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Religion
In reply to the discussion: Anti-atheism billboards in Times Square and San Francisco [View all]longship
(40,416 posts)29. The point of FFRF, American Atheists, etc. is to reach out.
It differs substantially from people like Ken Ham, who wishes solely to win souls for God -- well, specifically and actually for Jesus, whatever that might mean.
My opinion is that I do not give a f*ck if believers find these outreaches to be offensive. That's just too damned bad. When you live in a country with a First Amendment, you can be offended all you want. The First Amendment protects both offending and non-offending speech.
In reality, none of these things would be -- or should be -- offensive except for ideology. The founders of the USA understood this with remarkable clarity and often wrote about that very principle.
But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.
-Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia, 1782
-Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia, 1782
My advice to the offended is, too fucking bad for you. And if you are offended by that statement, too fucking bad for you.
And yes, I am being deliberately provocative here. But I assure you that I am neither offended nor insulted by Ken Ham's responses to atheist billboards. He is exercising his rights.
But the funny thing about this is, people who take offense to these things are in effect saying that I have no right to express those views because it's insulting.
I reject that, as has the US Supreme Court. As had the founders.
If people are offended, that's too damned bad for them.
As always.
Best regards.
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It's childish tit-for-tat. It's in response to billboards like these:
Common Sense Party
Oct 2013
#6
Uh, yes. It's simply designed to needle those who believe in "mythology", etc.
Common Sense Party
Oct 2013
#14
Ken Ham's messages are purposely personal, directed at atheists as people...
Humanist_Activist
Oct 2013
#48
Good one. Calling them "friends" is one of the things that makes this offensive.
cbayer
Oct 2013
#20
I would counter with. You better hope Athiests are right, if not you're probably going to hell
notadmblnd
Oct 2013
#27
Except of course, some are trying to legislate based on various theistic beliefs, which cannot be
AtheistCrusader
Oct 2013
#55
How does one legislate religious-inspired morality that is inclusive and permissible under the 1st
AtheistCrusader
Oct 2013
#63
A free society implies that ideas all have the same chance of approval or disapproval
Leontius
Oct 2013
#68
I'm not talking about the exact wording of a law. I'm talking about the motivation of the
Leontius
Oct 2013
#73
There is usually significant overlap between the motivation, and the material fact of the proposed
AtheistCrusader
Oct 2013
#75
Your own example is one. If I were to be opposed to abortion based on your example of defending a
Leontius
Oct 2013
#76
How would you meet the secular demand of invoking 'rights' for a multi-celled blastocyst that hasn't
AtheistCrusader
Oct 2013
#77
Pre-implantation equals no current pregnancy hence no potential for a medical abortion.
Leontius
Oct 2013
#78
Your statement on a unimplanted but fertilized ovum is at odds with that of the religious right.
AtheistCrusader
Oct 2013
#79
The problem is some people look so hard to be insulted, provoked, excluded, attacked and persecuted
Leontius
Oct 2013
#62
I have unfortunately described a far to large group of people in this country.
Leontius
Oct 2013
#69
What group is that? Why are they "too large" and how do you propose shrinking thier numbers? n/t
Humanist_Activist
Oct 2013
#82
Wow, you perfectly summed up the majority of Christians in this country. n/t
Humanist_Activist
Oct 2013
#81