Why is Atheism such a threat? Really?
I was “stumbing” and I stumbled upon an article about Ottawa saying that the transportation board is deadlocked in vote or rejected (depending on the article) an Atheist ad that has run in many cities that was saying “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”
…Theresa Milligan argued against the ads, saying that it goes beyond freedom of speech.
“When statements are said that God probably does not exist, this is an implied statement of hatred towards all those who do believe that God exists.”…
Of course, this is not the first time I have heard this argument, but it still mystifies me.
How can saying that you don’t believe in something mean that you hate people who do believe in it?
Especially since they are not even taking a completely atheist stance and are saying that God “probably” doesn’t exist instead of saying that there simply are no gods.
What gets me is the double standard. By saying “When statements are said that God probably does not exist, this is an implied statement of hatred towards all those who do believe that God exists.” this Millagan woman actually blatantly implying that she hates people who believe in a different god than her. She may not believe that but by using her logic, if she doesn’t believe in Krishna or Zoroaster or a different god then the one that she believes in then she must hate Hindus and Parsis.
The thing is… Atheists don’t deny or hate whatever god. They simply don’t believe that gods exist. Atheists believe that religions and their gods are man-made and it is as simple as that. If religious people have a right to say “God/gods exists” then Atheist have as much a right to say “gods do not exist”. It is a statement of belief and truth on both sides, and neither are meant to be a threat.
When a humanist group says “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”, I really think that they are saying that life should be lived because it is worth living. It is as simple as that.
As expressed many times on my blog in the past, kids don’t learn right and wrong through rewards and punishment. With rewards and Punishment, children learn how to manipulate and what not do do to not get punished or how to get what they want by doing something but don’t learn the real lesson meant to be taught.
Taking away religion from ones life is taking away the rewards and punishment aspect in our own lives and instead of doing things based on outward motivation, we are free to live life in the richest way possible and do things because they are simply the right thing to do.
It really is the same thing as parenting, I think, and people being “threatened” by unorthodox parenting methods because really, they’re not that secure with their own position.
I for one would love to hear your personal experiences and myths that you have encountered as an atheist.
I am struggling between how I was raised (Roman Catholic) and whether or not to integrate that into my own child(ren)s lives. I’m more a believer in ‘putting good energies out into the universe, so that it comes back to you and others in a positive manner (and negative would of course produce the opposite) – but am also slightly in awe of all the beautiful (if only in a historical sense) religious traditions some of the sacraments had on me, an impressionable youth at the time (i.e. baptism or first communion etc).
I think that your opinion is perfectly valid. After all if churches can buy billboards that say that “Jesus loves you” then why not allow ads that question the being of God?
I think if society wants to be impartial that includes all viewpoints. Right?
The bias is always two sided though. Like when Christians get attacked by the gay community because their doctrine says that homosexuality is sinful. I often wonder why they care anyways. Doesn’t freedom count for everyone? If you want to get married to someone the same sex that is your right but if you think that it’s wrong that is also your right. I think that hateful comments and violence towards each other is not appropriate but I am not talking about that…just about the ability of all to think and feel as they please.
Religion as a whole kind of bothers me. It is often so elitist but so are many other philosophies.
Life…oy!
Um… I really don’t get what you are saying…
Are you saying that religious bigotry and intolerance should be accepted? Are you saying that the anti-gay movement has only been in words and no actions? I thought it was the Christian community that fight openly against gay marriage and the “sanctity” of marriage and try to take the rights of others away because of their own interpretations of a book…
Doesn’t religion seem to make its way into the laws (especially in the US), taking away the rights of the gay community. Isn’t it because of religious bigotry that men and women cannot adopt, get married, be open and themselves in the military? What has the gay community taken from Christians? Do you really expect that the anti-gay movement should be seen as freedom of expression? It would be one thing if it was all just words, but it is not… it goes so much farther beyond that and takes away the rights of others…
My post was about that freedom of expression, the right to say “gods do not exist” without it being seen as a threat or hatred towards those that believe in a god … it was not about tolerating, ignoring or accepting the obvious hate and bigotry of others…
The idea of homosexuality being seen as “sinful” is an interpretation of a few sentences taken out of a a series of books written in a different period. The same books that also say that you should stone a child if they won’t listen to their parents, that you should be put to death for touching the skin of a dead pig, that you should not wear clothes made of two different fibres, that women have to be submissive and are not allowed to speak in a church and must wait until they get home to ask questions.
