Spirits for Spirits February 1, 2010

Spirits for Spirits

By Guest Contributor
February 1, 2010

There’s a new (to me) type of gathering for atheists taking place near the University of Illinois in a few weeks, courtesy of the Champaign-Urbana Freethinkers: Spirits for Spirits.

You put your hand on the Bible and deny the holy spirit — and get a $2 draft beer in exchange! (If you’re 21+, of course.)

All the details are here.

Maybe they can put in an order for some Jesus Juice.

(Thanks to Phil for the link!)

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  • Ah… In 2 years 3 months, I shall be there.

    Oh yes, I SHALL be there.

    Mark. My. Words.

  • Polly

    Gives new meaning to: “be filled with the spirit.”

  • Jordan

    Is this for all the Christians who weren’t already convinced that we’re atheists because we are tools of Satan? This is something Satan would have us doing right?

  • Andrew n

    sounds horrible

  • There doesn’t seem to be anything for tee-totaling atheists like me. “I denied the Holy Spirit and I didn’t get a soda, much less a T-shirt!”

  • Wendy

    ME WANT!!!!!

  • mcbender

    Give me a break… beer? Now, if it were a glass of decent wine, I’d be all for it…

    Ah, to hell with it. Free alcohol for doing something I’d do anyway for no reward? Sounds good to me (even if I can’t personally make it there).

  • I have to be the one to ask, how many times can we give away our “spirit” for a spirit?

  • Norvegov

    @Patrick,

    Precisely what I was wondering. Can I declare myself a born again, only to re-deny the holy spirit multiple times during the night?

  • JulietEcho

    This is one of those weird PR activities that I don’t understand at all… it provide any new evidence about atheists – after all, we’ll only “know” whether we’ll have hell to face after we’re dead. It confirms elements of negative stereotypes. I don’t see the plus side. Couldn’t they just have a free beer night and mark it up to altruism-without-religion?

  • Pseudonym

    Beer isn’t a spirit. To be a spirit, a drink must be unsweetened, distilled and at least 20% ABV.

    Oh, and what JE said.

  • …why?

    I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love me a good beer… but I can’t see the point for this.

    EDIT: Let me clarify–I get the point in doing some silly things just for fun, like the debaptisms and the root beer communions… But this makes it sound like their actually paying people (in beer) to do something, which just sounds… weird.

  • Maybe this could help religious people understand that we honestly DO NOT BELIEVE what is in their bible. Because I’m so sick of the ones who think that atheists are just atheists because they’re bitter/angry at God and expect us to follow the edicts in their holy book!

    Plus, free beer. Awesome.

  • Richard Wade

    Why not paint a big “FUCK YOU” sign to Christians while you’re at it. I agree with JulietEcho. This will just reaffirm one persistent belief they have about atheists: That we’re assholes.

    I’m all for having fun and even poking some good-natured fun at people a bit, but do you want to be known as the Champaign-Urbana Freedrinkers?
    “Animal House” was just a movie. A 1978 movie.

    If you want to enjoy giving away some some beer, invite the local Christian groups to come and have some beer with you. Let beer do what it was designed to do, relax tensions. Get to know them and let them get to know you.

  • WK

    I’m with Richard and Juliet on this one. The whole “blasphemy challenge” thing just seemed to cliquey and reactionary to me.

    I personally can’t “deny the holy ghost” whatever that means because I don’t believe he/it even exists.

    Atheists are generally regarded by christians as people who willfully turn away from god to sin, so if we pull stunts like this we’re giving a message that we are rebelling from god.

    I also want people to come to their atheism rationally and don’t want anyone to identify as atheist for reason of rebellion alone because they’ll then get all fundamentalist a few years later and we’ll ultimately have to hear about how they used to be like us when they eventually try to convert us. If they want to choose a belief system to rebel, that’s what religions like wicca and satanism are for.

  • I sold my soul to my girlfriend for $5, I could get 2 and a half beers for that.

    No deal!

  • muggle

    Can it be root beer? I’m a tea-totaller.