Greetings to all new atheist DUers!

I feel we need more vocal atheist and agnostic Democrats here on DU, to help refute the vile lies of the judgmental Christians who say we are out to suppress and persecute them. It's obvisouly not true, but then again truth has nothing to do with Christian propaganda.

Every atheist DUer that posts helps us. Welcome.
 

copycat thread I have ever seen in GD...cool...alas, I am not an atheist...

theProdigal

people act like it is a disease.

I have to say that I don't see that many "judgemental" christian posts here on DU. I feel DU is a big enough place to accomodate everybody. Frankly, I see more posts by athiests/agnostics than I do from Christians. As a Christian, and a liberal Christian, that is fine with me.

p.s.
ok, I see why this thread was made. I missed the "We need more Christian thread"

religious wars on DU and if we're going to have threads welcoming new Christians, I want to make sure the atheists feel welcome as well. Feel free to start one on the belief system of your choice as well.

You slammed people who are Christian in your plea for so called tolerance.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2871353

from where I copied the wording.

trying to appeal to the GOP so it's *okay* in a sense to alienate "them."

Your post on the other hand slams ALL Christans, and calls the belief "propaganda" though I do appreciate your greater point.

The only other people I mentioned was the Republican party, but since we are by defintion opposed to the Republican party, and this is a partisan forum, that doesn't count as bigotry does it?

call other peoples faith "propaganda" would really help us.

Respect for all DU-ers: Atheist, agnostic, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, is "welcome" IMO.

The "least" tolerant people I see here are generally NOT of the Christian persuasion.

We don't discriminate on the basis of religion.

BTW, real Christians don't spread propaganda. That's how you can tell the difference. :)

:hi:

I am not new but I thought i would check in anyway! :loveya: :hug: :hi:

:hi:

But I am not a deist. Does that count, I wonder?

What one believes about their religion is their own business, and I have no malice toward any religion. I do admit to having a low tolerance for those who cause pain and the end of life under false pretenses, like the name of their god.

Both Bin Laden and Bush serve as figureheads to this depressing dynamic.

~A!

"What one believes about their religion is their own business, and I have no malice toward any religion. I do admit to having a low tolerance for those who cause pain and the end of life under false pretenses, like the name of their god.

Both Bin Laden and Bush serve as figureheads to this depressing dynamic."

Welcome!

I see you are from New Hampshire, me too. Also I have found Buddhism to be the path to enlightenment. It gives you an inner peace; there is so much trouble in the world “in the name of GOD”. If other religions would read the part about “love they neighbor" instead of “an eye for an eye” we would all be better.
Keep faith and the next life we will ascend closer.

but i am an atheist

I'm an atheist; I believe that religious superstition is harmful to both the individual and to society, but...

Associating religious (or non-religious) issues with political issues only plays into the hands of the religious reich. The issues should be separate. Blurring them is a big part of what was responsible for the fiasco of the Bush re-election.

Work hard to debunk religion, but keep those discussions separate from discussions of political issues. Separation of church and state works both ways, and it is a good thing for everyone. Let's not fall into the trap of co-mingling the two.

I love each and every one of you! :grouphug:

Welcome to the DU family from one human to another!

but respect others' beliefs -- i just could never share them

:hi:

This is not an exclusive club in that you have to pass some sort of litmus test on religion to get in. :)

That's why I like this board. It is the most tolerant place I've been to on the web.

I self censored a post in that thread because it wasn't nice or productive.

I like this one a lot, though.

OK, I just like the way that sounds. I am a Heathen, though. Hooray for Heathens!

or practitioner of earth-based spirituality. "Hi."

The only real God is the monetary supply. Bow down before MAMMON!

classic :)

I'll let y'all guess :)

I''m not a new DUer, nor a new atheist

am I welcome? :P

:hi:

I always thought I was alone.
It's nice to know there are so many of us.

