From: CNS News
In what one Republican calls an "unprecedented" move, an atheist group is advising all newcomers to the U.S. House of Representatives to stay away from the Congressional Prayer Caucus.
Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.), who founded the caucus in 2005, said the American Humanist Association is among the "extremist groups" that "want to make sure they've censored and shut down anything related to faith."
Forbes, speaking Tuesday on "Fox and Friends," said the prayer caucus's 105 members "stand up and fight for religious freedom and religious liberty."
He said the atheist group -- "in a situation that we have never seen before -- actually wrote letters trying to get members not to join."
Among its objections to the Congressional Prayer Caucus, the American Humanist Association complains that the caucus supports and believes in the National Motto ("In God We Trust") and wants to continue the practice of opening Congress with a daily prayer.
"And for those two major reasons they feel that the Congressional Prayer Caucus shouldn't be in existence and people shouldn't join it," Forbes said.
The atheist group also cited the caucus's support for legislation calling on the president to designate 2010 as "the National Year of the Bible" and its support for crosses on public land.
“Members of the Congressional Prayer Caucus have repeatedly introduced and supported legislation that many secular Americans feel is unconstitutional and often favors Christianity above all other religions,” said American Humanist Association Executive Director Roy Speckhardt in his letter to newly elected members of Congress.
“Incoming House members should know that approximately one in five of their constituents are not religiously affiliated, and even more insist on maintaining the wall of separation between church and state,” Speckhardt continued. “Secular Americans are ready to work with all members of the 113th Congress, regardless of their personal beliefs, if they agree on this basic constitutional principle.”
Forbes said he has no objection to atheists or anyone else saying whatever they want to say. "The unfortunate thing is these extremist groups don't give us the same right, and they want to censor our ability to say that we do believe in God and we do believe in our faith."
Forbes said the atheists' real agenda is to stop anyone in government from saying anything about God, faith or religion -- and to stop anyone in the church from saying anything about government.
"And that's clearly not the intention of the First Amendment and the Constitution as most of us know it."
Showing posts with label Atheism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Atheism. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 04, 2012
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Texas Atheist 'Flabbergasted' by Outpouring of Christian Charity
FROM: THE GOSPEL COALITION
The Story: According to the Athens Review, an atheist who had threatened to sue a Texas county over the display of a nativity scene says he is "completely flabbergasted" that Christians from that same county provided him financial assistance for a medical problem.
"My wife and I had never had a Christian do anything nice for us," said Patrick Greene. "Just the opposite."
The Background: Last month Greene, an activist with a long history of bringing lawsuits related to public displays of Christian imagery, threatened to sue Henderson County if county officials allowed a nativity scene to be placed on the courthouse lawn next Christmas. Greene had intended to represent himself in the lawsuit, but dropped the threat when he discovered he had a detached retina and may lose his sight.
"There is no way for me to go up there if I'm blind," said Greene, who lives in San Antonio, nearly 300 miles from the Henderson County courthouse. Greene said he has no insurance to pay for an operation that might save his sight, and can't even pay for the exam that will confirm the diagnosis. "Why waste the money if I can't do anything about it," he told the local newspapers.
When Jessica Cry, a member of Sand Springs Baptist Church in Athens, read on the Internet about Greene's troubles, she felt compelled to help. Cry told her pastor, Rev. Eric Graham, who contacted Greene and inquired about how his church could help with the surgery.
"I have decided to show my appreciation to the Christian community for all their help, and I am going to buy a star for the top of the Nativity scene," says Greene, " You people can figure out how to plug it in."
The Story: According to the Athens Review, an atheist who had threatened to sue a Texas county over the display of a nativity scene says he is "completely flabbergasted" that Christians from that same county provided him financial assistance for a medical problem.
"My wife and I had never had a Christian do anything nice for us," said Patrick Greene. "Just the opposite."
The Background: Last month Greene, an activist with a long history of bringing lawsuits related to public displays of Christian imagery, threatened to sue Henderson County if county officials allowed a nativity scene to be placed on the courthouse lawn next Christmas. Greene had intended to represent himself in the lawsuit, but dropped the threat when he discovered he had a detached retina and may lose his sight.
