My fellow atheists, you will LOVE this letter to the editor!

[NightTrain]

This letter to the editor appeared in the January 11th Journal Inquirer (Manchester, CT):

In response to "Keep Christian principles in place," (Jan. 6 letter): I disagree with the statement because "Christians greatly outnumber non-Christians," they should be allowed to display religious "symbols" on public property such as schools, town halls, and anywhere they see fit. Christians or any religious group can display propaganda in their home, church, temple, mosque, or any private property they wish. Placing religious symbols on public property endorses religion, which is directly against our Constitution.

Non-Christian Americans have to endure a bombardment of Christian propaganda from Halloween until Christmas. We are told that it is no longer acceptable to say "Seasons Greetings"; it must be "Merry Christmas." Our government has pumped over $1 billion into religious coffers, while "faith-based" religious groups discriminate against non-religious Americans. Should America be turned into a Taliban-style theocracy just because "Christians outnumber non-Christians?"

Non-Christians' basic freedoms are being replaced with Christian majority rules. Now Christians want prayer put into public schools. Should we also get rid of science classes and replace them with stone-age beliefs?

Many of our nation's founders were Christian, but that no more makes the country a Christian one than it makes Jesus our president. Most of our Founding Fathers were actually Freemasons.

I also disagree that "under God" should have been added to our Pledge of Allegiance. The pledge should be for all Americans, not just theists. The Knights of Columbus (a Christian men's organization) lobbied to have "under God" added to the original pledge in the 1950s. It should be put back to its original wording. The pledge does not say, "liberty and justice for the majority."

As Justice Thomas said, based on current law and the establishment clause respecting religion in out Constitution, the pledge with these two words in it is unconstitutional.

Everyone is born atheist, and in America we have the freedom to believe what we want because there is freedom and justice for all, "greatly outnumbered" or not.

--Scott Vining

[redqueen]

1. That's BEAUTIFUL!

Thanks for posting it!

:loveya:

edit to add: and I'm not even an atheist!

[arcane1]

2. "Everyone is born atheist" indeed

and it's surprising how many people don't know about the pledge... many seem to think it was written, in its current state, back in 1776! :eyes:

[Biased Liberal Media]

4. What's that supposed to mean??

Sorry if I am missing out on what you meant...could you clarify for me?

[arcane1]

9. which part?

[Biased Liberal Media]

11. Umm, the text inside

with the eye-rolling icon....

t's surprising how many people don't know about the pledge... many seem to think it was written, in its current state, back in 1776!

[arcane1]

15. what I mean is...

many (if not most) people do not have any idea about the pledge and its history and origins, and assume that it's part of a generations-long tradition in America. You'll often hear words like 'tradition' and 'heritage' from them when discussing the 'under god' addition, as if it's been around forever as part of the founding of the country

[Biased Liberal Media]

17. Right

now I gotcha...ROFLMAO...sorry.

I agree, wholeheartedly, too.

[Az]

22. Ever get the feeling you started a trend

About 10 years ago during my online debating days I started saying that line(we are all born atheists). It picked up steam with the other atheists in the group. I started noticing it spread to other debate groups as well. I can't say it for certain but I get a little nudge whenever I see that saying pop up.

Incidently the debate group also had the creator of the other line (Everyone is an Atheist. I simply believe in one less god than you do.) in it.

[Rabrrrrrr]

3. Nicely said!

I like it!

[Worst Username Ever]

5. I like it.

I wish it had been more scathing towards the christian right.

[Schema Thing]

6. Everyone is an Atheist. I simply believe in one less god than you do.

That will make 95% of the earths population stop and think for a minute.

[AllyCat]

7. Not an atheist, but I like your letter

Not everyone believes what I believe. I certaily don't believe what most of them believe. This letter expresses inclusion for all religious faiths (or not).

Thanks.

[bettyellen]

8. " not liberty and justice for the majority" that's a good point......

go check out the music doc thread nightrain.. it made me think of you.

[skygazer]

10. Excellent letter

I'm so sick of hearing about how Christians are somehow being denied their rights just because some of us take offense to having religion jammed down our throats.

[RevolutionaryActs]

12. Wow! That is awesome! I love! Thank you so much for posting it!

:yourock:

[miss_kitty]

13. I always lipsynced "the Pledge"

I thought it was strange to swear an oath to a hunk of material.

[Cobalt Violet]

14. Great letter!

Well said!:kick:

[McKenzie]

16. Muriel Gray wrote this in the Sunday Herald

<snip>

The tsunami would only have been a test of faith to a person believing in the interventionist God of the Old Testament, the crazy guy who regularly smote down chaps for not paying him enough respect. The Church of England, however, is largely thought to adhere more closely to the New Testament, where a non-interventionist God sends His only son as a last effort to make His ungrateful creations see sense, and then lets mankind get the hell on with it.

<snip>

http://www.sundayherald.com/47055

Superb commentary. Witty and incisive.

[BrklynLiberal]

18. Perfectly stated. I heard on the radio this AM that the father who sued

about his daughter not having to say "Under God" in the pledge of allegiance in California (I think) has sued again, even tho his case was thrown out because of a technicality (He has shared custody of his daughter, and therefore the judge ruled he did not have the right to sue in her behalf).

[Cobalt Violet]

19. Kick

[hyphenate]

20. The only quibble

I would have is the comment about our founding fathers. There are several different websites online with significant proof that of the 10-25 major historical "founding fathers" that there might have been 2-5 MAX who had so-called "Christian" beliefs--most all of them considered themselves "Deists" and NOT "Christians."

Google "Founding Fathers" and "christians" and you will find a whole slew of them. One in particular (sorry I'm heading to bed in a couple of minutes) from a site called "borndigital.com" is excellently researched and will yield a ton of material to back up the freeper charge that this country was founded on "Christian principles."

[Az]

21. Would love to see many many more letters like that

While I certainly don't want us to become as annoying as the religious right, I do believe that we have to make as much noise as they do. We are a species that learns by experience and exposure. The ones speaking up and being heard are the ones that create the message. So anyone and everyone that sees the sense of keeping Government and Religion seperate (not just atheists) make some noise!