... while simultaneously spewing out their faith-based bigotry and advocating for laws and policy that promote and sponsor religion using public money, in public institutions, or on public land.

that term really queers me out.

We are headed towards a theocracy in this country. For someone who is an agnostic, like myself, to hear about Christian "persecution" is Alice in Wonderland time. What the FUCK do they feel persecuted about? They have one of their own in the White House for 4 more years (hell, candidates have to express...nauesatingly over and over and over again...their faith in God and their religion..as if that really makes any difference). Look at the recent court case to strike the words "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance. To hear a lot of people, you would think American society itself would collapse if school kids didn't have their chance to pledge their allegiance to a nation "under God". God and religion is, sadly to me, is no longer a private issue...to me, it's being crammed down our throats.

To hear these people claim they are "persecuted", when they fully hold the reins of power in this country, is insane. And as a gay man, Christians represent bigotry and hate. I grew up raised Catholic. Need I say more?

Count me in.

Terry

Every single day in the US, Christians in the US are being attacked by polluters, scam artists, corporations, union busters, privatizers, but worse - they are being attacked by propagandists to believe they are being persecuted by the non-religious and liberals instead. Even the most intelligent person can fall victim to a billions-of-dollars-a-year propagada campaign, imagine how it affects regular people.

nt

Please keep that in mind.

True Christians are the people who are out helping the poor, feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless. True Christians are not about glory here on Earth or money or power, which is why * is not a true Christian.

What * has done to my religion is sick and unforgiveable.

While i am areligious, it does pain me to see that too many people of REAL faith have stood by, silently, while religion and matters of faith have been hijacked by a relatively small coterie of loudmouthed fakes.

Where are the real, and true leaders of the religions pursuing Christ's message? It's pathetic.

Seeing you write that it's makes you sad, as a person of faith, really gives me hope that there are those, like you, who just might be able to take it back.

I can't be part of the fight, since i have no claim to the territory. But, i would bet that without charlatans like Falwell, Robertson, Swaggart, Bakker, Phelps, et al, and phony "people of faith" like Li'l Georgie and his gang of thugs, you would NEVER read a foul word about religion on these forums.

Thanks, arnheim, for restoring some of my hope.
The Professor

I was taught what it means to be a true Christian not by any church or preacher but by a man named Ben Browning. He lived at the end of my street when I was growing up. He personified the teachings of Christ. He was loving of all people and helped so many people in need, including my family.

Mr. Browning would be appalled to see and hear * and his message.

In order to become a true Christian, you have to accept Christ in your heart and follow his teachings. You simply can't say, "Well, I'm a Christian" and expect that to be that. It doesn't work that way.

Any Christian who would treat you badly and condemn you is NOT following the teachings of Christ. Please remember that and do not judge us all by their actions.

Like i said, i don't believe in anything in particular. I'm an "other" in that i don't lend much energy to either faith or any lack thereof.

What is, is. That's it. But, for those who have a need to find a deeper meaning, that's fine as long as that deeper meaning includes acting like it matters. What you describe is terrific. What i see in the religio/political activism of the rabid right wing is clearly wrong.

We need more like you to bring the faithful back to where they belong.
The Professor

by other "Christians" because I am a liberal. It always amazes me.

"Rabid" is pretty much the way many of these people are.

:) We should love one another. We don't and that's the shame of it all. I don't believe that this world will ever be perfect but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try.

we all get our pitchforks and torches and go meet at the castle!

But I am A God

Contributions welcome...

I welcome atheists and agnostics getting more verbal out in the world, especially in my red state which seems to be fairly strangling in religious this religious that, which I am quite sick of (and I am a Christian!!).

Christians are NOT persecuted. Never have I been victimized or persecuted because of my religious beliefs. However, I do know atheists who very much have been because of their non-belief and that is wrong and un-American.

I work with my local atheist organization because they work to protect separation of church and state and I highly appreciate that.

I'm an atheist, and I've participated in my share of flamewars, but I think I'm coming around to a change of heart about how I approach the subject. In the future, I need to be more respectful of other people's views.