"There is no way for me to go up there if I'm blind," said Greene, who lives in San Antonio, nearly 300 miles from the Henderson County courthouse. Greene said he has no insurance to pay for an operation that might save his sight, and can't even pay for the exam that will confirm the diagnosis. "Why waste the money if I can't do anything about it," he told the local newspapers.
When Jessica Cry, a member of Sand Springs Baptist Church in Athens, read on the Internet about Greene's troubles, she felt compelled to help. Cry told her pastor, Rev. Eric Graham, who contacted Greene and inquired about how his church could help with the surgery.
Greene told Graham he had a more immediate need.Why It Matters: Jesus commanded us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). But far too often we get bogged down in fighting faux cultural battles (like the "War on Christmas") and forget that the "enemies" our Lord commands us to love are also our neighbors. When we take the time to show concern and charity, as the Christians in my former home of Henderson County have done with Mr. Greene, it can melt the hardest of hearts.
"I said, if you really want to contribute something to help, we need groceries," Greene said.
[. . .]
"I told my wife about it," Greene said.
"They're going to help us?" Karen asked.
Greene thought that if anything, he'd see $50, maybe $100.
A few days later, the Christians made good on their promise, and sent a check for $400.
"I said I can't believe it," Greene said. "I thought I was in the Twilight Zone."
The money went to help pay the rent, and provide necessities from the grocery store.
The contributions didn't stop at $400 either, Cry said. More money is coming in.
Greene is so amazed by the generosity of the Christians in Henderson County, he's sharing the story through the media, and is thinking about writing a book.
"I'm going to call it the real 'Christians of Henderson County, Texas,'" Greene said. "These people are acting like what the Bible says a Christian does."
Greene plans on publishing the work as an e-book.
"I'm dedicating the book to my wife, the young lady who started the idea, and Reverend Graham."
"I have decided to show my appreciation to the Christian community for all their help, and I am going to buy a star for the top of the Nativity scene," says Greene, " You people can figure out how to plug it in."
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Do Irreligious Realize They're Intolerant?
From: Real Clear Religion
Last Saturday, a friend who works at our neighborhood farmer's market complimented one of her fellow vendors on her dress.
"Thanks," said the smartly dressed woman, adding that she bought it Forever 21, a store she frequents "even though it's run by crazy Christians. In case you didn't know, the owners of the fashion chain are Korean Christians who print "John 3:16" on their shopping bags. Gibbering maniacs, obviously.
Recalling the story, my friend, who is a practicing Christian, said she was so shocked that she didn't know how to respond.
"You could have said, 'Would you have had the same trouble shopping at a store run by Jews, Muslims, or Hindus?'" I offered. "Or you could have said, 'Does that mean you won't be buying stuff from me? I'm a Christian, and our farm is run by a Christian."
Had I been in my friend's place, I probably would have reacted the same way, too startled by the revelation that my market colleague was probably a bigot to have mustered much of a response.
But this is not the first time that's happened at our farmer's market. One of the best and friendliest customers of my friend's farm stand cut loose one day with a mini-tirade against pro-lifers and Christians. It had never occurred to this woman that she was buying goods from two pro-life Christian women. She simply assumed that they must agree with her, because everybody knows that only liberals live in our neighborhood and frequent farmers' markets.
True, our neighborhood is overwhelmingly liberal, at least to judge by voting patterns and the frequency of left-wing bumper stickers on cars lining the streets. It's the kind of place where you don't expect conservative Christians to live. But we do -- and some of us (I'm thinking of some of my Catholic friends) are even Democrats.
To be sure, folks on the political and cultural right are often guilty of the same thing, as we are constantly reminded by the media. What's annoying, however, is how rarely it ever seems to occur to liberals in the media and elsewhere that they too need to confront their own intolerance, and to learn something about civility.
It deeply annoys liberals to hear conservative Christians complain about how persecuted they are. They're right, in a strictly limited way. It's always unattractive to see people wallow in victimhood, which can become a crutch for excuse-making and self-pity. That said, sometimes people,even people we don't like, really are victims of bigotry. Conservatives,especially conservative Christians, know that we are held to a double standard on these things -- a contradiction of which many self-righteous liberals are unaware.
