Enough, already, from the evangelical atheists

Houston Chronicle ^ | July 2, 2002 | MARTIN MILLER

[f.Christian]

bttt

[rageaholic]

Good point. I am certian most athiests don't mind a bit the phrase "under God". I remember as a kid just mimicing the pledge without any comprehension of it anyway.

[RAT Patrol]

I love it! Thank you to the atheist author.

[snopercod]

While working in the home of a military man today, I noticed the enscription on a WW I German helmet he happened to have on his desk. If I translated corectly, it read (in German): With God for King and Fatherland

I wonder if the Kaiser's god was the same as our God?

[Registered]

I wonder if the Kaiser's god was the same as our God?

More than likely, the same God as Osama's.

[Maceman]

I used to be an atheist. But then, as I started to learn more about the Universe by reading about developments in modern physics, I became persuaded that atheism was incompatible with a scientific approach to existence.

True, I am only a layman, and there is a lot about physics I don't understand. But the more I listen to scientists trying to translate the meaning of their mathematical equations into English, the more they begin to sound like religious mystics.

And if they ever do find the Unified FIeld Theory, which I think is likely, I think the scientific proof of God's existence will be undeniable.

[catonsville]

Perhaps "God" as Napoleon said, " is on the side with the most Battalions"

[reasonseeker]

"I cannot conceive of a personal God who would directly influence the actions of individuals, or would directly sit in judgment on creatures of his own creation. I cannot do this in spite of the fact that mechanistic causality has, to a certain extent, been placed in doubt by modern science. [He was speaking of Quantum Mechanics and the breaking down of determinism.] My religiosity consists in a humble admiration of the infinitely superior spirit that reveals itself in the little that we, with our weak and transitory understanding, can comprehend of reality. Morality is of the highest importance -- but for us, not for God."
[Albert Einstein, from "Albert Einstein: The Human Side", edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press]

[JZoback]

If you stuck a gun to my head (and, thankfully, I live in a country where that would happen only to rid me of my wallet rather than my religious beliefs),

Just wait, give them another 10 to 15 years and I would not doubt one bit.

[jennyp]

Evangelical atheists like Newdow delight in the Santa Claus analogy. It's memorable, sounds clever and is incredibly insulting. I've even heard the same assertion made with the Easter Bunny. In part, the evangelicals make such callous remarks because they see themselves as bringers of "Truth." And if a few feelings get hurt along the way, they reason, that's the price for the liberating light they bring.

But I would never make such a comparison, nor would many atheists I know. We wouldn't because it not only is bad manners and shows a lack of intellectual humility, it's also grossly unfair. It's empirically verifiable that there is no Santa Claus. The same cannot be said of God.

This part I don't understand. I don't see how you can empirically verify that there is no Santa Claus. You can't prove a negative. I have lost my faith in Santa Claus, for the same reason I lost my faith in God - there's no empirical evidence for either magical person's existence.

[gcruse]

Sshhh. He's trying to make nice. The world didn't just appear 'spontaneously,' either.

[Maceman]

Morality is of the highest importance -- but for us, not for God.

I don't disagree with anything in this quote. I said I am not an atheist, but I am also not a Christian, and long ago abandoned the Judaism of my youth.

I never believed that God needed us to worship Him because he is insecure. I just think that God is like a river that we need to go to gain strength and spiritual nourishment. I don't think that God gets anything out of being worshipped. The worship is for us, not for him (I use "him" for convenience, because I believe that God is beyond gender).

As for morality, I see it as a code that we need to live by because it works for human beings in God's physical universe. I don't think God sits in individual judgment on us. I just think that the Universe is the physical manefestation of God's law, and we act in opposition to that to our own detriment and ultimate destruction.

So I think Einstein's perspective makes a lot of sense here.

[JCG]

While working in the home of a military man today, I noticed the enscription on a WW I German helmet he happened to have on his desk. If I translated corectly, it read (in German):

       With God for King and Fatherland

German soldiers of WWII wore a belt buckle with the inscription: Gött mit uns.

America's Fifth Column ... watch PBS documentary JIHAD! In America
Download 8 Mb zip file here (60 minute video)

[rwfromkansas]

Jenny, some of the world's greatest scientists in history would disagree with you greatly on that one.

[malakhi]

I don't see how you can empirically verify that there is no Santa Claus.

Instead of going to the media, Virginia could have stayed up all night waiting for the jolly old elf to come down the chimney. Seems pretty empirical to me.

[Senator Pardek]

Excellent.

Could have been written by Pardek, if Pardek knew how to write.

[Senator Pardek]

CNN: US Military (NORAD) Is Tracking Santa Claus

[Dog Gone]

Pardek knows how to write, but he has other priorities.

But I agree, this was excellent.

[moteineye]

Atheists
"The other problem with evangelicals like Newdow is that while he's so disrespectful about the beliefs of others, he insists his own be treated with the utmost reverence."

"They are intolerant, pushy and self-righteous."

This has been my experience exactly.