So many religious sects make their agendas by taking what they want from the books and conveniently leaving other things behind and then spread hate in the name of religion…
You also seem to be stating that Christianity and being gay can never come together… yes, many Christian sects are anti-gay, but there are also many gays who are Christian and many Christians who accept gays. There seems to be two ways that homosexuality is viewed by Christianity… that it is a bad choice and therefore they decide to reject people or it is something that is god-given, that you are born that way and therefore it is to be accepted… and the crazy thing is that both ways can be backed up by that ancient book… you just have to ignore different parts of it to see the message that you want to see…
To quote myself: I think that hateful comments and violence towards each other is not appropriate but I am not talking about that…just about the ability of all to think and feel as they please.
1 sa1d that everyone should be able to th1nk whatever they want. Everyone th1nks they are ent1tled to the1r own op1n1ons but they get mad when people dsagree w1th the1r po1nt of v1ews.
Tolerance 1s pretty rare to see for real.
Some people th1nk that your 1deas are s1lly but that doesn’t matter. We are all free to th1nk whatever we want. You don’t lke the1rs and they don’t l1ke yours. But 1nstead of be1ng angry why even care?
I can’t believe I have to say this…
Again, this example you brought up is not about mere opinions that may be intolerant, it is about such opinion and intolerance being put in motion and taking away the rights and freedoms of others.
Yes people have the right to their opinions… and yes, those opinions can even be hurtful and maddening to others sometimes, but this example that you brought up is not about that at all and it is not the same thing.
You may think that gay people shouldn’t be allowed to be legally married, and if that is your opinion you are entitled to it… but you don’t have the right to impose this opinion on others. To do so infringes on the very real and valid rights of gay people.
This is what has happened, and this what the gay community is angry about. And they have every right to be so. Wouldn’t you have the right be angry if someone way always working on taking away your rights to marry, have children and be part of society just because they didn’t agree with your harmless lifestyle…
We are lucky that here in Canada that opinion has no legal grounds, sadly though this is not the case in other places.
Holy derailment batman! How did this post go from talking about ads on a bus asking people to consider living life to the fullest, without fear of judgement from some “higher power”, to the validity of gay marriage in a country that has acknowledged the rights of gay people to be free of discrimination and be legally married? Wowzers.
I was inspired to write a quick post about one of our Canadian Rights and Freedoms here: http://annie.paxye.com/?p=764 I suppose there aren’t borders out here in blog land but I still thought it was well worth pointing out.
F1rst of all, 1 never gave my perspect1ve on th1s 1ssue. You assumed. And you assumed 1ncorrectly. 1 couldn’t care less 1f they get marr1ed or not!
Second of all, 1 wasn’t even say1ng anyth1ng about gay r1ghts. 1 used the top1c of sexual or1entat1on as an example of how people can have so mamy d1fferent, empass1oned op1n1ons. 1 only talked about freedom of thought.What1 sa1d was: If you want to get married to someone the same sex that is your right but if you think that it’s wrong that is also your right.1 d1dn’t say that they shouldn’t be allowed but rather that those who th1nk that gays should or shouldn’t get marr1ed are both free to do so.The key word 1s TH1NK! Not DO.
My po1nt was that we always th1nk the oppos1ng s1de on any 1ssue 1s always be1ng 1ntolerant. We are all gulty of hav1ng been 1ntolerant at somet1me.
And 1 am an athe1st too.
And about those awful 1s. My 1(eye???) key won’t work all of a sudden. So sorry 1f 1t’s hard to read. LOL.
Ok.. assuming that assumed I will respond more directly to your first comment.
I think that your opinion is perfectly valid. After all if churches can buy billboards that say that “Jesus loves you” then why not allow ads that question the being of God?
Exactly…
I think if society wants to be impartial that includes all viewpoints. Right?
No, everyone has the right to their own opinion, yes, but not if they infringe of rights of others or lead to open discrimination.
The bias is always two sided though. Like when Christians get attacked by the gay community because their doctrine says that homosexuality is sinful.
It is interesting that you take it from this perspective, saying that it is the Christians who are being attacked when it is the gay community who are most often being discriminated against… the “attacks” are more likely to come from result of being persecuted for so long.
I often wonder why they care anyways.
Because it is not just about opinions, but it is about actions and discrimination and in many places basic rights being infringed upon because of the opinion.
Doesn’t freedom count for everyone?
Of course… that is the point! As long as it doesn’t take away the freedoms of others which in this case it has.
If you want to get married to someone the same sex that is your right but if you think that it’s wrong that is also your right. I think that hateful comments and violence towards each other is not appropriate but I am not talking about that…just about the ability of all to think and feel as they please.
Religion as a whole kind of bothers me. It is often so elitist but so are many other philosophies.
Life…oy!
I can with agree with that…
….
Listen… you brought up something that I was not talking about in my original post and you seemingly took a surprising standpoint that it is the Christians who are the ones who are victimized by the gay community considering history.
Anyway, I am done with this conversation.