Having spent 20 years working in newsrooms, which tend to be populated with moralists who take a preacher's pride in reforming society, I heard my share of nasty remarks about Christians -- the kinds of things that would never be said about Jews or Muslims. Once I was in a news meeting in which a very senior editor made a vicious joke about Christians. He apparently felt safe enough to say what he did because he assumed everyone present agreed with him. And he was probably right.
A fellow writer at that same newspaper once asked me, an out Christian, to meet her in a stairwell for a tense discussion about her job, which she thought she was going to lose once it became known in the newsroom that she was a conservative Evangelical. I began to understand why an Evangelical friend who has a high-powered career in network news lives in the closet as a Christian, and endures casual insults all the time in editorial meetings, anti-Christian remarks made by people who assume everyone around them shares the same prejudices.
To be perfectly candid, these experiences have given me a lot more understanding for what gay folks have long had to go through in the workplace. Though I don't share the emerging moral consensus about homosexuality, I strongly believe that we are a better society for having gotten rid of the closet. One does not have to accept homosexuality to accept gay people any more than one has to affirm a particular Christian church or doctrine to affirm the common humanity of Christians who do.
Last Saturday, a friend who works at our neighborhood farmer's market complimented one of her fellow vendors on her dress.
"Thanks," said the smartly dressed woman, adding that she bought it Forever 21, a store she frequents "even though it's run by crazy Christians. In case you didn't know, the owners of the fashion chain are Korean Christians who print "John 3:16" on their shopping bags. Gibbering maniacs, obviously.
Recalling the story, my friend, who is a practicing Christian, said she was so shocked that she didn't know how to respond.
"You could have said, 'Would you have had the same trouble shopping at a store run by Jews, Muslims, or Hindus?'" I offered. "Or you could have said, 'Does that mean you won't be buying stuff from me? I'm a Christian, and our farm is run by a Christian."
Had I been in my friend's place, I probably would have reacted the same way, too startled by the revelation that my market colleague was probably a bigot to have mustered much of a response.
But this is not the first time that's happened at our farmer's market. One of the best and friendliest customers of my friend's farm stand cut loose one day with a mini-tirade against pro-lifers and Christians. It had never occurred to this woman that she was buying goods from two pro-life Christian women. She simply assumed that they must agree with her, because everybody knows that only liberals live in our neighborhood and frequent farmers' markets.
True, our neighborhood is overwhelmingly liberal, at least to judge by voting patterns and the frequency of left-wing bumper stickers on cars lining the streets. It's the kind of place where you don't expect conservative Christians to live. But we do -- and some of us (I'm thinking of some of my Catholic friends) are even Democrats.
To be sure, folks on the political and cultural right are often guilty of the same thing, as we are constantly reminded by the media. What's annoying, however, is how rarely it ever seems to occur to liberals in the media and elsewhere that they too need to confront their own intolerance, and to learn something about civility.
It deeply annoys liberals to hear conservative Christians complain about how persecuted they are. They're right, in a strictly limited way. It's always unattractive to see people wallow in victimhood, which can become a crutch for excuse-making and self-pity. That said, sometimes people,even people we don't like, really are victims of bigotry. Conservatives,especially conservative Christians, know that we are held to a double standard on these things -- a contradiction of which many self-righteous liberals are unaware.
Having spent 20 years working in newsrooms, which tend to be populated with moralists who take a preacher's pride in reforming society, I heard my share of nasty remarks about Christians -- the kinds of things that would never be said about Jews or Muslims. Once I was in a news meeting in which a very senior editor made a vicious joke about Christians. He apparently felt safe enough to say what he did because he assumed everyone present agreed with him. And he was probably right.
A fellow writer at that same newspaper once asked me, an out Christian, to meet her in a stairwell for a tense discussion about her job, which she thought she was going to lose once it became known in the newsroom that she was a conservative Evangelical. I began to understand why an Evangelical friend who has a high-powered career in network news lives in the closet as a Christian, and endures casual insults all the time in editorial meetings, anti-Christian remarks made by people who assume everyone around them shares the same prejudices.
To be perfectly candid, these experiences have given me a lot more understanding for what gay folks have long had to go through in the workplace. Though I don't share the emerging moral consensus about homosexuality, I strongly believe that we are a better society for having gotten rid of the closet. One does not have to accept homosexuality to accept gay people any more than one has to affirm a particular Christian church or doctrine to affirm the common humanity of Christians who do.
