Comments on: Fuming at the Mall

By: alexatheist

alexatheist — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Why didnt you engage this xian in polite yet firm conversation? I certainly would have. Every year at Gay Pride here at Duke campus they have several gay friendly churches set up under tents and I always ask them to justify their beliefs. Last year all of the churches were very open to dialouge with me except the catholics which asked me to leave. Surprisingly the baptists were the most friendly and open to hearing what I had to say. If you dont speak up against religion and for reason at every chance then don't bitch when religious people trample on your rights. I'm just saying...

By: jcc

jcc — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Should I have jumped in and helped to save the girls from the attempt at brainwashing?

What? So you could have “brainwashed” them with your mindset instead? Last I heard, the First Amendment is still the law in this country. No one held a gun to their heads to have to listen to it.

By: karen

karen — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Dave,

If two teen-aged girls on a mall trip stop to listen to Bible thumpers, chances are they're already indoctrinated and just want to check out the story line on the set-up at the mall, so they can either nod in agreement or go running to their pastor on Sunday and say "Do you know what this man at the mall was saying about Jaysus!?" I wouldn't get too emotionally twisted over any "brainwashing" going on. The girls were teens after all.

Would have been entertaining if you'd engaged the thumpers with some pointed questions though. But since you had your daughter along, best not to stir the pot, I suppose.

By: dsilverman

dsilverman — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

JCC, That’s what my wife said. Parents raise their own kids, nobody was forcing them to listen, MYOFB. So I did.

But in reality, while our rights are equal, our positions are not. We as Atheists cannnot accept the “I’m OK, you’re OK” position anymore. Mythology hurts people. Reality does not.

By: funandprophet

funandprophet — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Tough call. You could get banned from the mall, if things get nasty.

I usually carry around a copy of “Kissing Hank’s Ass” (and the PG-rated version) to give to people as a “tract.” Might be a good idea to have that handy for next time.

By: George Ricker

George Ricker — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

The only ethical option I can see would be to rent a booth (try to get it as close as possible to the proselytizer) and present alternatives for those who are interested.

While it's certainly true that our positions vis-a-vis Christian mythology are not equal, we still have no right to interfere with the rights of conscience of others.

However, there's nothing at all wrong with making the case that reality has an atheistic bias and presenting that alternative to those who want to listen.

By: nowarforreligion

nowarforreligion — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

My husband came home from running errands the other day to report that he had rescued a young woman in the parking lot from a group of fundamentalist christians who were literally screaming at her because she had bumper stickers on her car about being an earth mama and that “coexist” one that shows different religious symbols and something about being a pagan. When he gets angry, he does not use kind words, and he scared them off by ranting at them that they won’t be satisfied until they get all the jews to isreal and bring on the apocalypse and i don’t know what all else. The young woman, he said, thanked him, telling him that she had been stoned by people before, where they threw rocks at her, not her car, but at her body.
I am becoming more and more distressed at the stories coming out of Iraq about christian prothlesizing, both within the military and, much worse, to the Iraqis, causing them to see through all the b.s. about our trying to help them when the reality is that this is a religious war, as expressed by our president when he referred to it as a “crusade” early on. I just don’t see how us atheists being polite and respectful in the face of all of this religious aggression is doing any good.
I am trying really hard not to let stuff like this slide anymore. I would hope that my actions would have been to mention to the folks gathered at the table there that being scared into anything is not the best way to go about making life decisions, and that christianity is only one of many belief systems, and that, if those girls wanted to do something smart, they could do a little research and actually think for themselves instead of just accepting one viewpoint. It could all be done in a civil manner. After all, the guy has his table there in a public place and must accept the posibility that someone might engage him in a real discussion of what he is doing there.

By: alexatheist

alexatheist — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

The young woman, he said, thanked him, telling him that she had been stoned by people before, where they threw rocks at her, not her car, but at her body.

Where the hell do you live? Oklahoma?

By: charlie

charlie — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

JCC

I am glad to read anyone site the constitution.....

The first.... the fourteenth ....

so....at a mall I could respectfully engage in conversation with a religious peddler....

my concern would be laws protecting minors...should there be adult consent for the 2 frightened teens....the preachers message seem to have incited fear based on Dave's post

and please dont go tell me that there is good news....

By: George Ricker

George Ricker — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

“The only ethical option I can see would be to rent a booth (try to get it as close as possible to the proselytizer) and present alternatives for those who are interested.”

I want to amend this somewhat. Certainly, there would be nothing wrong with engaging the proselytizers in conversation and asking them questions about their claims. I don’t think any reasonable person could regard that as “interference,” although the religionists might.