In short, I'm going to self-censor.

And I'm going to be nicer to people of faith; some of them are friends of mine. I'd hate to lose friendships just because we don't see eye to eye on religion.

to one particular denomination. Much to my shame, there is one denomination which just gives me FITS. It has a lot to do with the fact that, growing up, I had family members in this denomination and they treated us like shit and looked down their noses at us. That and I think this particular denomination borders on being harmful to its members.

But I bite my tongue REALLY hard. So I know the feeling.

Now right wing fundies, I don't have any problem criticizing them.

But Rove and the Think Tanks really can spot a wedge issue, can't they? Man, they picked a perfect one in religion.

What better way to break up the Democratic party's first strong show of unity in a generation or more than by inserting the question of religion into the equation? Everyone's prejudices come out, especially now that the mainstream media claims that's what we lost the election based upon.

I'll admit, my own prejudices against religion were summoned forth by the results of this contest....but then, I realized: that's exactly what the right wants. So fuck that! I'm going to be as nice as possible now to liberal people of faith. (That is, if they can prove that they're liberal. There've been several DU posters starting flamewars about religion who don't seem to post about anything else. I'm not gonna mention any names, but.....) If I can also convince some liberal people of faith that they need to take actual physical steps in recaliming their religion (which, let's face it, has actually done some good for humanity on occasion) from the apocolyptic keymasters on the right, then I think that's the tack many of us who are devoid of belief have to take; after all, an "apocolypse" affects everyone, no? So liberal DU christians: Nuff respect.

And RW "end-timers?" Fuck them in the ear.

I don't either. He kicked me in the nuts.

and anyone who is not one of them is labeled crazy, delusional, psychotic, ignorant, intolerant, other derogatory label, or some combination of these.

:hi:

:help:

It's awfully hard to be an atheist and a follower of Christ.

Christians who are suppressing and persecuting my atheistic/agnostic brothers/sisters in arms :evilgrin:

Not a new member, but a queer athiest nonetheless.

:hi:

Like many others on here, I don't see the christian persecution. But there seems to be 10 new threads each day about the subject. What more do they want?

:hi:

I am an atheist, or non-theist, whichever you prefer. I do not believe in any gods, as I see a lack of credible evidence, and I am, at my core, an empiricist.

I have no problem with religious faith, to the extent that its practitioners refrain from doing harm in the name of their god, or in pushing their particular arbitrary morality or beliefs on others.

That being said, I see a large number of anti-theists who masquerade as atheists. Anti-theists express an active disdain for religion, and hold theists in open and rank contempt.

Anti-theists, IMHO, are as big a threat to the future of the democratic party as fundamentalists are. If we want political power, we need to embrace as many as we can, and we can't turn off/turn away the religious simply for that reason.

The GOP has highjacked both the American flag, and now Christianity, as their own. They promote themselves as the party of God and the party of patriotism, and we let them.

We need to wrest the flag away from the GOP, or at least claim co-ownership of it, and promote Democrats as patriots just as the GOP does Republicans. We need to be friendly to liberal or fence-sitting Christians... we need their votes. Tolerance goes both ways.

"I see a large number of anti-theists who masquerade as atheists."... this is so true

Christians who really try to follow Christ's teachings are persecuted just like everyone else with both a mind and a heart. They certainly aren't any MORE persecuted in this country than any other group.

You wanna talk persecution, you gotta talk race and class.

Rock on athiests, I admire your commitment to principle. I saw a quote from either Jefferson or Adams the other day on the boards to the effect that one day the divinity of Christ will be classified along with the divinity of the Roman Emperors, as myth. You can put that in your athiest pipe and smoke it.

As for me, I read the gospels and I read Ghandi and some other really brilliant, non-violent, courageous folks like Jesus, and I have to say there is at least some glimpse of divinity there.

Otherwise, ain't we all just animated dirt and slime?

But not a new atheist...