Joey,
Thanks for the link http://www.atheists.org/ , I honestly didn't know they
existed, but from the date they give (1968), it sounds like they may have
had something to do with Madeline Murray O'Hare, the political activist who
filed the case which outlawed public school prayer (religious talk) in 1963.
She and two of her children were kidnapped and murdered in 1965. I believe
one of the surviving children had something to do with the founding of this
organization, but I don't remember the details. For her to be as successful
as she was in her own life (more successful than Mike Newdow has been to
date), she must have had a good network, at least. So your ideas that
atheists may in some way be organized, may be true, but it's not in the way
you are implying (a Religious organization).
If you look closely, you'll notice that this site is a political site and
not religious, although it does contain some ethical writing. The blurb you
mentioned discussing their philosophy (belief) is from their home page and
is as follows:
"Your petitioners are Atheists, and they define their lifestyle as follows.
An Atheist loves himself and his fellow man instead of a god. An Atheist
accepts that heaven is something for which we should work now -- here on
earth -- for all men together to enjoy. An Atheist accepts that he can get
no help through prayer, but that he must find in himself the inner
conviction and strength to meet life, to grapple with it, to subdue it and
to enjoy it. An Atheist accepts that only in a knowledge of himself and a
knowledge of his fellow man can he find the understanding that will help to
a life of fulfillment."
This is arguably more of a philosophy or a system of ethics than a belief in
a theistic sense. When a religious person speaks about belief, he is usually
talking about a supernatural concept or story. Atheists generally reject all
supernatural belief, with no other basis for belief than tradition, literary
or otherwise, with no regard to its origin. To take the starkest example,
when a preacher tells his congregation, for example, that an event happened
(say the Resurrection of Jesus) because of the will of the almighty Lord, he
may very well specify that this is a Belief, because there is no evidence
for this other than in Religion and the holy books, and yet it runs against
each individual's own experience of reality. Atheists shy away from this
type of belief and say that scientific discoveries and an individual's own
understanding of natural experience are the most efficient basis for forming
a superior ethical system.
Athiests don't go to church, aren't really likely to be more politically
organized than anyone else, even though they have causes, such as the Second
Amendment in the Bill of Rights, in which they have an interest. Describing
such interest in protecting American liberties as "religion" and "belief" is
clearly misleading and confuses the debate.
Therefore I believe it is misleading for you to try to group distinctly
theistic and atheistic ideas (which may or may not be ethical) together
under the theist "banner" of Belief. When we talk about "observing" Newton's
First Law of Motion, we don't say "we believe it". We simply observe it, and
therefore we duck and don't get the pie in the face. An atheist, when
pressed, would probably say that he is more likely to "believe" the First
Law of Motion than in the Resurrection, but that doesn't make him
"religious".
These atheists whom you detest so much, are only guilty for having responded
to you by believing that your belief in atheism was sincere, and asking for
a donation, since they thought you would be interested in continuing
separation of church and state, as they are. Imagine, for once, that some
thoughtful people other than atheists might be interested in promoting just
this American concept - the value of Religious Liberty, and the separation
of Church and State, and you might abandon your demagoguery and admit
finally, that atheists are, at least in this way, not really that different
from the best of the rest of us.
Post by JoeyPost by James CookHow have atheists "organized themselves"? Please be specific. Are there any
organization you know of an atheist can join? Also, could you please upload
a file showing us their flag?
If you go to this site http://www.atheists.org/ you will see the
atheist organization and thier icon. They are also very careful to
define thier beliefs by replacing the word belief with the word
"lifestyle". Least they reveal that they are the same as the religious
zealots that they condemn, and are trying to save the world from. (and
the parking on the left is now the parking on the right.....)
I even got an e-mail from an atheist charity group. Asking for
donations to thier case. They claimed that they were kicked off of
thier server without any reason.
It seems to me that your main purpose of being a charity is
overshadowed by your purpose of spreading atheism. If you are truely
non-denominational then it would have sufficed to just say that you
are a charitable organization and leave it at that. As it is, by
touting that you are altruistic atheists you have instigated a
conflict between your web host and you that has nothing to do with
collecting for a charity, but more to do with each others revultions
in the others belief systems. After all, if they were openly christian
and they wanted space on your server do you think for a minute I would
believe that you would welcome them with open arms and a blind eye to
thier belief. You are no less denominational than the mormans or the
jahovah witnesses who knock on my door and beg for money so they can
force thier belief down others throats in an effort to set the world
straight. You have merely become infected with the same lunacy as them
however you have fashioned it into a different form of religion. And
neither of you have the guts to see what you truely are. I don't throw
my money away on them, nor am I going to flush it down the toilet for
your religious cause.