Monday, December 8, 2008

11 Kislew 5769: Immaculate Conception

Greetings.

Worthy cause of the day: “Repower, Refuel and Rebuild America”.

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:
  1. “Education official's book attacked”: Thus is it written:
    A member of the State Board of Education is drawing fire from a watchdog group because of her critical views on public education in a new book she has written that advocates more Christianity in the public square.

    Board member Cynthia Dunbar, R-Richmond, should be booted from the Committee on Instruction following the publication of a new book in which she attacks a public education system she helps govern, the Texas Freedom Network's president said Thursday.

    In her book, One Nation Under God, Dunbar argues that the country's founding fathers created "an emphatically Christian government" and believed that government should be guided by a "biblical litmus test."
    I am rather confused as to where Dunbar gets such an idea, considering it is well-known that many of the Founding Fathers were Deists, the Declaration of Independence and Constitution do not affirm any allegiance to Christianity, and the First Amendment of the Constitution decrees separation of church and state.
  2. “Atheists' sign at Capitol stolen, found”: There is some amazing atheistic hypocrisy in this. Atheists put up a sign at the Capitol saying “Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.” Someone stole the sign, and thus:
    Freedom From Religion Foundation co-president Dan Barker, said about the theft, "It was unfriendly, it was illegal and it actually underscored our point that religion hardens hearts and enslaves minds so that people are unwilling to be gracious and tolerate another point of view."
    Now, I do not condone stealing other people’s property, but I find it amazing that with a sign like that any atheist should expect religious people to be anything but hostile. One cannot slap others across the face and expect them to smile. A sign like that is just an insult which does nothing but promote pointless divisiveness. No wonder there are counter-signs, complaints, and protests. Major rule for promotion of any religion (and that includes atheism): Show people the beauty, truth, and goodness of your religion rather than trying to knock down those who disagree with you.

    Also: Whoever decided to try to promote the use of the term “Bright” for atheists, after this sign you may want to rethink that.

    Also: Considering this country’s separation of church and state, why are there any religious displays in government buildings in the first place?
Today’s news and commentary:Today’s weird thing, submitted by Barry, is “The Well-Tempered Plot Device”. Enjoy, share the weirdness, and remember to pay for that copy of The Black Star before you burn it.

Aaron

PS: I am not expecting people and religious groups criticized in the Divine Misconceptions section to like me.

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