lefties.

While the Evangelical Christians are pro-tea party and dedicated conservatives.

[Gene Eric]

Atheists are idiots.

[Gene Eric]

The Atheist presumes to know your God well enough to declare it non-existent.

[ansel12]

I just looked at your home page, you are too old to be making the same old arguments of a teenager, with your slavery, Islam, arguments between Protestants and Catholics, etc.

You sound like a college freshman who just decided to be an atheist and is going to show his parents his new found teen arguments against conservatism and America.

[Clemenza]

Reagan attended church with his mother, but stopped attending as an adult, long before his Presidency. William Howard Taft did not believe in Jesus’s divinity. Don’t make me bring up Thomas Jefferson.