Athiest sign

[All_That_Chaz]

Re: Athiest sign

You don't celebrate "Roll your rock up a hill and then when it rolls down the hill, roll it back up" day?

I only celebrate "Get your rocks off on a hill" day.

And who are you to say what is and what isn't a religious symbol?

Also, it's not a scribbled note. It's a massive 50-pound framed document.

And finally, they're not celebrating Christmas (or de-celebrating I guess?). They're celebrating the Winter Solstice, which just happens to fall two days before Christmas.

I say it isn't because it's silly and a slippery slope. I mean to me saying this piece of paper (fine, "massive 50-pound framed document") being a religious symbol makes as much sense as some Atheist dude saying the spot the nativity scene is on is Atheist holy ground and it can't be there, and following the Christian congregation around and repeatedly disallowing the scene to be anywhere. It's just dumb.

And fine, great, Winter Solstice. Let them make their own holiday scene then, don't trash another religion's.

[ShAiOnEi]

Re: Athiest sign

Who cares.

[Adamaja456]

Re: Athiest sign

i see nothing wrong with the sign at the capital.


omgg i live in olympiaaa

[sakura080789]

Re: Athiest sign

Ok im a Wicca and something like that how could it piss people off it doesn't make sense lol

[Reach]

Re: Athiest sign

Well, as much as I think the sign is borderline trolling and wouldn't have put it there myself, as a rights issue I don't have a problem with it being there.

Religious groups are notorious for getting their hands in on everything. Non religious groups enjoy the same rights, so there isn't any legal issues with this. Some of the comments made about the sign, especially the Sausage one, are all the more reason this sign should be there.

As a side note, atheism is definitely *not* a religion, regardless of legal categorization. Atheism is not an institutional set of beliefs, practices, attitudes etc. It's the denial of the existence of gods, but it is much different than any organized religion. If I was to say I was an atheist, you don't know *anything* about what I believe other than that I don't believe in God(s).

[All_That_Chaz]

Re: Athiest sign

Ok im a Wicca and something like that how could it piss people off it doesn't make sense lol

If someone came to a yule celebration and put up a poster saying that everything you believe is wrong, I think you might be a little perturbed.

Well, as much as I think the sign is borderline trolling and wouldn't have put it there myself, as a rights issue I don't have a problem with it being there.

Religious groups are notorious for getting their hands in on everything. Non religious groups enjoy the same rights, so there isn't any legal issues with this. Some of the comments made about the sign, especially the Sausage one, are all the more reason this sign should be there.

As a side note, atheism is definitely *not* a religion, regardless of legal categorization. Atheism is not an institutional set of beliefs, practices, attitudes etc. It's the denial of the existence of gods, but it is much different than any organized religion. If I was to say I was an atheist, you don't know *anything* about what I believe other than that I don't believe in God(s).

I don't think that because some Christians are intolerant that justifies this sign to be put in a Christmas scene. I understand that legally they're allowed to put the sign there. I just think that it's in extremely poor taste and is only there in order to make people unhappy.

[sakura080789]

Re: Athiest sign

If someone came to a yule celebration and put up a poster saying that everything you believe is wrong, I think you might be a little perturbed.

No not really i hear that all the time from school and parents i have just grown to not let it bother me

[Tokzic]

Re: Athiest sign

Agnostics of the world, unite!

Everyone in the world, whether they're agnostic, Christian, or Pastafarian, is an agnostic.

Everyone.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnosticism

[Netjet!]

Re: Athiest sign

Honestly, my family doesn't necessarily celebrate Christmas mainly because it's the supposed birth date of Jesus Christ. We celebrate it to commemorate a great year, good tidings, love, affection, togetherness, the works.

I personally don't have a problem with that sign being there. For all we know that could be the truth to it all.

[Squeek]

Re: Athiest sign

I say it isn't because it's silly and a slippery slope. I mean to me saying this piece of paper (fine, "massive 50-pound framed document") being a religious symbol makes as much sense as some Atheist dude saying the spot the nativity scene is on is Atheist holy ground and it can't be there, and following the Christian congregation around and repeatedly disallowing the scene to be anywhere. It's just dumb.

And fine, great, Winter Solstice. Let them make their own holiday scene then, don't trash another religion's.

And as I said earlier, I think the tree is silly. I think a big candle is silly. I think whatever other religions have is silly too. But who are we to judge what a religion finds silly or not?

Religious people do stupid things like that all the time. I wouldn't be surprised if Scientologists come along and put up a volcano display that smothers everything in lava.

