Some Atheist love in a letter to the editor. Not.

[heightsyankee]

From Fundies Say The Darndest Things FB page

[Michelle]

[Deleted]

thanks for the clarification of the meaning of the word "of"

[Deleted]

I worship Zeus and Athena. Do they count?

[Deleted]

And I am a Discordian, so I worship chaos, thats got to count?

[heightsyankee]

Jul 29, 2012 13:04:23 GMT -5 cjoy said:

peninsulaclarion.com/stories/030907/oped_0309ope001.shtml

Interesting. I wonder what the hell her point was then? Either way, she sounds like a bit of a tool box.

And then there is this:

In two days, we receive more than 30 letters. Some were angry with her. Some were angry with us. They said we should be ashamed of ourselves for printing it, and that we would never have done that if it were about blacks or Jews. They’re right, we wouldn’t have. However, to be an atheist, you make a conscious choice.

I think Atheism requires the least choice of all religions. It is a complete lack of faith or belief in a higher power. I don't believe in a higher power and then choose to say I don't. I had so many theology credits, I would have declared it my minor but for fear of looking like a hypocrite (ah, youth). I wanted to see if I would be compelled and I never was. So, once again, there is an example of the failure to understand what it means to be Atheist.

[statlerwaldorf]

Jul 29, 2012 14:30:29 GMT -5 heightsyankee said:

Jul 29, 2012 13:04:23 GMT -5 cjoy said:

peninsulaclarion.com/stories/030907/oped_0309ope001.shtml

Interesting. I wonder what the hell her point was then? Either way, she sounds like a bit of a tool box.

And then there is this:

In two days, we receive more than 30 letters. Some were angry with her. Some were angry with us. They said we should be ashamed of ourselves for printing it, and that we would never have done that if it were about blacks or Jews. They’re right, we wouldn’t have. However, to be an atheist, you make a conscious choice.

I think Atheism requires the least choice of all religions. It is a complete lack of faith or belief in a higher power. I don't believe in a higher power and then choose to say I don't. I had so many theology credits, I would have declared it my minor but for fear of looking like a hypocrite (ah, youth). I wanted to see if I would be compelled and I never was. So, once again, there is an example of the failure to understand what it means to be Atheist.

I agree with you. I really tried to believe in God. I asked Jesus into my heart and all of that stuff. There was a time in my life that I really wanted something to believe in, but I just never believed.

[Deleted]

I think people like this have never really met someone who is an atheist.

As an atheist, I would perfectly happy if idiots were banished from the US;)

[sporky]

Jul 29, 2012 14:39:39 GMT -5 @kcpokergal said:

I think people like this have never really met someone who is an atheist.

or don't know that they have.

that letter reads like it was written by a 12 yr old.

[Deleted]

Also, the point about crime - the US is the most religious of the "western" civilisations, and violent crime is pretty high here. Even if you divide the more religious areas vs the less religious areas, the crime rate is higher in the more religious places. Does religion cause crime? Probably about as much as atheism does. Still, religion doesn't seem to do much in the way of stopping it.

Its a stupid letter by a stupid person. I feel stupid even replying to it, and wish I hadn't lol

[Deleted]

Jul 29, 2012 14:52:54 GMT -5 sporky said:

Jul 29, 2012 14:39:39 GMT -5 @kcpokergal said:

I think people like this have never really met someone who is an atheist.

or don't know that they have.

that letter reads like it was written by a 12 yr old.

Right. Where 15% of the population identifies as agnostics or atheists, it would be unlikely that someone hasn't met one.

[emmybean]

Jul 29, 2012 15:01:58 GMT -5 @bunnybean said:

What a weird way to troll the newspaper.

And yes, I completely disagree that atheism is a choice. This is not necessarily what I would have chosen for myself. It just is what makes sense. I can't ask myself to believe in god(s). I just can't believe in them.

This seems either completely condescending or stupid. Why on earth would you wish to be able to suspend logic and believe in supreme being(s)? I can understand the appeal in the idea of a god or gods, but not the desire to be able to believe in god(s) given the utter lack of any evidence or logic involved in such a thought process.

[Deleted]

Jul 29, 2012 19:39:25 GMT -5 @bunnybean said:

Jul 29, 2012 17:33:28 GMT -5 emmybean said:

This seems either completely condescending or stupid. Why on earth would you wish to be able to suspend logic and believe in supreme being(s)? I can understand the appeal in the idea of a god or gods, but not the desire to be able to believe in god(s) given the utter lack of any evidence or logic involved in such a thought process.

I wish there was someone supreme who could help me. I wish they could make the Rainbow Bridge real. I hope to see my parents again after we all die.

Really? It's not such a leap that I might want those things. I just can't believe in them because I don't see any reason that they are true. Doesn't mean I chose not to believe them.

Yeah, I am the same way. It was hard for me to realize all that stuff was just nonsense - it took time and effort to put those dreams to rest. I wanted to believe in god, but I just could not and cannot. The idea of an afterlife and some supreme being who makes everything okay etc is very appealing, but no matter how much I may have wanted that, I just think it is nonsense. It's a joke, but in a way its true - god made me an atheist. If there is one, it was his doing because he built me with the inability to believe in him.

[emmybean]

Jul 29, 2012 19:39:25 GMT -5 @bunnybean said:

Jul 29, 2012 17:33:28 GMT -5 emmybean said:

This seems either completely condescending or stupid. Why on earth would you wish to be able to suspend logic and believe in supreme being(s)? I can understand the appeal in the idea of a god or gods, but not the desire to be able to believe in god(s) given the utter lack of any evidence or logic involved in such a thought process.

I wish there was someone supreme who could help me. I wish they could make the Rainbow Bridge real. I hope to see my parents again after we all die.

Really? It's not such a leap that I might want those things. I just can't believe in them because I don't see any reason that they are true. Doesn't mean I chose not to believe them.

Yeah. I can get that. But that's not what you said above. Wishing there were a god or a heaven is different than willfully wanting to believe in something that there is zero evidence of.

[aurora]

Jul 29, 2012 14:39:39 GMT -5 @kcpokergal said:

I think people like this have never really met someone who is an atheist.
...

Well, Soldotna isn't exactly a metropolis (assuming Alaska since the next letter is about the Kenai), but yeah, I think she's just ignorant.

[Deleted]

I would love to know what these people would do if the Atheists did leave the country, if it's 15% of the population that's a ton of taxes everyone else have to pay.....