“It’s dangerous for our children to even know your philosophy exists!” With Dems like these, who needs Iran? Seriously, I’m with Zorn: if this had been a Jew or Christian sitting in that chair and an elected rep harshed on their brand of faith? We’d never hear the end of it. But atheists are fair game, because we hurt children, or something.
Nice to see so many supporting comments at the original post, too. We’re legion, a true silenced but growing population and the fundies should fear us. Because they do our work for us, and make belief look bad all on their own.
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which god is that rep talking about?
davis referred to god as “him.” zeus? horus? ahura mazda? i happen to believe that everything is the ineffable, and quite beyond our skills of perceptive cognition to proscribe. perhaps those who do not believe* in the god who is referred to by rodeo-christaceans should speak the blasphemic line “produce that which you proclaim!”
*according to the late Alan Watts the word “belief” is from the anglo-saxon root word “leif” which means “wishing.” “believe” is something we ask children to do when we lie to them.
++++
Wow.
Just wow.
Not Exactly a Vote of Confidence
in her faith’s ability to win a war of ideas. But, perhaps, that’s her unintended point.
"We’re legion, a true silenced but growing population "
oh, i *want* to believe this.
i was really shocked recently when i read the latest report (i have a link somewhere) and found out that… we(atheists)… constitute somewhere between 4 and 7 percent of the American population.
we’re basically (de facto) a fundamendalist country.
:(
inna, those numbers are a tad fudged
i’m just gonna say “i know” and leave it at that. but look at it a different way: the public discussion about atheism’s values has never been livlier. the press, the gov’t, obviously the churches, aren’t going to admit this, but gosh is it obvious to me. i can’t go anywhere on the political intertubes and not run into all sorts of vocal doubters and unbelievers and freethinkers.
so yes, we’re a tiny minority. so are jews. so are bush pioneers. so are lesbian black women. it’s possible for any small group to dominate a discussion, and eventually, affect policy as a result. it’s a matter of will and organization. b/c the proof of this is in the fundies, who have spent the last few decades making their will known to a far greater extent than reflects public desire or practice. going to church doesn’t make you a believer, and it certainly doesn’t make you a fundie. this is the part a lot of people forget. ha, it’s “belief,” so, like, the only person who can know for sure is you, yo? this is where survey science is, well, less useful.