WorldNetDaily Supports Atheist Billboard Vandalism

The North Carolina Secular Association put up a billboard along the Billy Graham Parkway recently and it was vandalized within a week:

The Institute for Creation Research had put out a message that essentially said vandalism is wrong, but they can understand why someone would do it:

While vandalism should not be condoned, these recent events shed light on what some Americans will do when they feel that their freedom of speech is threatened.

I thought that was bad.

Now, WorldNetDaily isn’t even trying to hide their joy about what happened. Here’s what Chrissy Satterfield has to say in an article titled “My Kind of Vandals“:

Just when I start believing there is no hope for our country I get a little reminder from my God that all is not lost… It’s nice to know that I am not alone in my beliefs and that some people are still willing to stand on the right side of truth.

Never would I encourage vandalism, but in this case I think I’ll let it slide. Atheists have been vandalizing my beliefs for years, so it’s about time the shoe was on the other foot.

Wait… what?

We point out the faults of religion — on blogs, in books, during debates — and you think that gives someone the right to destroy our property?

She’s thrilled that the billboard was ruined:

The best part of this whole situation, though, is that these secular billboards were part of a Fourth of July project that placed similar ads in Greensboro, Raleigh and a handful of other cities –- and it totally backfired. They underestimated their demographic, and because the vandalism occurred days before the Fourth, no one could service the billboard until after the holiday. It’s the small victories in life that make it all worthwhile.

Hahahahaha…. hilarious.

What else does Satterfield consider a “small victory”? Stealing candy from a baby?

She must be getting all this from that one parable in the Bible. It’s the one where Jesus sees a paralytic man and then points and laughs at him.

***Update***: The billboard in question was actually fixed/replaced on the Friday before the Fourth of July holiday…. so much for a “victory.”

Incidentally, when was the last you heard about a Christian billboard that was vandalized? It happens all the time, yet it’s never “newsworthy.”

Give me examples. You say it happens all the time and provide no links whatsoever.

Atheists are always saying how offended they are by, well … everything. How is this billboard not offensive to me? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Where’s my PC? And who’s protecting my right not to be offended?

You don’t have a right not to be offended. Go ahead. Put up your own billboard (with your own money). It can say whatever you’d like. We might poke fun at it, or write about how dishonest or misguided it might be, or put up our own billboard in response.

But I can’t think of any atheists who would even think to vandalize it. We support freedom of speech, including speech that we dislike.

In case you thought she was done making a fool of herself, Satterfield continued:

I would like to extend my deepest thanks to the man or woman responsible for this vandalism. I appreciate the action you took. Thank you for reminding me that I’m not alone. It took a lot of guts to do what you did –- and the fact that you haven’t stepped forward to take credit makes you a hero. It shows everyone that you are more devoted to the message than you are to the spotlight. I encourage you to keep your cover. Don’t give the secular world a reason to call your name; instead, let them call for our God.

I wish I could say this was a Poe. But it’s not. It’s really what she believes — and who knows how many WND readers agree.

If a Christian group would like to respond to this tripe in a positive way, they could always pay for a new atheist billboard. It would suggest: “We may disagree with your beliefs, but we defend your right to believe them. And Satterfield does not represent the true meaning of Christianity.”

Yeah, I’m not holding my breath for that…

It’s incredible how anyone could defend this sort of ludicrous logic, that vandalism can be condoned if you dislike what you see.

***Update***: I love this comment excerpt from keddaw:

I am not happy that vandalism seems to be the only way to get an atheist’s attention.

Here’s how to get an atheist’s (or secularist’s) attention:

* Place the Ten Commandments in front of a court house (only two of which are actually against the law!)
* Have a National Day of Prayer
* Place religious displays on public property (nativity scenes etc.) while denying any other religions’ displays
* Have a prayer before a public meeting
* Have teacher led school prayer in public school
* Teach Creationism as a viable alternative to evolution
* Allow Judges to give different sentences based on the defendant’s religion (or lack thereof)
* Ban gay marriage because a Holy Book says it is wrong
* Allow teachers to use corporal punishment because a Holy Book says “spare the rod, spoil the child”
* Stop scientific progress in certain areas because some religions are uncomfortable with it (stem cell research)

And any number of other thing that the US does solely because of religion when it is supposed to be a secular country.

Well put.

***Update 2***: A few local university professors are going to be discussing the billboard defacement on the radio talk show “Charlotte Talks” tonight at 9:00 ET

Thanks to Michael for the link!

Samiimas

Incidentally, when was the last you heard about a Christian billboard that was vandalized? It happens all the time, yet it’s never “newsworthy.”

I’ve seen this situation before:

*Gay person gets the **** beat out of them for being gay or some equality group gets its building vandalized*

Bigots who constantly encourage gay bashing by opposing gay marriage: “Well thats just awful ut we get harrassed just aas bad…”

Sane people: “Name just one example. One example where it wasn’t one of you walking into a group full of gay people and insulting them. One case where you were attacked unprovoked.”

