Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Leave Beer City USA.... ain't going to happen 12 micro and craft breweries and more coming <snip>
But our mayor is a fundie, and every year the permits are reviewed by council to issue permits, or events such a Brewgrass, Octoberfest, and others and every year she votes against the sale of beer at these events.
You can't have a Brewgrass or an Octoberfest without beer. Run the mayor out of town and then hoist a cool one to celebrate!
And I know some that are deliberately aggressive in the personal attacks in telling total strangers their beliefs are wrong.
I could take you downtown (here in the bible belt) and point them out just about any day of the week, but especially weekends or if there is some event that draws large numbers of people for them to scream (with the aid of a megaphone) their hatred at while holding a bible in their other hand.
We don't seem to have many like that up here in the Dakotas. Possibly because most of the year a megaphone would become instantly frozen to their lips. Sort of like sticking your tongue on a metal ice tray.
Maybe our polar bear weather has benefits after all. Although this past summer my wife and myself were definitely put through the wash and hung out to dry by some so called "Christians" that let it be known in no uncertain terms non-Christians were not wanted in the Dakotas.
The world's religions by population. Theo, I have no doubt that there are Christians that are persecuted in some parts of ther world (particularly in the Muslim world). The fact remains that in the U.S., Christians are about 80% of the population, and so the vast majority of Americans are Christians. And while you don't see Atheists declaring Christians hellbound, the reverse is not true with regard to Christians. Atheists haven't traditionally burned Christians at the stake.
The fact is that atheists are the least trusted people in this country, and it isn't because we deserve the title. It is because of who the majority is.
That is hatred to you? weren't you calling me a bigot the other day for having an opinion?
A Christian denomination in Eastern Kentucky last week declared that intrerracial marriages were not allowed in their church. That is hatred and bigotry to me.
It seems like atheist only target Christians and Christianity, and very seldom any other religions, which share similar beliefs.
When atheists usually post billboards and other non-belief or "myth" stuff, it mainly includes Christianity, and during the Christmas/Holiday season, it targets Christmas.
That's not true. Or rather, it's somewhat true of many American atheists, but atheists from, say, Iran focus mainly on Islam. Can you guess why?
It's not entirely true of American atheists either. Take P.Z. Myers from Pharyngula for example, a fairly influential atheist blogger. He most often posts about US Protestants, but has no qualms about criticizing Catholics, Buddhists or Jews when an opportunity presents itself, and he has recently made a number of posts about the stupidity of embryology in the Quran. Consequences be damned.
Quote:
Originally Posted by -Lucy-
Why are they afraid to post "myth" stuff about Judaism and Islam?
I think they are scared because they know how strong Muslims and Jewish are, and what consequenses they will get for doing it, while poor Christians does not usually do anything about it.
Apart from, you know, vandalizing the aforementioned billboards (http://www.cvaas.org/2011/05/06/apparently-destruction-of-private-property-isnt-one-of-the-big-10/ - broken link)...
Also, poor Christians? Really? Dear me, 77% of the US population is being oppressed by the criticism and occasional billboard campaigns of those nasty evil atheists. Children, avert your eyes.
I think the above is the most important part of your post.
Most vocal Atheists have an axe to grind, and are using the same dogmatic, zealousness that affected their previous belief to fuel their new "un"-belief. They seem to find it a duty to help "enlighten" those people who are still Christians. They sometimes see themselves as bearing some sort of secret knowledge that needs to be spread, and with their help the entire institution will come crashing down. They seem to think that the whole concept is so simple, that if one were to just sit down with a Christian, explain it to them, point out some things, that the Christian would immediately deconvert.
This ignores the various stages in which the Atheist had to go through to become one in the first place. It's highly doubtful that they instantly converted from full-blown Christian to full-blown Atheist in a moment's notice. It took time. And I think many forget that.
It also ignores the power of religion, and ritual, and social groups. Some people don't care if something is true or not - as long as they receive something out of it. This Theory of Religion posited that religious belief is rational, because the adherent is expecting to get something (eternal life, social assistance or contacts, etc) that they normally could not get without it. A good example is some of the plagues in Rome - many people noticed that Christians had a high survival rate (mostly because of the social contacts that administered aid to the sick, the immunities that were built up by administering Christians going into people's plagued homes, etc.) and attributed this to the power of the Christian God. The pagan social structure was quite clear in teaching that nobody had any responsibility to help anyone other than their own family. Galen himself (the famous doctor) mentions this in a note, when he fled the plagued city. The Christians had this responsibility, though. Anyways - it's just an example of that particular Theory of Religion.
Plus, in addition to being a former Christian in many cases, Christianity is the "dominant" religion of America - so it receives the most flak from American Atheists.
And..... Christians won't write a death sentence for you if you insult one of their prophets, in case that's being forgotten.
Congrats - highly articulate bit of writing. In my layman`s view of the faith..I try to stick to the translation of the word `truth`..which to me is the word reality...Christianity was to be a reality driven religion..that`s what made it so successful. As for the wisdom contained in kindness - that is a base doctrine in the religion....I can also from that premise define evil as being stupidity - If I grant a piece of bread to a hungry person it is good...and intelligent because I have ensured the future to some degree that through mutual co-operation that I in time will be granted food by those I assisted...that`s smart...It is stupid and evil to deny a hungry person food - for in time you will be hungry and people will remember your lack of charity and deal you out what you deserve...NOTHING..but then mercy prevails...and as it is said...God rains on the wicked as well as the good` -
A Christian denomination in Eastern Kentucky last week declared that intrerracial marriages were not allowed in their church. That is hatred and bigotry to me.
I would agree.
From what I understand, it was a podunk church of 40 people. They are wrong. I won't begin to even suggest it's defensible.
The majority of Christians would likely agree with me. So what exactly is your point?
From what I understand, it was a podunk church of 40 people. They are wrong. I won't begin to even suggest it's defensible.
The majority of Christians would likely agree with me. So what exactly is your point?
The point is that the history of Christianity is riddled with this kind of hatred and bigotry. And then Christians have the nerve to claim that they are being persecuted by atheists. The hypocrisy is the point.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
12 micro and craft breweries and more coming 
<snip>
