Oh GOD not again!

[spacebabie]

Got the info from gregx Who also thinks this guy is annoying


This guy again.

Remember that guy who wanted to sue to removed the mention of God from the pledge. (The one who said it was for his daughter when he never really asked what she wanted?)

Remember when we all asked "what next" In God we Trust on the money?

Yep

Want the mention of God completely removed, despite the fact the first mention of God was printed in the money in 1864.

He reminds me of the Fluff Bunny from Firstborn "What is that? A Fish? a Jesus fish in my presence? Oppression!"

Comments

[gregx.livejournal.com]

As I said, this guy makes people who don't believe in God look bad. I would personally like to load him into a rocket and fire him into the center of the sun.

He's an atheist/agnostic Jerry Falwell.

[spacebabie.livejournal.com]

I think he's doing it mostly for the attention, like Cindy Sheehan.

[gregx.livejournal.com]

I think this guy might be the only atheist in America who immigrated here from a Chick tract.

[revulo.livejournal.com]

...dude, stfu.
Does he like...have nothing to do now?

first I heard of this guy

[(Anonymous)]

If he really wanted to make it stick he should have done more homework. You know, when I decided I objected to saying the pledge in the second grade I just started standing there in silence as other people did the brain washing exercise. My own little silent protest without causing a huge fuss.

[tlayna.livejournal.com]

My question is this: If the First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion, then why is it some are not content to go to their house of worship of their choice as often as they need - or not to in the case of atheists/agnostics - instead of trying to turn America into a theocracy that suits their tastes/ambitions/delusions? Do we really need to go there as a nation? Is every individual's faith so weak in the relion of their choice as to require mandatory government confirmation?

As an American, I feel religion belongs in churches, synangogues, wats, temples, etc., period - not in our schools, not on our money (Sorry, your God is not my Goddess), not hung on the walls of courts or carved into 10,000 kg monuments on courthouse grounds or anything. The framers of the Constitution were keenly aware of the dangerous demagoguery of 'official' religions - remember the Pilgrims came to America to escape persecution from the Church of England nearly four centuries ago. The framers of the Constitution did what they could to permit religious freedom while shielding government from meddling theocrats.

America is not a homogenous culture, nor are Americans. Since we are SO diverse religiously speaking, it is better that government remain religiously neutral, because to accomodate every religious belief into our laws would be confusing at best and in all likelihood disastrous.

How much flak did Greg get from the Religious (anything but) Right's prime loonies regarding Gargoyles? Considering how Teletubbies was viciously slammed by Jerry Falwell, I'm sure Greg has horror stories about that, and can illustrate the dangers of excess religious influence. In 1965, I doubt seriously if he could have gotten Gargoyles on the air then. The characters would have been classified as 'demonic' in those days. Crap - they even vilified Elvis as 'unholy'!

[libby-rust.livejournal.com]

Is every individual's faith so weak in the relion of their choice as to require mandatory government confirmation?

I ask the same thing about Christians who go nuts at the thought of evolution. Do you really feel that insecure about yourself that you have to defend yourself against being aligned with monkeys? Lol

I think it's funny that people honestly believe the founding fathers wanted anything to do with religion...has anyone seen their quotes? They wanted freedom of religion for a reason.

"...the path of true piety is so plain as to require but little political direction."
George Washington, 1789, responding to clergy complaints that the Constitution lacked mention of Jesus Christ, from The Godless Constitution: The Case Against Religious Correctness, Isacc Kramnick and R. Laurence Moore W.W. Norton and Company 101-102

"It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no God."
Thomas Jefferson

"Let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religions."
George Washington

"There is nothing which can better deserve our patronage than the promotion of science and literature. Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness."
George Washington, address to Congress, 8 January, 1790

More here: http://www.stevegerber.com/sgblog/2005/05/19/npr-closing-the-gap-between-church-and-state/

Oh, and the In God We Trust/money thing? There might have been bits of money with God on them before, but I believe it was Roosevelt who started that mess? It was a much later president who started it, I'm pretty sure. It was a result of one of the world wars. I'll have to look it up again to be sure.

[azurehart.livejournal.com]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that having In God We Trust on money doesn't keep him from spending it. Can you say "hypocrite" boys and girls?

money

[(Anonymous)]

Perhaps he's just using his credit card.

religion and government

[kimberly-t.livejournal.com]

I believe that most folks here are right about why the Founding Fathers wrote that "Godless Constitution." Most of them had parents or grandparents who had come from England, where the official religion often changed with the ruling king or queen and each time it did, officially sanctioned persecution rained down on one side or the other. They wanted none of that here!

I personally tend to agree with removing the phrase "Under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance. Why? Because it wasn't there at the start! It was only added in 1954, after intense lobbying by the Knights of Columbus. Here's a link to a brief history of the Pledge, for those who are interested: http://history.vineyard.net/pledge.htm

Honestly, I think that the Sailor's Creed that we Navy folks recite on a regular basis is way more patriotic than the Pledge of Allegiance:
"I am a United States Sailor,
I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America and I will obey the orders of those appointed over me,
I represent the fighting spirit of the Navy and those who have gone before me to defend freedom and democracy around the world,
I proudly serve my country's Navy combat team with Honor, Courage and Commitment,
I am committed to excellence and the fair treatment of all."

When you swear to Honor, Courage and Commitment, there's no need to mention the deity of your choice.

And here's a link to the Fact Sheet from the U.S. Treasury about when and why they first started using "In God We Trust" on coins, and when it first started appearing on paper money: http://www.ustreas.gov/education/fact-sheets/currency/in-god-we-trust.html Again, the currency wasn't always that way; religious fervor that had been stirred by a bloody war prompted the change. (sound familiar?)

My opinion? No, don't bother changing the money; too much effort. But don't try to shut this guy up, either! Let him speak up, let him remind everyone of the separation between church and state that our Founding Fathers insisted on!

Even before 9/11, there was a growing surge of religious fervor in this country, a backlash against the excesses of the 80's and the pessimism of the 90's. Even with all the official separation of church and state, America has a much, _much_ high percentage of people who describe themselves as "religious" than, say, the average European country. And that religious majority is speaking up louder than ever after 9/11, becoming more agressive in their message of "Our way is the only right way!" That's the sort of thing that happened back in England too, right around the time the ancestors of our Founding Fathers were running for their lives...

"Those who do not learn from History are doomed to repeat it." I frankly am quite glad that there are a few annoying loudmouths out there reminding everyone of how this country was founded, and why.

Re: religion and government

[spacebabie.livejournal.com]

I agree with the pledge and if we were going to change the money, then change it back to the 1864 coin.

I think this guy should speak for the same reason people like Biull O'Reilly, Jane Fonda, Al Franklin and others should speak...makes it easier to find the Extremists that way.