Bigots: Well, um, you see… *Lies about how the evil liberal media is covering up these many, many incidents*
AndThenSome

How exactly, in the words of ICR, does this billboard threaten anyone’s freedom of speech?

And the reason Ms. Satterfield doesn’t provide links to documentation of Christian billboards being vandalized is there aren’t any.

Such malice and ignorance really shouldn’t surprise me, but somehow it always does.
SickoftheUS

Satterfield:

It took a lot of guts to do what you did –- and the fact that you haven’t stepped forward to take credit makes you a hero. It shows everyone that you are more devoted to the message than you are to the spotlight.

I’m conflicted about this, but just a little. One part of me wants to respond, “No, it shows they’re more devoted to not being prosecuted than to owning up to their ideals. It makes them cowards.”

On the other hand, I applaud defacement of commercial billboards, which are a blight upon society and drive the mindless consumerism and brand identity which is killing us all. This is called “culture jamming” – e.g. replacing McDonald’s “I’m lovin’ it” with “I’m sick of it”. Such actions should be taken secretly, in the face of corporate legal money which would come down on the little person.

And that’s how I resolve the conflict, and many such conflicts generally. Overwhelming institutional forces, particularly commercial and military, with corrosive power in our society are fair targets of direct action. Vandalism as a form of citizen revolt can be seen as a safety valve for bloodshed, and a bellwether for officials. And there are historical times and places when not even bloodshed is an inappropriate response to power.

Do I condone defacing Christian billboards? I guess part of my answer would be to ask to what degree a given society has turned into a theocracy.
Rajesh Shenoy

I just sent this mail to Chrissy:

Hello Chrissy:

You are in the wrong part of the world. You belong here in our part of the world. There’s a place very near here, where there’s a huge network of very active and enterprising individuals, support networks and groups that are even (tacitly, though) supported by the militaries and national governments of the region. You would be right at home in their world – they support and act on their beliefs in exactly the same way you advocate. If you feel the need to network with some of them here, please do drop me a line – I might be able to find a way to get you in touch with someone there.

And oh, just FYI … the region is Af-Pak. The network is called Taliban.

Thanks,
– Rajesh
Iason Ouabache

Why does Chrissy Satterfield hate freedom of speech so much?
Sakura

It took a lot of guts to do what you did –- and the fact that you haven’t stepped forward to take credit makes you a hero.

>_> Hmm…maybe because if they DID step forward, they’d be charged with vandalism. Maybe this is just me, but either way, it’s REALLY damn cowardly. Both Satterfield and whoever did the vandalism.
David McNerney

This just goes to prove what we’ve all been saying all along:
It is not possible for someone who uses a book as a basis for morality to have any true moral sense.
Rich Wilson

the CAA felt its only recourse was to deliberately insult those who understand the importance of “Under God.”

If that’s an insult, then how is it not an insult to atheists and polytheists to insert “Under God” into the pledge in the first place? Daft.

p.s. how come the followup comments via e-mail doesn’t work?

Hemant says: I’m not sure, but I’ll look into this. It’s a constant problem.
James

My Email to Chrissy.

So,

You would be perfectly fine if I decided to go down the street, and take a nice can of spray paint to the newly erected christian billboard?
You think it is perfectly fine to vandalize something as long as it is something that you don’t like.
So I don’t like the local church, using your logic I can go down there and take a hammer to every stained glass window?
Would you call me a hero? Or would you abandon your own view on this matter and call me a vandal and call for my arrest and conviction.

You, Chrissy, are what is wrong with religion.
Your happy to allow someone to break the law, as long as it makes you feel good.

Guess what, your house/car/boat/(insert expensive possession here) offends me, therefore by your logic I have the right to vandalize it, and in your eyes, I will be a hero.

You are an idiot, a bigot and a criminal, if christ were ever real, and alive today, he would happily smack you into next week. And worst of all, you don’t even know it, nor would you believe it when shown the evidence.
Ryan Tombleson

I’d hate to be the one to break it to Ms. Satterfield, but the billboard in Charlotte was repaired on the Friday before the holiday. I would also like to thank the man or woman who committed the vandalism. Because of his or her action, the billboard gained national attention and membership of CAA has exploded. We’re on pace to set a record amount of attendees at our next social meeting and will be joined by a local reporter who is covering the group. Because of someone’s ignorance, people who were stuck in the bible belt and unaware of our presence now have a place to meet other link-minded individuals. It’s a beautiful thing.
Wendy

“Never would I encourage vandalism, but in this case I think I’ll let it slide. Atheists have been vandalizing my beliefs for years, so it’s about time the shoe was on the other foot.”

Oh no I’m a persecuted Christian!

Vandalism to me is such a mean thing to do; it’s obvious people that do it enjoy wasting other people’s time. And here she is supporting it. That annoys me quite a bit. It’s obvious she would never want her own house vandalised, cos that’s just her own money and time wasted trying to clean it off. So why would she want it done on a harmless billboard?

Once again, I’m immensely annoyed.
Maliknant

I feel I must come forward and apologize here folks. I wish I could be brave enough to let my crime remain anonymous and escape judgement and possible prosecution, but I’m such a coward that I feel I must admit what I’ve done and suffer the consequences. Damn my weakness!

