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Atheists in Oklahoma City have erected a billboard seeking fellow non-believers, and Satanists have scheduled a conference in a city-owned building, drawing criticism from ministers in a state where more than eight out of 10 people say they are Christians…
Nick Singer, the coordinator of a local atheists’ group called “Coalition of Reason,” recently received $5,250 from its national counterpart to erect the billboard along Interstate 44 near the Oklahoma State Fair, which opens Wednesday. Its message reads, “Don’t believe in God? Join the club…”
Legislators pray in their chambers, led by a “minister of the day,” usually Christian. The Oklahoma City Thunder is one of the few NBA teams to begin each contest after a non-denominational prayer delivered by a minister on the public address system…
The Satanists, calling themselves the Church of the IV Majesties, have reserved a room at the Oklahoma City Civic Center for a “blasphemy ritual,” said James Hale, a founding member.
“I guess you could say we’re poking a dog with a stick. That’s the point of Satanism — to question all things,” Hale said.
Singer, from the atheists’ group, said his group has no connection to the Satanists.
“As far as Satan goes, we don’t believe in him either,” he said.
If you wonder whose hatred and fear might surpass any respect for constitutional freedoms, the answer is:
“It’s not the people who don’t believe in God that worry me,” said Robin Meyers, senior minister at Mayflower Congregational Church…”It’s some of the people who do.
“Fundamentalism is the enemy worldwide, no matter what the strain.”
How do you have a “non-denominational” prayer?
If you specify one God, then it upsets Hindus. If you mention Jesus, then Jews and Muslims will be offended. (Well, actually if you mention anyone other than Allah, Muslims will be offended.) Should the Flying Spaghetti Monster be included? How about Divine Providence?
A three-way in Oklahoma? I’m in.
I don’t think most ‘Satanists’ believe in Satan either.
This seems to be a story about coexistence. All three groups have been able to express their opinions. Well done Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma is definitely a split state.
Many of us think it’s a presumptuous idea to think that, assuming that a deity exists, the members of the various denominations can read the mind of that deity.
There are literally thousands of religions out there that disagree, and they can’t all be right.
Trolling for posts.
What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart and therefore you can act on it, you have completely justified the 9/11 bombers. You have justified Charlie Manson. If it’s true for you, why isn’t it true for them? Why are you different? If you say “I believe there’s an all-powerful force of love in the universe that connects us all, and I have no evidence of that but I believe it in my heart,” then it’s perfectly okay to believe in your heart that Sharon Tate deserves to die. It’s perfectly okay to believe in your heart that you need to fly planes into buildings for Allah.
# 6 Floyd said, “they can’t all be right.”
Why not? Seems to me most religions have a somewhat capricious god. If I were the supreme being I might well endow a couple dozen prophets with varying versions of “the truth” and then watch them scramble.
Eternity can get to be so routine…
OK if they can’t all be right, can they all be wrong?
#10 Occam’s razor says yes.
I thought this was the most telling quote: (regarding atheist and satanist scheduling meetings) “It’s not a question of ‘Can you?’ It’s a question of ‘Should you?'” said Dan Fisher, pastor of the Trinity Baptist Church in Yukon. “It’s kind of like they’re poking a finger in your eye.”
So—yea==the good pastor has meetings every wednesday night, Saturday Afternoon, all day Sunday, campaigns for political candidates, tries to influence textbook selection/censorship, wants to make gays illegal but one meeting by others who disagree every 10 years is getting poked in the eye?
And what do the fundies think or is the pastor in Ok a fundie by assumption?
I pray that God kills the Christians, They have fucked up everything. This has nothing to do with Satan, this has everything to do with them being ignorant, stupid, gullible dumb-asses.
They are all wrong.
For the rest of us, you shouldn’t come here looking for useful religious discussion any more then you should come here looking for help with your math homework.
Sister Mary, I only kill indiscriminately.
Gildersleeve, don’t worry. Alfred has a rational viewpoint from the religious side.
#15 I bet there is some pretty decent math talent on this blog.
#8 It isn’t faith that is problematic, but evangelism. People deciding that their beliefs have to be the norm and attempting to make it so is the real line. Once irrational beliefs start to inform state policy everything goes bad.
There’s an identical billboard in Wilmington, NC. Nothing new.
Gildersleeve, Alfred has an intellectual disability, as do you. It’s my most prevalent defect, but I do make sure that a few humans try and think for themselves. It’s totally random of course.
Oklahoma is a religious cesspool. There’s a reason why its 49th in the Union in EVERYTHING.
Thank god for Mississippi, otherwise they’d be 50th in everything.
#23 Under a strict interpretation we are ALL going to hell.
http://www.ffrf.org/
Says it all….
Freedom from Religion Foundation…
Right there it goes the wayside as it is a foundation. Nothing more useless and self-serving as foundations and associations. They are both there to blow smoke up their collective asses and make money.
Then they want to make the day of prayer unconstitutional.
So where is their ire for Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving not being a federal holiday. Oh that’s right, even atheists like presents, chocolate bunnies and feasting with football.
Just like theists, atheists, are still human and will cherry pick what they like and toss the rest.
God bad, Peeps good.
Prayer bad, Turkey and stuffing good.
Look, fuck off, shut up and eat your mince pie atheist boy!
Cursor_
I get the feeling that both the folks who believe in God and those who don’t believe in God are fools and puppets to some third party. What’s the term for a person/group who neither believes nor diebelieves in God but uses the concept to manipulate others?
I have a math question.
27, Pentecostal Minister, Televangelist, take your pick.
Strange, because this isn’t really even a story here in Oklahoma. They mentioned only once on the news several weeks ago and they mentioned it again last week when they found out that leader of the satanist group having the get together is a registered sex offender.
#25
Funny, I was always led to believe that christmas and easter were pagan holidays hijacked by christians to help conversions go over better.
All I can say is:
I am so happy to see the numbers of atheists and agnostics on the rise.
I think it’s good to be a proactive atheist. There is nothing wrong with it at all. If a Christian can put up billboards telling people to go to church, I have the right to put up a billboard telling them not to.
All atheists need to be open about what they KNOW is fact, and don’t let the brainwashed masses keep you from speaking up.
http://youtube.com/user/TheThinkingAtheist
Hope these religious loonies stay in 3rd world places like Arkansas or nutt-ball cities like Waco, I’m OK with that.
Stay out of the major population centers, please. We live too close together there.