Friday, July 01, 2011
5 Myths Atheists Believe about Religion « SpeakEasy
From: Real Clear REligion
Despite their emphasis on reason, evidence and a desire to see through false truth claims, many atheists hold surprisingly ill-informed beliefs about religion. Many of these myths go unquestioned simply because they serve the purpose of discrediting religion at large. They allow for the construction of a straw man i.e. a distorted and simplistic representation of religion which can be easily attacked, summarily dismissed and ridiculed. Others who genuinely believe these false claims merely have a limited understanding of the ideas involved and have never thoroughly examined them. But, myths are myths and they should be acknowledged for what they are.
I’m not saying that atheists aren’t knowledgeable when it comes to religion. To the contrary, atheists in general know more about the particularities of religion than most religious people do. A recent study confirmed it. I have no doubt that they can rattle off all of the myths, falsities, fanciful claims, dangerous ideas and barbarous actions committed by the religious. It makes sense as a targeted group will generally know more about the dominant group than the other way around. But of course simply knowing more than other religious people about their traditions doesn’t preclude holding to false beliefs of their own.
There are certainly more than five myths about religion that are perpetuated by some atheists (and in some cases the religious). However, I’ve chosen what I feel to be the most significant false claims made by atheists to help provide a more accurate understanding of religion and to pave the groundwork for dialogue between these seemingly two opposing groups.
Now, let’s examine these myths.
5. Liberal and Moderate Religion Justifies Religious Extremism
While this often repeated claim seems logical at first glance, upon examination it is nothing more than another simplistic idea that provides a feel good rallying cry for those who want to denounce religion in its entirety.
Sam Harris states that moderates are “in large part responsible for the religious conflict in our world” and “religious tolerance–born of the notion that every human being should be free to believe whatever he wants about God–is one of the principal forces driving us toward the abyss.” And Richard Dawkins states, “The teachings of ‘moderate’ religion, though not extremist in themselves, are an open invitation to extremism.”
Christopher Hitchens has called liberation theology “sinister nonsense” and compared the liberal Unitarian tradition to rats and vermin.
Despite their emphasis on reason, evidence and a desire to see through false truth claims, many atheists hold surprisingly ill-informed beliefs about religion. Many of these myths go unquestioned simply because they serve the purpose of discrediting religion at large. They allow for the construction of a straw man i.e. a distorted and simplistic representation of religion which can be easily attacked, summarily dismissed and ridiculed. Others who genuinely believe these false claims merely have a limited understanding of the ideas involved and have never thoroughly examined them. But, myths are myths and they should be acknowledged for what they are.
I’m not saying that atheists aren’t knowledgeable when it comes to religion. To the contrary, atheists in general know more about the particularities of religion than most religious people do. A recent study confirmed it. I have no doubt that they can rattle off all of the myths, falsities, fanciful claims, dangerous ideas and barbarous actions committed by the religious. It makes sense as a targeted group will generally know more about the dominant group than the other way around. But of course simply knowing more than other religious people about their traditions doesn’t preclude holding to false beliefs of their own.
There are certainly more than five myths about religion that are perpetuated by some atheists (and in some cases the religious). However, I’ve chosen what I feel to be the most significant false claims made by atheists to help provide a more accurate understanding of religion and to pave the groundwork for dialogue between these seemingly two opposing groups.
Now, let’s examine these myths.
5. Liberal and Moderate Religion Justifies Religious Extremism
While this often repeated claim seems logical at first glance, upon examination it is nothing more than another simplistic idea that provides a feel good rallying cry for those who want to denounce religion in its entirety.
Sam Harris states that moderates are “in large part responsible for the religious conflict in our world” and “religious tolerance–born of the notion that every human being should be free to believe whatever he wants about God–is one of the principal forces driving us toward the abyss.” And Richard Dawkins states, “The teachings of ‘moderate’ religion, though not extremist in themselves, are an open invitation to extremism.”
Christopher Hitchens has called liberation theology “sinister nonsense” and compared the liberal Unitarian tradition to rats and vermin.
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