And hell, religious people have claimed lots of land as holy ground that is unusable by anyone.

[All_That_Chaz]

Re: Athiest sign

It's silly because it's a slippery slope. Because religions (besides the anti-religion of Atheism, of course) base the divinity of their religious symbols on some sort reference to God, there at least has to be some sort of explanation for all of them. What I think is silly is that Atheists can apparently claim that anything is "holy."

Really I would think that a religion that is based on a strict belief that nothing is sacred should not be going around saying anything is a religious symbol.

[Squeek]

Re: Athiest sign

That's a pretty arbitrary rule. "It has to relate to God."

You have any idea how easy that is? Do you really know how extensive Christian symbology reaches? There are dozens.

They have numbers. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 40, 100, 1000
They have colors. Black, blue, brown, gray, green, purple, red, white, yellow
Greek/Latin. Alpha, Omega, Chi Rho, ICHTHUS, IHC/IHS
At least 11 different crosses
Four, five, six, eight, nine, and twelve-pointed stars
Geometric symbols are also Christian symbols. Triangle, Circle, Square, etc.
Dozens of different animals and plant life are Christian symbols.

If you can claim a triangle is a religious symbol, it's pretty damn easy to claim that words are religious.

Also, got to thinking about the message they're trying to convey. It's pretty obvious to me they're using the shock approach to making people actually think about their faith, which I applaud. Too many people are just brought into a religion without really knowing what they've signed up for, myself included. I was born a Catholic and went every week simply because I thought I had to. I even went to Catholic school and studied the damn religion for six years. It was during that time that I grew up a bit and began to think for myself. It was also the first time I had the chance to look at a Bible, since we studied it quite often. And that was when I first noticed that the Bible is a horrible piece of literature. Not for its abhorrent sentence structure and grammar, but for the implications it has. The damn book needs to be modernized. We don't stone people to death. We don't sell our kids into slavery. You would think an all-knowing God would've written the damn book such that it would apply for all time, since he's all-knowing and all. Too bad he didn't write it. But it's the written word of God! It makes no sense.

There's a saying I like to repeat, because it definitely held true for me. "Nothing will make you an atheist faster than reading the damn Bible."

The point these atheists in Washington are trying to make is not to take everything at face value. Start thinking for yourself. Apply reason to your judgment. If you still want to be Christian after you do this, then go right ahead. But above all else, think. That's all most atheists want out of religious folks. Just think for yourselves. Take a different perspective on the whole thing.

[jugglinguy]

Re: Athiest sign

Capital Holiday Display of the year joins Atheist sign? Someone should send the display back.

[Syhto]

Re: Athiest sign

It's pretty obvious to me they're using the shock approach to making people actually think about their faith

It says in the first article that they put it up to remind people that the solstice is the real reason we celebrate this season. They are only trying to push their way in with the rest of the holiday scenes, with the tree and the Jewish setup that's there on occasion.

It seems to me that your bias is causing you to dig a bit too deeply. What's obvious is that you have the capability to think deeply enough to provide a relatively profound reason for the display, but to the people that put it up there I cannot give such credit. They're only mocking the other religions. The second article even states that when they posted the sign a second time, after its previous removal, they added the phrase "Thou shalt not steal." The eighth commandment, which is obviously mocking the Christian faith directly.

Even if they were doing what you say, which is trying to get people to question their beliefs, why would they want to do this now? During a time when (many) people are full of "holiday spirit," per se. People especially don't want to see such negative attitudes flying around during this season. It's just in bad taste, from what I have read in the articles.

[PlaceboFX]

Re: Athiest sign

I don't understand how anyone could state that Atheism is a religion. Break down atheism. It is a lack of a theism. A religion is a belief system about an ultimate power...atheists acknowledge no ultimate power, therefore lack a religion. We can all worship a pineapple, and it can be a religion because we are worshipping it as an ultimate power. Without a belief in that ultimate power, there is no religion.

You can't call baldness a hair color. There is no hair.

Bald = lack of hair.

Atheism = lack of religion.

The sign was not a religious symbol. It was an attack on another religion. It was not in celebration of a holiday. I repeat. It was an attack on religion. It had no place in a public place for religious symbols celebrating a holiday because it was an anti-religious message attacking a religion.


I consider myself an athiest, and I still believe that the sign was outrageous and completely inappropriate. I would no sooner put up a swastica next to a Menorah. It isn't right.