NOTE: Meet Margaret Downey at our Winter Solstice Party!
By Tom KrattenmakerBeing an atheist is not easy in this age of great public religiosity in America. Not when the overwhelming majority of Americans profess some form of belief in God. Not when many believers equate non-belief with immorality. Not when more people would automatically disqualify an atheist for the presidency (53%, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll) than a gay candidate (43%), for example, or a Mormon (24%).(snip)Mindful of atheism’s reviled reputation, a new current in non-belief is intent on showing the public what atheists are for. You might be surprised by what’s on their short list. Because, save for the belief-in-a-deity part, it sounds a lot like what most Americans value. Care for one’s community and fellow human beings, love of country and cherished American principles, the pursuit and expansion of knowledge ? these are the elements of the new “positive atheism.”A new faceThe reputation of atheists has not been well-served by the surly attacks on religion by some of atheism’s highest-profile torch carriers. From the best-selling atheist manifestos of recent years to Bill Maher’s new Religulous movie, the loudest voices of non-belief have exhibited much of the same stridency and flair for polemics as the religious fundamentalists they excoriate.But if Margaret Downey keeps making progress with her campaign to show a different face of atheism, it’s possible to imagine the day when avowing one’s non-belief will not be political suicide. (It seems to be just that today, given that only one member of Congress, Rep. Pete Stark of California, has revealed that he does not believe in a deity; in view of polling data suggesting that some 5% to 15% of Americans are atheists and agnostics, it seems certain there are at least a few more non-believing senators and representatives in the halls ? and closets ? of Congress.) Downey, having recently finished a stint as president of the Atheist Alliance International, is now organizing a non-believers’ unity convention to take place in 2011. She is the poster person for positive atheism, a term she uses for a new face of atheism that emphasizes the good things in which non-believers do believe.Downey does not move in the ways of the late atheist spokesperson Madalyn Murray O’Hair, who was known for her caustic mockery of religion and its followers. And despite Downey’s friendship with the outspoken atheist author Richard Dawkins, of The God Delusion fame (who likens the religious indoctrination of kids to child abuse), Downey is more interested in building bridges than walls.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/18/AR2008111802886.html
Godless
Parker is right. I mean correct.
Charlie
your right, their demons are all part of the crazy delusion
Charlie
It’s just like any “protection racket” – you create the problems so that you can extract payment from the “marks” for solving the problems. In this case the marks are so deluded that they don’t even realize that there really is no problem. Hello!
Comment from: CascadiaEventHorizon
This is truly frightening that you’d actually believe more government is the answer…
Government creates a crisis so that it can gain power…
If you did the least amount of research you’d find that it was regulations that got us into this mess…
The NObama administration has already stated…”No Crisis should be wasted”…
Huh? Is that what you want?
Where is your “messiah”? Why is he silent? He could stop this bleeding if he wanted to…
But why would he? History tells us that when a society is fearful of their future, that they are willing to give up just about anything for security…and that’s exactly what we’re going to get…
Stupidity Ruled on November 4th…
Methinks he doth project too much.
After 9/11, Bush & Co were able to push through all kind of changes that promised security to the fearful and took away a lot of freedoms.
Is it still lying after one has rationalised it to the point of believing the lies?
Poor, sad freak show.
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Benjamin Franklin
Feb 1775
Bush Co seized 911 as an opportunity to remove civil liberties from Americans through the use of exaggerated fear which is why he was voted in for a second term. Republicans and the reliiogus feed on fear and are masters at its manipulation to control people. We got what we deserved in electing Bush.
Your right…Bush did take away some of our freedoms…
There is no doubt about it…but what about economic fears? Look what FDR was able to accomplish…
Do you know congress held hearings last month about confiscating IRAs?
Would you give them up for future security? No?
FDR was able to sell SSI in 1935 BECAUSE of the depression. It NEVER would have gone through in 1925…
Look at the morons who are fearful of making SSI private. How easily they’be been brainwashed into believing Washington has all of the answers…
Stupidity Ruled on November 4th…
Your=You’re
Wow. If a body was a mind to he could make a right fine career studying Phreeky’s complex of delusions. But don’t get any on you!
No it doesn’t.
phreedm sputtered:
If only he had managed to take away one more phreedm…
Typical to attack the messenger, when you can’t deny the truth…
You prove my point…
Very funny castletonsnob.
You keep stating this but it is never true. I really feel sorry for you.
By the way, you do not have to correct, your and you’re, or their, there, and they’re etc., since there are few here as petty as you. Everyone makes those mistakes. Work on your critical thinking skills instead.
The phrase “You prove my point” is widely understood to be an admission of failure.
Was this directed at me, massah phreedm?
Hungry hungry trolls.