The annual atheists’ holiday billboards are back. You can read more about American Atheists here.
And thanks, Mike the Heathen, for the link.
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I don’t like it. It’s mean and it surely doesn’t follow the Golden Rule.
I agree wholeheartedly with Jac. The atheists’ billboards mock others’ beliefs and ARE mean. As such putting them up does NOT follow the Golden Rule, at least as I understand it.. For the record, I don’t like most of the in-your-face Christian billboards that also are put up by those who are very, very sure of themselves.
But I’d go a bit further. I would say that the atheists behind the billboard pictured above are engaging in hubris. Saying “37 Million Americans know myths when they see them” suggests that the atheists KNOW there is no god of any kind.
How can they possibly know that? It seems to me that somebody has to have very little knowledge about the world in order to be so confident in such a conclusion. I’m not arguing that there IS a god or gods. I am merely arguing that I don’t see how it is possible for any human to KNOW that there is NO god. I’d say that for those who do not believe in (or lack faith in) God, Agnosticism is about as far as a human can reasonably go on this topic – Agnosticism being defined (stolen from Wikipedia) as the view that human reason is incapable of providing sufficient rational grounds to justify knowledge whether God exists or does not.
The inability of the faithful to provide scientific proof that there IS a god does NOT mean there isn’t one (or more).
Put another way, the more a person knows, the more aware that person is of how much they do NOT know. This helps to explain why teenagers think they know everything.
To summarize what I’ve said before, we know from string theory (math) that there are at least eight (8) dimensions. Yet we earth-bound humans can only wrap our minds around 3 1/2 dimensions. So if there is an omnipotent, omniscient God, s/he would have to be able to operate in at least 8 dimension, which is FAR beyond our ability to contemplate or understand.
Think SAT question format here: humans are to a possible God as amoebas are to us humans – the lower form can have no direct or complete comprehension of the higher form (or whether it is present or absent). So how can a human be sure such a higher form does NOT exist?
I don’t know. These billboards don’t bother me. My sense is that if you’re an atheists, you get tired of the Christmas message and want to share your own. That’s probably an oversimplification.
Sad message, if that’s the main thing they want to say to the world. I think it comes off as intolerant and disrespectful of other people’s beliefs. I don’t appreciate that from any group or religion. I’m thinking this is a relatively small group of people who support this sort of “in your face” message. I say that based on the atheists (my brother is one) I know who could care less what other people believe. i.e. Religious views are not something that need to be proven wrong.
The billboard doesn’t bother me. It provides information that forms my opinion that americanatheists at atheists.org is an intolerant group.
As a non-believer I do get a little tired of the attitude of superiority that sometimes accompanies statements of belief, whatever those beliefs might be. I don’t think I’m a lesser person because I’m not a believer.
No, you are not. Cynical, you are a kinder soul than a lot who claim to be believers. No matter what a person believes does not matter to me – it’s just words and intentions and rituals on the outside. Whatever goes on religiously internally is that person’s business. How a person acts toward other people and the world is what’s important and I wish there was a billboard for that.
DickG, we’re on a sort of parallel thought track. I’ve been thinking recently about one-celled animals in general, but still — If the continuum starts at the single-cell-ers and continues through us, who can say it stops at us? This is not to say that I believe in the existence of a deity, I do not, but I know that I don’t know enough to say what exists and what doesn’t.
Or even starts with “one-celled” organisms?
Then there is the question of how one defines God or the higher power. God as a “Father”, human-like, is not how I envision God. Some believers would dispute me view of God.
The illustration on the billboard is Jesus, I presume. There is a lot of evidence that Jesus existed so I don’t get why they put that on there. Are they assuming Christians think God and Jesus are one in the same, do you think? Not my view either, but that’s just me.
Jac, there might be a lot of evidence of the existence of a man called Jesus, but don’t you think that the “miracles” attributed to him might be considered a form of myth by some?
Sure. Not all Christians believe in the miracles as they are recorded, too. Some Christians embrace the messages from Jesus and don’t care whether the miracles were true or not.
The billboard is disrespectful of the beliefs of others and I think that is exactly the opposite message that should be advertised. Shouldn’t the message be to respect the beliefs of others, even when they differ from your own? (including believing there is no God) I think this billboard is wrong for the same reasons I thought the pastor who wanted to burn the Koran was wrong.
Now some are criticizing Obama for not mentioning God (their god, I guess) in his Thanksgiving Day speech. A friend says he’ll burn in hell. My friend is being sarcastic.
Sheesh! Are they looking for public confirmation of their beliefs?
Nah, just trying to be sure their constituents know they’re on the job, fighting the good fight.
Saw this and maybe there’s a little bit of truth to it….
Religion is for those who are afraid to go to hell. Spirituality is for those who have already been there.
As Darth Vader said, “I find your lack of faith disturbing.”
The semi-hysterical reaction that some monotheists have to pushback from those who hold other beliefs always fascinates me. Insecure much? Why is that, exactly? If you truly believe that your deity is the lord high, alpha-omega, omni-everything then what’s to get upset about?
I’m a polytheist and fan of Joseph Campbell; this billboard makes me smile. “Myths are the truest things that never happened,” a friend of mine likes to say. I couldn’t agree more.
I am a HUGE fan of hysterical reactions, but I have to say I agree with you, Mike. And I say that as a believer. I figure the faith is strong enough without my defense — or, rather, I defend it by living it, and if people want to disagree with me, that’s actually OK. Billboards don’t bother me, and I also factor in that if I wasn’t a believer, I might get tired of hearing about religion so much. This sounds pretty weird coming from someone who writes a religion blog, I guess. Oh, well: Happy Thanksgiving!
This made me realize how much of a square peg I am as I don’t fit neatly into the round hole of traditional religion. I question a lot of what is considered by some as the basis for religion and yet there is enough there to keep me connected and engaged. My reaction to things like the billboard is not to defend “the religion”, but to protect the people involved in being “attacked”….as if I am not even one of them. I suppose I see myself as an outsider to both sides who wants to call off the bully. Sometimes the bully is a Christian group who thinks their way is the only one, true, right way and so they criticize everyone else. In this case, I think the bully is atheists.org who claims to know that Christian beliefs are wrong and only they know the real truth. There is what we know and what we think might be. What we think might be leaves room for other ideas. Leaving room for other ideas and beliefs is what can help us all get along.
Exactly, Cynical. exactly. You said it much more succinctly than I did.