Comments on: “Quack”, Said the Atheist.

By: Jimmie

Jimmie — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 17:07:42 +0000

A school that didn't respect an establishment of religion? Of course, I'd go for that.

By: Ed Darrell

Ed Darrell — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 13:55:31 +0000

What about just creating a school with good academics that adheres to the First Amendment?

That would be an atheist school, perhaps. It should be the public schools. Wishing to have such a school is not a religion. Good education is not about faith.

By: madmonq

madmonq — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 10:32:30 +0000

So basically what your admitting is atheist can be as ignorant as religionist/American Christians/muslims etc right?

By: Atheism: Just Another Religion « The Van Der Galiën Gazette

Atheism: Just Another Religion « The Van Der Galiën Gazette — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 20:55:08 +0000

[...] 24, 2007 by Michael van der Galiën Says Jimmie. Also at Hot [...]

By: cowalker

cowalker — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 20:08:34 +0000

American atheists have to raise their children in a society saturated with Chrisianity. I can see that children who were not taught to think about religion in a rational way might fall for religious propaganda when they first encountered it.

My spouse and I solved this problem by discussing belief in God and the supernatural with our children from their earliest years. We explained why we did not believe in the paranormal, but we also told them that we didn't necessarily expect them to agree with us. Then we sent them to religious Sunday school where their grandparents went to church, telling them that they needed to understand what other family members believed also. When they reached fourth grade, we let them decide if they wanted to continue in Sunday school. Of course they decided not to get up early on a Sunday to go to another class. They are young adults now, who take being atheists for granted. We still wouldn't care if they wanted to join a church that valued helping others and aiding human development, but they don't see such organizations as rational.

I think those atheists are really on the wrong track with creating another school that little atheists will be forced to attend by over-controlling parents. Parents, TALK TO YOUR KIDS about YOUR thoughts and beliefs and let others talk to them about theirs. Let your ideas make it on their own merits.

By: Drakim

Drakim — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 17:47:50 +0000

Hmmh, by your logic, communists and vegetarians also have their own religion.

(if it's simply how passionate people are about the subject.)

Couldn't it be that the whole religion deal, with Muslims crashing into skyscrapers and Christians doing their best to suppress homosexual people, that people are simply reacting angrily to it?

If vegetarians started suicide bombing cow farms, I would probably react pretty angry to that too, but that doesn't mean I'm militant pro meat-ist. It simply means I have common sense to see that hurting people is never a solution.

By: Nannyloulou

Nannyloulou — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 19:59:34 +0000

I only believe in, presumably, one less god than you. We are in total agreement about Thor, Jah, Krishna, Juno, Ra, Emperor Hirohito, Jim Jones, the Green Man, et al.

By: Jimmie

Jimmie — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 14:26:44 +0000

Indeed we do, Mason. But if you read that article, what you see is a lot of very soft, not particularly rigorous "feel good" stuff that's goign to lead thse kids to getting hammered when they get to the real world.

Yes, we are all unique. How? Why? These are not necessarily questions I see the parents addressing. They're ego-stroking, not actually eliciting any sort of independent thought.

As for the horror stories, well, yes. We teach them because they happened, just as school teachers teach the same sorts of stories from history because they happened. The important thing is not necessarily the event but what lessons we learn from the event, such as why it must never happen again and why it's worth risking our lives and our fortunes to ensure that it not happen again.