Can I borrow those rose colored glasses?

Seriously, I fervently hope you are right, but I just don’t see it, at least not in my lifetime (I hope another 30 years if I’m fortunate). I’ll bet if you asked ten people at random on the street, at least half of them wouldn’t even know what the word atheist means. Then, once you explained it, you’d get an extremely negative reaction from nine out of ten.

But whatever it takes, and however I can help – sign me up!

Do you honestly think things will change that much in 15 years in the buybull belt?

Do you honestly think things will change that much in 15 years in the buybull belt?

Just look how far the gay rights movement has come in the last 15 years. Once people have had all that they can take the anger can be very motivational in organising and bringing about change.

A moment later I clicked on this blog and see that in another fifteen years all the discrimination will be behind us. Wow!

I would love to believe that I will see the day when atheists are the norm rather than the exception, but how much hope do I have? Zip! Nada! NONE!

But dream on, the world needs dreamers.

This has not been an easy decision to make because I am torn between what the board did to Ellen and the fact that the voice of Atheism and rational thought must never be dimmed.

Today I read and heard numerous times of the comments that “reverend” John Haggee made about the catholic church and also that “god sent Adolf Hitler to the jews”…

I am attaching just one of the articles on Hagge and how John McCain has now rejected the Haggee endorsement. Hopefully this will show the nation how ridiculous and frightening fundamentalist religion really is.
After seeing that Haggee will be picking up where the (thankfully) departed delusional Jerry Falwell left off in his outrageous “faith filled” mindless spewing of hate, I have decided while I do not agree with the boards decision to fire Ellen, I must (after really thinking hard about this) yield to the greater good of continuing to give American Atheists a “voice” in the very catholic and evangelical/ protestant populated city of “saint” cloud, MN.

I have decided to continue my membership in American Atheists as well as continue to sponsor “The Atheist Viewpoint ” here on Charter Cable Channel 12 on Tuesday evenings at 7:30 PM Central Time.

Please know that my greatest and most sincere hope is that Ellen and the board can work through all of their difficulties and Ellen will be re-instated as President and Co-Host of “The Atheist Viewpoint”.

I care about Ellen and I care about the future of American Atheists.

I finally had to realize that much, much more was at stake here than we realize…..

The very survival of the human race is in jeopardy if fundamentalist, irrational religious zealots like John Haggee are not challenged with rationality, proof of the lies and errors of the bible and stopped.

I hope that all of you, especially Ellen can understand my position.

I met so many of you wonderful people at the American Atheists convention in Minneapolis and you all made me proud to be counted among you as a fellow secular humanist.
Please. Make me proud again. Let’s all try to work together for a rational world and put our differences aside once and for all for the common good. Our world and the future of our human species is literally at stake here.

Timothy, please continue to mail me Atheist Viewpoint Episodes.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Jack Richter An American Atheist…just like YOU!

Hagee’s sermon was delivered in the late 1990s but a video of it began circulating widely this week on the Web on the site talk2action, which monitors the religious right. The sermon calls Hitler a “hunter,” a reference to the Book of Jeremiah, which quotes God saying he “will restore [the Jews] to the land I gave to their forefathers.”

Hagee is one of the country’s best-known evangelical Christian Zionists; he founded a pro-Israel alliance of Christian groups and has donated tens of millions from his Texas-based ministry to support humanitarian causes in Israel. He has said he is driven by the belief that the creation of the state of Israel, and the return of Jews to Palestine, are God’s will.

“A hunter is someone with a gun and he forces you. Hitler was a hunter,” Hagee says in the sermon. “And the Bible says — Jeremiah writing — ‘They shall hunt them from every mountain and from every hill and from the holes of the rocks,’ meaning there’s no place to hide. And that might be offensive to some people but don’t let your heart be offended. I didn’t write it, Jeremiah wrote it. It was the truth and it is the truth. How did it happen? Because God allowed it to happen. Why did it happen? Because God said my top priority for the Jewish people is to get them to come back to the land of Israel.”

When asked what McCain thought of the remarks, campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds responded with an e-mail from the candidate, denouncing Hagee.

“Obviously, I find these remarks and others deeply offensive and indefensible, and I repudiate them,” McCain said. “I did not know of them before Reverend Hagee’s endorsement, and I feel I must reject his endorsement as well.”

The comments represented a significant shift by McCain, who had refused to reject Hagee’s endorsement despite controversial comments Hagee has made about Catholicism and his implication that Hurricane Katrina represented divine retribution. After learning of those comments, McCain said just because he accepts — or seeks — someone’s endorsement doesn’t mean he endorses that person’s views.

At roughly the same time McCain rejected Hagee’s endorsement, the reverend issued a statement saying he was withdrawing it to prevent any further damage to the presumptive GOP nominee’s candidacy.

“Ever since I endorsed John McCain for president, people seeking to attack Senator McCain have combed my records for statements they can use for political gain. They have had no qualms about grossly misrepresenting my position on issues most near and dear to my heart if it serves their political ambitions,” Hagee said in the statement. “I am tired of these baseless attacks and fear that they have become a distraction in what should be a national debate about important issues. I have therefore decided to withdraw my endorsement of Senator McCain for President effective today, and to remove myself from any active role in the 2008 campaign.”

The senator also made an effort to draw a distinction between his link to the controversial megapreacher and Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) ties to Chicago Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Wright’s incendiary remarks about the U.S. government have dogged Obama for months.

“I have said I do not believe Senator Obama shares Reverend Wright’s extreme views. But let me also be clear, Reverend Hagee was not and is not my pastor or spiritual advisor, and I did not attend his church for twenty years,” McCain said in the statement. “I have denounced statements he made immediately upon learning of them, as I do again today.”

if you had a well funded army of one million atheist dreamers/doers it would still be my opinion that atheists will not be accepted by the majority of earthlings in the foreseeable future. even if it could be proven conclusively that there was no god, it would still take several hundred years to even have 50 percent of the world population accept it and give up the fairy tales. it’s just human nature and you can’t change that even with hard facts.

example, in a jury trial, the truth is less important than who can sway the jury. a good defense attorney may know the truth but many times it is irrelevant to the defense strategy.

hell, the pope may think deep down that god may not exist, but he still ain’t gonna spill the beans to the flock. the big con must go on…..

http://www.adultswim.com/games/fiveMinutes/

It’s a shockwave game in which the main character decides that if he receives one more meeting request he’s going to kill himself. The request comes and he’s off to the races to find anything and everything (or anyone) that is willing to kill him.

There are two Workplace Preachers (we all know the type) in this game. You can provoke them into doing harm to you with religious stupidity and good old-fashioned smiting. The theme of the game is suicide which, if you have been paying attention really pisses xians off. You know, that whole “you’ll burn in hell if you commit suicide” deal (though muslim fundamentalists might be right at home with the idea as long as a few infidels are harmed in the making of this suicide bombing).

There’s a few pop culture/movie references to get a smile out of you (especially if you take the elevators to the floors above and below).