Google Religious kooks on the millions of articles in the Google data base and you will find some. You just have to go out of your way a little  to do it. Pat Robertson is easier to locate because- he is on cable tv.

These off beat findings are aberrations not common practice among Christians. Ha, Listen to me- I haven't been to a church besides a wedding or a christening, and a basement rummage sale in some Methodist church in many years. So I guess I am a lapsed Christian. But these attacks on the greater Christian community are simply " poor me " non stories. Nobody I know gives a sh-t if someone is an atheist -who cares? Big deal. It's called freedom of choice.

Do some atheists like to think they are the persecuted intelligentia. Is that the pay off- being a courageous minority under wide vicious ubiquitous attack ? You really aren't , you know.

Booth . Freedom of choice is just that . "You can choose a religion including Wicca, or Buddism or choose no religion at all." You thought I would suggest otherwise ? Not in this lifetime anyway, that I can guarantee.

Sometimes my posts may sound a tad conservative, but I am above all a libertarian my man.

Yes, that is propbably the case Booth. At any rate all you atheists have a good one. Pleasant dreams.

Rich

I don't identify as an atheist, and I don't feel persecuted for not participating in organized religion. But if hell exists, I will gleefully be going there.

My post was totally angry. I'm angry that the voices of evangelical Christians are so loud.  It's a major reason I turned away from the church.  It's loudest representatives are an embarrassment. Falwell, the banana guy.  The world of faith is closed to me because I refuse to be associated with that. 

As when this forum first began, I still agree that politics and religion are topics best avoided in public company. But given the intimacy of this board, I feel we can all be honest here (and angry) even if it seems gauche or offensive.  

Did you know that god designed eyeballs to be easily sucked or plucked from the head to facilitate the zombies eating our brains?

Lets back up. Lets say god does exist. What, for the sake of argument, does it really make? You don't get to have a direct audience with the big guy till the end anyway, so in the mean time you're just going to have to do the best you can.

Now, lets say god doesn't exist. There is no other available council to any of us. So you just have to do the best you can anyway.

I'm not really an atheist, I just don't really care either way. See, I don't need big brother in any form to make sure I keep in line, or to promise I'll learn about girls when I'm old enough to drive, etc. If you need some one to look after you and make sure your behaving, it doesn't matter if its god, the government, or your neighbor with binoculars. Pick your paranoia. Some of us don't cry when we touch ourselves, thinking some one is watching, and we should be ashamed. In other words, the average atheist can have a wank, and just enjoy it (barring herpes outbreaks, and other scourges sent by god).

 But as i said, I'm not an atheist. I do cry (just a little) when I'm having "me" time. So I want to believe in the glory of all of creation. I like thinking the universe is big, and exciting, and really friggin cool. And it makes me want to cry (and have a wank) when some damned Gideon leaves a book in my hotel room telling me the whole lot of it can be summed up effectively in a book smaller than Hobbe's 'Leviathan', and slightly less interesting to read.

I'd like to think that it takes more room to explain all of everything than that alloted to the unabridged 'Bartenders Companion', and I sure as hell don't want to believe in any form of deity thats telling me otherwise.

Angel, I guess it depends on what you're tuning into when it comes to hearing these "loud Evangelical Christian voices." Sometimes I think those most perturbed by this phenomena spend an inordinate amount of time seeking out examples to justify their anger. I don't hear these voices. Sure, over the years I've had maybe an annual visit from a preachy Jehovah's Witness or Mormon who's try ing to increase the tribe. Thinking about it now, though, there have been far fewer over the pass 10 years than before. My aunt and uncle were missionaries so I recall how all consuming someone's faith can become.  But geez, is it really such a big deal for the rest of us?  I swear.  I don't see the problem.

When there's a TV program (CNN is always big on the "Christian kook" topics), film (ie Saved) or documentary (ie Jesus Camp) on this or that Christian group, I'll admit, I'm probably not going to be watching. I understand the wide breadth of Christian sects but I haven't heard anything particularly NEW or, more importantly, anything particularly FRIGHTENING about any of them. It's just pretty much off my radar screen.

It seems to me that a lot of recent emphasis comes from media seeking out the most outrageous examples. Certain news outifts seem to revel in these non-stories about intolerant Christian yahoos. Like the pack animals, other media piles on to the agenda. Ironically, a good percentage of those whipping up the frenzy over the "growing Christian right" or whatever name they ascribe, are also self-defined Christians. I watched a show this morning with a Democrat strategist. He was offering his opinion on the Republican debates of last week. He said, "I'm a Christian too but not like THOSE Christians," in reference to a couple of the candidates like Romney, the Mormon. He was the "real" Christian. The good kind. The tolerant kind. Unlike "them."

And it also seems to me that those who find Evangelical Christians to be the latest bogie man are way too preoccupied with a subject that really has very little to do with their life. Finding the craziest fringe examples. I mean, seriously, I don't know how Jerry Falwell ends up intruding your space. Banana man? I have no idea who that is.

Over the past few years that this subject of "Scary Christianity" or the "Coming Theocracy" have infiltrated real news, I have felt it was a phony story. The country has the same high percentage of Christians as it has for the past 20 years through Democrat and Republican presidential terms. As a group, they will probably tend toward more conservative candidates. Big wah. The difference today seems to be that attacking Christians (of a certain type) is yet another surrogate for the real and deeper loathing -- the loathing of George W Bush. If I'm correct, once we have a president (who WILL be a Christian, btw) -- say like Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama -- this "problem" will become less pronounced and we'll see far fewer media types focusing on the Scary Evangelical Christians. You know. Like Jordan.

Susan

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

I wouldn't think so.

But why? 

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

"....this "problem" will become less pronounced and we'll see far fewer media types focusing on the Scary Evangelical Christians. You know. Like Jordan."

LOL...yeah...I'm one of the scary ones....watch out!!! There's Christian subliminal messages on the message board! Before everyone knows it, you'll find yourself believing in God and wanting to go to Church and bowing before an altar.

For us quiet Christians, people like Falwell, banana-man, Robertson and others annoy US MORE than any athiest or non-Christian. But they don't affect anyone but us fellow Christians because their comments are often used against those of the faith.

Jordan .

I was laughing at "firemoth"'s last post.  I told him this forum always degenerates to the atheists talking about religion being ridiculous, and the religious stoically defending the rational/tolerant angle.

Stereotypes exists because there's truth to them.  Whether or not anything can be done about it is beside the point.

So for all the tolerant atheists and rational Christians, I think there has to be a degree of acceptance of a shoe fitting. Each group will always sound condescending (mea culpa) or absurd to one another.      

I don't normally do those bloody quizzes that I get sent in e-mails, but today I had nothing better to do.
What kind of atheist are you?

Turns out I'm the apathetic variety. No surprise there then.

Apologies if this has been posted already... but I couldn't be arsed to look.

I'm a spiritual atheist. Hm.

Next highest one I scored was scientific atheist. Hm.

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."

I suppose that's about right. I don't know where the 8% angry came from, though.

Logic Hat Online- logichat.org

Spiritual Atheist, Wow, who would have guessed