Sunday update

(Before I get going here, I point you out to the caps blog link to see the great Summer Sampler Taste Test.  Go on, it'll just take a minute!)

Yesterday, a day I've been eagerly awaiting arrived.  The atheists in Florida finally unveiled the world's first atheist monument (at least, the first since the Tower Of Babel).  I've been waiting to see what it had on it, all these famous quotes and whatnot.  I finally found a site that showed it and gave at least the main quotes, and I'd like to put in my two cents.

Before I start, though, I should say I was reading in the mainstream news some of what happened at the ceremony.  Demonstrations, "honk if you love Jesus", that's a part of free speech, and no worse than what the atheists would do at a similar function.  One guy threw a toilet seat and a roll of paper at the monument as he drove by.  Amusing?  Yes.  Necessary?  Productive?  Not really.  Another dude leapt up on top of it and thanked the atheists for providing a higher perch on which to preach the Gospel.  My opinion here is, I thought you weren't supposed to preach in desecrated temples.  Long story short, there are plenty of ways to make your feelings known and serve God without being juvenile.

That said, let's look at this monument, which appears to be a four-sided pillar with a park bench attached.

First quote:  "The Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion"  1796 Treaty of Tripoli.


First off, when you quote something, you are supposed to put in the indicia that it is part of a larger context, instead of just chopping out the part you want as if it stood alone.  Here's the whole thing:

As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion,—as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen [Muslims],—and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan [Mohammedan] nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.

 

 

And either way, the statement has some truth-  the Constitution (excuse me, Frank, the Declaration of Independence) says, "...endowed by our Creator..." (Note the dots?  That means it is part of a larger whole.  They used to teach that in English grammar, you know).  However, the constitution, the Founders, even Thomas Jefferson recognized that there IS a Creator.  There is no "...or lack of one..." in any of the founding documents.

 

This is the central hypocrisy of atheism.  I have never heard of an atheist shouting down a Muslim, a Jew, or a Hindu.  Their only concern is deleting Christianity.  They claim this is because "it is the dominant religion in society".  I think that perhaps there is someone pulling their strings- and that someone has a vested self-interest in destroying the one true faith.  But if the atheists enjoy being played, good for them.

 

Oh, before we move on, I should point out that the pirate states broke the treaty within 5 years.  I guess that's what happens when you deal with people whose only moral foundation is "the innate goodness of evolved mankind".

 

Next quote:  "...When a religion is good, I conceive it will support itself; and when it does not support itself, and God does not take care to support it so that its professors are obliged to call for help of the civil power, ‘tis a sign, I apprehend, of its being a bad one."  Benjamin Franklin (In a letter dated October 9, 1790)

Here Franklin is speaking as a man come from a world where the government actively collected taxes and tithes FOR THE PURPOSE of supporting an established church.  This has NOTHING to do with the relationship between the church and government in the US of A.  That Franklin was right is born out in the spread of atheism and indifference in the European nations that did have the churches on "tithe welfare" for so long.  What it does NOT have to do with is the protection of the church and its members and their freedom rights JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE HAS.  The second great hypocrisy of atheism is that they are being "persecuted" every time a Christmas display is put up or a prayer is said in a public place.  Freedom of religion means that if the Valedictorian wants to thank the God he believes in for what he has achieved, he has as much right to do so as the atheist salutatorian has to give credit where they want in their speech.  But that's not what atheists want, they want the Christian to be silent.  Why is that?  Are they afraid of a "fairy tale"?  Do they then go home and get offended by Bugs Bunny because he isn't real either?  Or is there a reason behind keeping Christ in particular out of public life?


Third quote: "...It will never be pretended that any persons employed in that service had interviews with the gods, or were in any degree under the influence of Heaven..." John Adams, A Defense of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, 1787-8.

Nice quote.  Here's another from the same man, to his wife concerning their sons:

"Let them revere nothing but religion, morality and liberty." 


Here's another, from the same writing the monument quotes:

The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the law of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.

Hmmm.  Sacred as THE LAW OF GOD, eh?

Here's another quote by Adams, in a letter to Jefferson:

"Twenty times in the course of my late reading have I been on the point of breaking out, "This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it!!!" But in this exclamation I would have been as fanatical as Bryant or Cleverly. Without religion this world would be something not fit to be mentioned in polite company, I mean hell."


Finally, let's tackle the arch-quote of the piece, from Madalyn Murray O'Hair:

“An atheist believes that a hospital should be built instead of a church.
An atheist believes that deed must be done instead of prayer said.
An atheist strives for involvement in life and not escape into death.
He wants disease conquered, poverty vanished, war eliminated.”


Well, perhaps if she had any idea of what being a Christian was all about, she'd have known that:

Christian churches minister to the sick, run hospitals.  Until liberals take away their right of conscience and try to shut them down.  So does an atheist want hospitals- or only atheist hospitals?

A Christian prays for guidance in finding the proper action, and prays that God's blessing be upon it.  And then, the Christian does the appropriate action.

A Christian looks at death not as an escape, but a reward.  Their involvement in life is geared towards reaching that reward.

And, if she was a historian at all, she might have a hard time explaining how much atheists like Lenin, Stalin, and Mao fought against disease, poverty, and war.

But since she is no longer with us, I'll direct the question to the atheists out there:

If you think we should be fighting poverty, disease, and war- then why are you so proud of building a park bench?



Anyone?



Okay, then let me give my take:  Atheists are just as evangelical as Christians, Muslims, or any other religion.  They just don't admit which god they evangelize for.