Originally Posted By Mr F <a href="http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/inland_empire&id=6514493" target="_blank">http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/st...=6514493</a> There is a billboard in Rancho Cucamonga CA, put up by the Freedom from religion foundation: <a href="http://www.ffrf.org" target="_blank">http://www.ffrf.org</a> The group preaches the idea that society doesn't need religion to function. Anyway, many people have been offended by this billboard and have called the the billboard company demanding that it be taken down, and so the billboard, which was supposed to be up through December, will be removed. _________________________________ What a load of bull, in this country we have freedom of religion, which INCLUDES freedom FROM religion. MANY people don't believe in religion or are either atheist or agnostic, and that's fine, Why do religious people have to ruin it for everyone else? If that billboard had been about Christianity or GOD, people would be fine with it, but since it's about atheism and agnosticism, people HAVE to have a cow. I'm SICK of religion being forced on me rather I want to hear about it or not, it's about time that Non-religious people have a voice. I personally find religion more offensive then atheism. This billboard hasn't violated anything, what happened to Freedom of Speech? Don't like the billboard?, then don't visit the website it promotes, you don't have to ruin it for everyone else.
Originally Posted By nemopoppins >>>I personally find religion more offensive then atheism.<<< I totally agree, but then I'm a proud atheist. That is unfortunate about the billboard, but then I'm not surprised. Atheists do seem to be more tolerant and less arrogant than people who are influenced by religion.
Originally Posted By Mr F Here is a YouTube video EVERYONE needs to see: "Does Religion Make You a Better Person?" <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQi96Fd5o8Q&feature=rec-HM-rev-rn" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...M-rev-rn</a> The facts in this video are 100% true!
Originally Posted By nemopoppins It does seem like a very well reasoned assertion. But did you see some of the comments? I guess reason and religion don't mix. Except for the type that is worked backwards to achieve the desired outcome.
Originally Posted By mrkthompsn It's not about being moral. It's about being ~saved~. It's about allowing Jesus Christ to become Lord of your life. None of us can be 100% "good" (especially Christians these days). Thing is - a great many of those who call themselves Christian aren't in fact Christian in the sense of what the Bible requires. This is true with American Christians - so the youtube video is meaningless. You still have a chance while you're alive. You still have a chance to change - and be saved. Martin Luther King Jr. said it himself: "The ONLY way to achieve true peace is through the salvation of Jesus Christ."
Originally Posted By ecdc >>It's not about being moral. It's about being ~saved~. It's about allowing Jesus Christ to become Lord of your life.<< No, it isn't. It's about acknowledging that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet, or the shahadah. I know it cause somebody said so.
Originally Posted By DAR The world would be a better place if Person A believes what he/she believes in. Person B believes what he/she believes in. And when they die, God will sort it out.
Originally Posted By mrkthompsn Fact is, EVERY nation is 0% moral. Everyone is incapable of not sinning.
Originally Posted By Mr X Tell that to the Mormons. They're destined to become gods themselves, after all. People can't be all bad if they're capable of THAT!
Originally Posted By utahjosh <6:43p Tell that to the Mormons. They're destined to become gods themselves, after all. People can't be all bad if they're capable of THAT! > We think YOU are destined for the same thing, X..but you do gotta follow that Christ fellow.
Originally Posted By melekalikimaka I think most people DO need religion. That's why it was created and that's why so many people choose to participate in it. There are many people who don't need religion to be moral but, clearly, lots more people need that guidance.
Originally Posted By BlueDevilSF I saw this excellent commentary from conservative columnist Kathleen Parker: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/18/AR2008111802886.html" target="_blank">http://www.washingtonpost.com/...886.html</a> "As Republicans sort out the reasons for their defeat, they likely will overlook or dismiss the gorilla in the pulpit. "Three little letters, great big problem: G-O-D. "I'm bathing in holy water as I type. "To be more specific, the evangelical, right-wing, oogedy-boogedy branch of the GOP is what ails the erstwhile conservative party and will continue to afflict and marginalize its constituents if reckoning doesn't soon cometh. "Simply put: Armband religion is killing the Republican Party. And, the truth -- as long as we're setting ourselves free -- is that if one were to eavesdrop on private conversations among the party intelligentsia, one would hear precisely that." I imagine she's going to get a looooooooooooooooot of flak for this column. Jimmy Dobson isn't happy about it...
Originally Posted By EighthDwarf I don't believe people need religion per se, I just think we all want answers to unanswerable questions. Religion has done a good job of giving answers (it doesn't matter if they are right or not as long as you have "faith") and telling people not to think about the questions any longer has created generations of people that are dependent on faith-based systems. There is a security in faith-based systems because they come complete with answers to every question -- even if the answers seem absurd to outsiders. However, this has given an inordinate amount of control to religion over the centuries (or even millenia) and they have shown themselves to be quite unwilling to relinquish that power. 2000 years ago, science had a lot of answers to questions too, many of which were wrong. Over the centuries, we have learned that earth is not the center of the universe, it takes more than rubbing mud on people to heal them and that gold is not the solid form of light. So it would seem to follow that the answers we had about God from 2000 years ago (the purpose of life, the context of humanity, what happens after death, the necessity for atonement, etc.) would be similarly proven untrue and antiquated by now. Yet, many of us still cling to those same answers for one reason or another. The concept of "original sin" for example stems from the Adam and Eve myth. Adam and Eve probably never existed - and almost certainly not in the way presented in the bible. The "original sin" concept was almost certainly created as an answer to the question: why do bad things happen to good people? And thus the myth evolved and was passed down through the generations gaining detail as it went along until Jesus puportedly came to redeem us all from it. But bad things still happen to good people, including those devout Christians who can tell you the exact moment in which they were "saved". So is there really "original sin" that we need to be saved from? The answer has evolved to being saved from eternal damnation, not being saved from calamity in this life. Although the original question almost certainly related to this life only as there was no developed concept of the afterlife in ancient Hebrew culture. So you see how it all works? If you're afraid to ask the important questions for yourself, then you aren't ready for the answers.
Originally Posted By nemopoppins But why would knowing (or having faith in ridiculous assertions) answers to questions have anything to do with telling other people how to live or killing them over it? I think the answer thing is just the carrot. The rest of what religion has to offer is the immoral part.
Originally Posted By utahjosh <So you see how it all works?> That's pretty good thinking. But God might be real, too, and Jesus might be our Savior, too.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***God might be real, too, and Jesus might be our Savior, too.*** There is no more reason to believe this than there is to believe the Tooth Fairy, too, "might" be real. She isn't. But she "might" be.
Originally Posted By SuperDry And he might have revealed his word to us not only through the Bible, but through an Egyptian scroll found in a traveling mummy exhibit that was translated to English with the help of a magic stone. It's possible.
Originally Posted By utahjosh <There is no more reason to believe this than there is to believe the Tooth Fairy, too, "might" be real. She isn't. But she "might" be> I believe there is much more "reason" and validity to an actual belief in God.
