Atheists Are Coming For Your Children
By Dave Hitt on Aug 16, 2008 in Atheism, Religion
In this article a fundy evangelist expresses the fear that Atheists are coming after his children. There’s no place on the site to add a comment, so I’ll do it here.
You think we want to convert your kids to atheism? Are you that afraid of us? Well, guess what, Sparky . . . you’re right. We want to convert your sons and your daughters. And your wives and your grandparents and yes, even you. (Insert evil laugh soundtrack.)
Your ilk has been using fear to spread your superstition all over the world, and you’ve been remarkably successful. We’re taking a page from your book. We’re proselytizing and making ourselves heard. There is a few big differences, though: We are not winning converts using the force of law, social pressure and the fear of a nasty skydaddy roasting people in hell. We’re not knocking on doors in a desperate search for converts. We’re simply using the mass media to spread reason and logic, and your superstitions just can’t stand up to such mighty weapons.
Some people might say to me, “But there’s no way Americans will go for atheism. Most people believe in God, even if they don’t take the Bible seriously as AiG does.†Think back to the 1950s. What if someone back then said to you, “Beware, the homosexual movement is on the march—if we don’t do something, ‘gay’ marriages will be legalized across the country.†Almost all of us at that time would have said that there’s no way Americans would ever accept this. Most people believe that marriage is one man for one woman, so, no, this will never happen in America.But as you know, it has happened—and continues to happen!
Because we’re not driven by hate or fear, we (and I’m speaking for most atheists here) think that’s a good thing. A significant portion of our population used to be hated and ridiculed and chastised and discriminated against, and now that’s being dealt with and slowing going away. Most of the push back is coming from your ilk, who demands we continue to hate gays as much as your god does. And most of us, atheists and Christians, are ignoring you, except when we take time out to heap some much deserved ridicule on your beliefs.
Interestingly, these new atheists liken their growing movement to that of the gay activists. One stated: “We’re in the same position the gay movement was in a few decades ago. There was need for people to come out. The more people who came out, the more people had the courage to come out. “That’s the case with atheists. They are more numerous than anybody realizes.
It’s a good analogy. One popular meme in the early days of the gay acceptance movement was “What if one day everyone gay turned purple? You’d see so many purple people that you’d have no choice but to learn to accept them.” Now atheists are coming out of the closet the same way gays have. We’re everywhere, and as more and more people realize that logic and reason provide a better life than superstition and fear, our numbers are growing. In the long run your fight against us will fail as badly as your war against homosexuals.
But no analogy is perfect, and there are big differences between the gay and atheist movements. Gays just want to be accepted. They’re not looking to convert other people to gayness. (I know that is the fear of many of your ilk, but it’s as irrational as most of your beliefs.) Many atheists, on the other hand, are looking to convince people that reality is a better lifestyle.
You have no cause for complaint. The very name “evangelical” comes from your annoying insistence on trying to convert everyone to your belief system. Why would you deny us the same privilege?
It prompts me to ask: “Why are atheists now getting so much publicity and gaining ground? What’s happened in the culture to allow this?†As we’ve been saying for years, there’s been a change in this culture—at a foundation level. Generations have been indoctrinated by the secular education system and media to build their thinking on human reason, not the Word of God. And at the base of this is the creation/evolution issue.
You are absolutely right. Without Adam and Eve there is no original sin. Without original sin there is no need for Christ’s sacrifice. And without that, Christianity falls apart. You need a 6,000 year old earth, which is nonsense, for your religion to have any chance of being remotely true. Reality is destroying your religion, and atheists are delighted to point that out and further the spread of dangerous reality.
Let me shock you further and illustrate how some of these God-haters think.
Ah, you were doing so well, but now you’ve blown it. How can you hate something that doesn’t exist? We don’t hate Santa or Thor or Zeus, because it’s impossible. Likewise, we don’t hate your imaginary friend.
One of Dawkins’ recent “evangelistic†talks was actually given in a packed church (the First Parish church in Cambridge, Massachusetts)! What times we live in! A news report stated:“At first his [Dawkins] words are greeted with laughter, and then with resounding applause … .†The words he preached were from his book:
The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.
Friend, all I can say is that I praise the Lord that He has raised up ministries like AiG to engage the culture and the church to return to the authority of God’s Word. With these militant atheists more and more on the march, you can be assured that AiG needs your prayer support more than ever. In fact, with the opening of the Creation Museum this year, the attacks on AiG will probably escalate.
Interesting. You don’t counter a single point Dawkins made. Not one. Instead, you are delighted to serve your “petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.”
Oh goody, another fact free creation museum to justify the superstitions of the gullible and provide amusement for rational people. Attacked? More likely, ridiculed. Your beliefs deserve to be mocked and laughed at. They are stupid.
And you close the article begging for money. Gee, what a surprise.
