Atheist

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Atheists are “intolerant”?

Often, religious folks complain that atheists are “intolerant” towards their religion.

Strangely enough, these atheists seem to be only “intolerant” toward Christians. Why is that?god

Well, Jews aren’t trying to pass laws banning bacon.

Muslims aren’t trying to pass laws forcing women to wear veils.

Amish aren’t trying to pass laws to make us give up electricity.

Wiccans aren’t trying to make us say “One Nation, under the Goddess.”

But some Christians want to ban all abortions, make gay marriage illegal, restrict contraception, edit history books, enforce prayer in schools, and all because of their religious beliefs.

So when atheists say “No” to them, that’s not intolerance. That’s fighting against tyranny. That’s standing up for what America was founded on — freedom to believe or not believe. To have a secular country.

All the atheist “fights” are defensive. Atheists are not doing a thing to prevent religious people from practicing their religion however they want to. They’re just trying to stop them from making us all do it.

EDITED for clarification:  I mean legal and political fights, not arguments and debates.  

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Air Force demands an oath to God

“No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”  That’s in the United States Constitution (Article VI, paragraph 3).

The US Air Force doesn’t care.  They swear an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States, and then they ignore the parts they don’t like by demanding that the oath include the words “So help me God.” bilde 

This clear violation is surely headed to court, and we’re going to hear the same arguments they always make:  But this is a Christian country and the majority should rule and blah blah blah.

I’ve debated this issue with True Believers and it’s a waste of time — they never seem to accept the fact that it’s unconstitutional discrimination.  Since it’s discrimination they agree with, how can it be wrong?

Imagine if they argued this:

“This is a white nation and the Founding Fathers supported slavery. The majority doesn’t want blacks in the military, so they should abide by tradition. The minority shouldn’t be allowed to dictate to the majority what the laws should be.”

“This is a straight nation and the Founding Fathers supported heterosexuality. The majority doesn’t want gays in the military, so they should abide by tradition. The minority shouldn’t be allowed to dictate to the majority what the laws should be.”

“This is a male-run nation and the Founding Fathers supported men being in charge. The majority doesn’t want women in the military, so they should abide by tradition. The minority shouldn’t be allowed to dictate to the majority what the laws should be.”

So, yeah, I’m upset whenever there is discrimination.  Like the current fight for gay rights, the people who want to discriminate can’t see past their own biases to understand what is wrong with their position.

And, for the record, I would be just as upset if the military was requiring an oath that denied the existence of God. The government has no right to discriminate based on religion or lack thereof.

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The War From Christians

A judge in Louisiana recently ruled that the school district was liable for allowing one of its teachers to demand that students answer the test question “_____ is great” with “God”. The teacher then insulted other religions in class, saying “You’re stupid if you don’t believe in God” and told a Buddhist student his belief was not real and if he didn’t like it, he should “move to a place where there are more Asians.” godThis is a public school, mind you.

The good news is that the judge is someone who has actually read the Constitution and knows that this is clearly not allowed. The judge ordered the school district leaders (who defended this awful teacher) to go through classes teaching them how to read.

You know exactly how these people reacted, right? “This is just another attack on Christianity!” they screamed. “It’s a War on Christians!”

I dare anyone to give me an example of anyone trying to keep Christians from practicing their religion in America. Double dare you. Every single “attack” on Christians is actually a defense (as American Atheist President David Silverman points out). Those Christians who whine that there is a “war” against their beliefs are upset that they are not being allowed to force their beliefs on everyone else. They complain when people want to include others and say “Happy Holidays” instead of highlighting their own personal holiday; they complain when people don’t want their Commandments posted in public places with public money; they complain when we don’t want their religion’s creationism beliefs forced on our schoolkids — and every one is a defensive action against their war on us. We didn’t fire the first shot.

Now clearly, there are many Christians who do not whine like this, so don’t go reading this to imply differently. But those who do claim that their rights are being violated because they are not being permitted to force their views on us should perhaps move to a country where there is no difference between government and religion — Iran, for instance.