Wielding a blow-dryer, a leading atheist conducted a mass “de-baptism” of fellow non-believers and symbolically dried up the offending waters that were sprinkled on their foreheads as young children.
[…]
Kagin, who is American Atheists’ national legal director, firmly believes that regardless of one’s religious beliefs, each person has the right to say or do what he or she wants, provided it is within the law. In the past, he has reportedly called out parents who subject their children to strict fundamentalist religious education, referring to it as child abuse.
[…]
“They are practicing child abuse in teaching that the world operates in ways other than it does,” he told the convention crowd. “And in my opinion, they are engaged in terrorism by weakening our nation and our understanding of science and things with which we can defend ourselves and progress. If it had not been for these fools we could have been at the stars 2,000 years ago.”
[…]
Kagin said he thought some people might get overly offended by his poking fun at religion. “If someone is so secure in their faith, why are they the least bit concerned about some little atheist mocking them?” he asked. “I think the reason they are worried and concerned is the very deep fear that if everyone doesn’t believe it, maybe it isn’t so.”
In vaguely unrelated religious news, Hindu gods are now prohibited from trading in the stock market.
When you introduce liturgical clothing (his brown robe) and a ritual cleansing that changes your religious beliefs (the blow drying) then you have formed a religion. The Buddhists don’t have a god, so a deity isn’t required to form a religion.
Besides, maybe he should have researched this baptism thing before forming his ritual. Baptism doesn’t make you a Christian; faith in Jesus Christ makes you a Christian. Baptism is merely a public testimony of your faith and requires that you are completely immersed in water, not sprinkled on the forehead, and is only done to those who are already saved.
#29 Somebody said, “Let me point out the difference then. The conversation with the atheist won’t end with ‘and that’s why you should give me 10% of your income and obey my every command.'”
So there are no atheists in the IRS? Or in the entire Democrat party.
#5 dusanmal said, “When he starts de-musliming muslims… …I’ll take him seriously in his ‘atheism’. So far he is just anti-christian.”
Agreed. However, Christians will pray for you and forgive you if you insult Jesus or Christianity. Muslims will kill you or riot for insulting Islam or Mohammad.
Anyone know of an atheist ritual to get me my foreskin back?
#21 – Glenn E.,
Taking your points out of order a bit. I’m not going to bother to try to state whether science might have been farther along if we’d stopped killing scientists. That’s a moot point now.
This clods justification for atheism is “been to the stars 2,000 year ago”, because science wouldn’t have been persecuted for so long. Well clearing this idiot knows nothing about science history, or the history of anything. Those he really think the Pagans would have worked out the sciences any faster. Oh wait a minute. Paganism is a religion too. There were no atheists 2,000 years ago. They didn’t know they need to stand out from all the Pagans, in order to get media attention. Back then, they’d have been crucified along with the Jews and Christians. 2,000 years ago, nobody could afford the luxury of pretending to believe in nothing. They’d have been thought to be crazy.
Actually, atheism goes back farther than Christianity and was one of the main influences on forming a religion based on belief rather than based on obedience to ritual. Prior to verbalized and widespread doubt, there was no reason to place so much emphasis on belief and faith as Christianity does but Judaism does not.
Epicurus and Siddharta Guatama (the first Buddha) were among the first full fledged atheists.
http://tinyurl.com/6hpbne
http://tinyurl.com/247ggyk
So this clown has written a book. Big deal. All the books, written and sold, by all the atheists, who ever lived. Amount to a drop in the bucket, compared to all the Bibles and Korans printed and sold.
Atheists from Epicurus and The Buddha and into the present have written many books. The fact that the masses didn’t buy them in great quantities as they did with bibles does not change the fact that there were many books written. Nor does popularity indicate quality. Your argument makes the Bible and Koran the literary equivalents of McDonald’s and Burger King. Try reading the literary equivalents of a fine restaurant some day, you might learn something new.
#31 Benjamin said
“So there are no atheists in the IRS? Or in the entire Democrat party.”
That’s why I had to add this:
“Unless he’s a communist…”
Communists are also purveyors of mysticism and thus not members in good standing of the Anti-Bullshit Coalition.
I personally don’t grant atheist status to those lesser beings that worship the state.
#32 Misanthropic Scott said:
“Anyone know of an atheist ritual to get me my foreskin back?”
Chances are, you are already doing it.