With the blessing of the churches racism once was the norm. Now it’s unacceptable in polite society, and ridiculed wherever it’s pops up. Women used to be considered lesser creatures than men, largely as a result of church doctrine. We don’t tolerate that any longer. (Much of the backlash against Islam is the result of the despicable way they treat women.) Gays were once hated and feared. Now the only people who hate and fear them are people like you. As mankind continues to grow up, reason, logic and reality are slowly, very slowly, too slowly, elbowing their way to the front of the line.
Yes, Ken, we are coming for your children. Your only defense against us is to keep them stupid. Keep them believing that despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary the earth is 6,000 years old. Send them to special schools that teach them science is evil. Tell them they must believe that all the species of the world, including a half million separate and distinct species of beetles, lived within walking distance of Noah’s house. Sometimes it will work. But if they grow a brain when they leave the nest, watch out. If they are the slightest bit susceptible to logic, reason and common sense, we’re going to “convert” them. And you’ll be powerless to stop us.
I just wanted to add that although religion may be silly to you, the idea that we rode here on the back of “crystals” is a bit absurd. I think we should just accept there are things we don’t understand out there. One may be a God, one may be crystal riding carbon. It is just like the religions saying atheism is wrong, as you saying religion is wrong. I agree, no more knocking on my door to get me to believe in your god, but let the average christian, Jew, or Muslim alone. They are just like you, believing in what they feel is true. The radicals need to be beaten with wet straw, but other than that, I think that it is all matter of opinion.
They have never made the direct connection between apes and man, proving we did evolve, just the same as we cannot yet prove their is a God. Until then, quit trying to preach what you think as fact. You end up doing the same thing, only using the media instead of knocking on my door. Only thing worse, is that I get a knock on my door once every 5 years, I watch the news or read it daily. In my humble opinion, that makes it worse.
Nate | Aug 16, 2008 | Reply
The direct connection between apes and man is a common ancestor. Evolution is a fact, period.
The burden of proof rests on those who make the positive claim. Through out all of recorded history we’ve heard claims that gods exist. And yet, no one has offered even a shred of proof. Not the slightest bit of evidence.
We can not prove that there isn’t a teapot in orbit around our sun, but we can reject such a claim becuase A) it is ridiculous and B) there is no proof.
The same can be said of all the gods man has created.
You will not find me initiating a dialog about god with anyone in the 3D world. But when someone else brings up the subject, I’ll be right there ready and willing to discuss it. In this venue it is physically impossible to force my ideas on anyone, when they can leave with the click of a mouse.
In a perfect world no one would care what you or I believe. It shouldn’t matter if you or I believe in Zeus or Jehovah or Thor or no god at all. It should be as trivial as a belief in the tooth fairy or Santa. The ONLY reason it’s not is becuase religion insists on intruding into our lives at every turn. I can’t even buy a candy bar without handling something that declares, inaccurately and inappropriately, that we all trust in God.
The more we learn about the universe, the more we discover what a tiny sliver of reality we understand. Science tries, ever day, to increase our understanding by offering proof of concepts. Religion tries, every day, to get us to stop thinking and accept beliefs that are demonstrably nonsense. We went from the dark ages, when religions ruled, to the enlightenment, when reason started to take over. I hope we were on our way to the next age, the age of reason, where we reject superstition and instead embrace reality.
Part of that must include the fact that there are many unanswered questions, things we don’t understand yet, things we may never understand. But realists dismiss our lack of knowledge with “God Did It.” That’s simply a cop out, a cop out with no supporting evidence.
Dave Hitt | Aug 16, 2008 | Reply
For some time, we thought the world was flat. They were certain that the Sun orbited the earth. Now you are certain there is no God. Not once has anyone been able to show how it all was started. Until you are able to show me from the moment of Big Bang to where we are sitting today, there will be questions on my part. Right now having God start it all makes as much sense as your teapot flying around the sun(which we know doesn’t exist) or the flying spaghetti monster. With the age of reason and advancements in technology, we may one day know the truth, until then, it will just be a pissing match of unknowns. I don’t know where this 6,000 year crap comes from, but I just think there is room for science and religion to co exist. Who knows, maybe someday we will be laughing in heaven when we find out that we are just a bad fart from God, or maybe when I die that is it.
I never intended to say that you were trying to push your views upon me and agree that I can click away at any given time. I agree with most of what you say, and normally wouldn’t post because I do agree. I just get a little irritated on the hypocrisy of scientists who say there is no God without proof. Just don’t sit here and tell me it is a cop out when I say God started it all when you cannot tell me how it started. That is my belief, and until you can prove it wrong, it is no more of a cop out than your tea pot argument. Lets just see how different these two sound.
Why are were here? God!
Is there a God? No, because we don’t know if huge teapots are floating in space either.
But again, keep up what you are doing, I love coming to the site and seeing what you have to say, and from now on I will comment on the things agree on too, so you don’t see me as an atheist hating bible beater.
Nate | Aug 17, 2008 | Reply
“I just get a little irritated on the hypocrisy of scientists who say there is no God without proof.”
But that’s not quite what they say. They say “there is no proof of God,” which is a subtle and important difference.
I don’t believe in vampires or unicorns, because there is no proof of them. Should one be discovered, I’d have to change my mind.
Hittman | Aug 17, 2008 | Reply
I have, really, only one small prpblem with this particular post.
You say, “Because we’re not driven by hate or fear”,
How can you say this about any “we”, whether you believe it is most or all, or none, you certainly cannot claim that ANY human is not driven by these very strong emotional triggers.
Now I will agree that a good number of atheists are not espousing these triggers, but that certainly does not mean they are not in any manner being driven by those emotions.
Atheism is not a Vulcan dedication to logic, Atheists are human, the same as you and I, and humans are most certainly driven by their emotions, including hatred and fear, in all walks of life.
Jet | Aug 20, 2008 | Reply
Good point. Whenever I refer to “we” I’m speaking of my opinion on the majority of us. That’s implied, and putting it in every sentence would make for some dull reading.
There is only one thing common among *all* atheists, and it’s simply not believing in gods. But all the atheists I know, and know of, did not come to atheism out of hate or fear, but rather by reason and logic.
And I’m only talking about atheism here, not the real important part of people’s lives. (Atheism is trivial, and only assumes importance because of the reactions of the religious.) They may be hateful or fearful when it comes to other things.
Dave Hitt | Aug 20, 2008 | Reply
Hello, Dave. I like your site, and particularly admire the work you’ve done exposing the second hand smoke myths. In fact, I’ve given that page a very prominent link on my own blog. I hope many others have taken the time to read it.
This whole God thing caught my eye. I have debated on many Christian and Atheist blogs. It’s fun, unless people get too worked up (and interestingly, the atheists can get every bit as worked up as the Christians). Your own comment, “atheism is trivial” would be enough to start a flame war in some places,although I know what you meant there.
But as you seem like a reasonable chap, I just thought I’d throw my two cents in.
I’m a deist: I believe in the existence of a higher power, but I more or less leave it at that. I have little patience with organized religion.
I suppose the best analogy I can make is with life on other planets. We have no proof whatsoever that there is any life on other planets, but we can’t prove that there isn’t, either. Most reasonable people at least entertain the notion, given the vast numbers of planets in our galaxy alone, let alone other galaxies. In fact, this is pretty much the only rationale for spending billions of taxpayer dollars on SETI, which to this day has turned up not one shred of evidence.
But now, if I were to state that I not only believed in the existence of life on other planets, but I also claim to believe that this other life takes the form of little green men living on Pluto, then that’s a different story altogether. And if I try to say that you can’t prove that little green men DON’T live on Pluto, then you can rightly trot out the flying spaghetti monster and Russel’s Celestial Teapot, and you’ be right.
So I guess that’s just how it is with me and “God”. A higher power strikes me as an acceptable hypothesis, given that no other explanation can be found for how life started in the first place, or even why the universe is here. This is not to say that science should not continue to dig for the truth, obviously it should. But I wouldn’t be surprised if there really is one or two things that science never finds an answer for. For all we know, we might be God’s seventh grade science project. It would explain a lot, actually. ;>)
But again, if I try to move beyond this Deistic concept of God, and try to ascribe human characteristics to him/her/it, this is where the folly begins, as I’m sure you would agree.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
-smith
Stephen P. Smith | Sep 11, 2008 | Reply
Oh, by the way, another blog you might enjoy is this one:
http://badidea.wordpress.com/
Like yourself, he is a rigorous logician and clear thinking. No, he’s not my brother in law. But I think you might enjoy him.
Smith
Stephen P. Smith | Sep 11, 2008 | Reply
Thanks for the link, it looks like an interesting blog.
Deism is a perfectly logical position. Many of the founding fathers were deists. It doesn’t make many claims about god, just that there is one and he doesn’t directly mess with the affairs of men. As you note, it’s when you get into specifics that things start getting ridiculous.
I do like the 7th grade science hypothesis – hard to test, but you’re right, it would explain a lot. I also like the theory that there is a god, but he’s an underachiever, and screws up a lot.
People get into trouble trying to line up the gods of holy books with reality. Apply just a bit of logic and/or science and it becomes obvious that their existence is impossible.
My disbelief in Zeus, Poseidon, unicorns and The Easter bunny is trivial. Likewise, my Atheism is trivial to me, and would be trivial to everyone if the religious would just shut up and mind their own business.
The next episode of The Quick Hitts Podcast will have the same title as this blog post, and will contain advice to fundies on how to protect their children from the influence of us Evil Atheists. It will also touch on just how trivial all this should be.
Dave Hitt | Sep 11, 2008 | Reply