Anyway, what I must admit is this:

I am the one who has systematically and maliciously vandalized Chrissy Satterfield’s beliefs.

There. I said it.

It started when I saw her belief that Atheists are Satanists sitting all shiny in her driveway. I thought it was ridiculous, so I keyed it the whole way around. I figured that would change her mind.

Later, I saw a massive inflatable belief that discriminating against people because they don’t share your illogical, irrational, Bronze-Age belief system in her front yard. How dare she! I punctured it with a knife. She had it coming.

But the worst was when I saw her belief that only Christians have valid morals. I spray painted “ATHEIST” all over it until all of my cans were empty.

Now I must confess to Chrissy herself. I can only hope that she can forgive me for not being brave enough to stay anonymous about the damage I’ve done. But that shouldn’t be a problem. After all… Christians are very moral people, aren’t they?
Justin

@Maliknant

Never would I encourage vandalism, but in this case I think I’ll let it slide.
mikespeir

The WND is careful not to allow comments. They diligently protect the faithful from reasoned responses.
BLynam

it seems those vandals were responding with contention and passion. i do think it was in bad taste, although, it’s hard to argue that i haven’t gotten “fired-up” about something at least once in my life. so, i understand their sentiment even if it was a bit sophomoric.

another point worth considering is the similarity that this act bears to things Christ did in terms of generating controversy. i’ve studied Bible scripture at length and many things Christ said and did were very hotly contested in His present day. Jesus had many followers and drew large crowds, but a large number of religious authorities hated Him. while these Christians appear to be acting maliciously and without rationale they are speaking to what they believe based in the Bible despite the criticism it attracts. that, my friends, is Christ-like and thus Christian.

are you disappointed that Christians did something you could very easily expect them to do?

would you be disappointed if a senator/congressman/the president behaved politically?

when you think about it, it’s their Way. there is no use getting mad about it or becoming disappointed.

i’m not mad somebody decided to follow through on expressing what they believe to be the Truth.
Drew M

How christian of her.

@Maliknant & Justin:

That was great!
Trace

“I would like to extend my deepest thanks to the man or woman responsible for this vandalism. I appreciate the action you took. Thank you for reminding me that I’m not alone. It took a lot of guts to do what you did –- and the fact that you haven’t stepped forward to take credit makes you a hero. It shows everyone that you are more devoted to the message than you are to the spotlight. I encourage you to keep your cover.”

Mohave Cross? Totally Honest Chrissy, oy.
Trace

aka Mojave….Talk about oy.
Nic Dafis

Are you seriously upset by the vandalism? Doesn’t it just add to the billboards’ effectiveness? They turn what was previously a fairly mild invitation to contemplation into a much more urgent provocation.

I would’ve thought that these acts of vandalism were completely foreseeable by the people responsible for the billboards. Look, they’ve even left a nice white space at the bottom.

Disclaimer: I am not an American.
The Godless Monster

And there are those on our side who would deny we are at war…
Demonhype

What an ignorant WASP bitch!

And yeah…interesting that the lying christbot doesn’t link to any examples of Christian billboards vandalized–because they don’t exist. And even then, you’d have to show me more than the average douchebag vandalism that most signs and billboards get, something that shows this is specifically atheist vandalism aimed at the faithful. Considering that average douchebag vandalism would hardly be chalked up to godbot behavior, but these vandalisms of atheist billboards are explicitly Christian.

And guess what? If atheists were constantly vandalizing anything, much less religious property, you’d hear about it clear across the country. It would get enthusiastic coverage even in the liberal media. You know why? Because, despite your pissy unsubstantiated bawling that Christians are ‘persecuted’, the reality is that you are in an overprivileged majority that is supplicated to by everyone, including the liberal media, to the point that you have only the open existence of atheists and our tendency to be “mean” (aka not kissing your ass for the supreme achievement of believing in fairy tales) as your “evidence” that you are being “persecuted”. All the while leveling all manner of actual persecution against not only atheists but every other group that you would see either marginalized or executed.

L’il Chrissy is just one of many religiotards who would love to take any and every open atheist to the public square and give them the ol’ Spanish Inquisition treatment–while claiming the whole time that they are just defending themselves from the vile “persecution” of having someone disagree with their pet beliefs. If not for our modern demonic society with it’s equal protection for Gawd’s enemies, that’s exactly what they would do, and that is why they constantly want to fight the Bill of Rights to allow each state to become it’s own little fiefdom of Christian “morality”.

And that is also why an atheist simply expressing him/herself is seen as the beginnings of some Satanic effort to persecute the believers–it’s simple projection. That’s what they want to do to anyone they dislike, so therefore that’s what their enemies want to do.

Which is why Chrissy sees this as so amazingly moral. We see it in all manner of bad movies and bad books–like R.A. Salvatore–the mentality that whatsoever the “heroes” do shall be known as “moral” and whatsoever the “villains” do shall be known as “evil”, with the designations of “hero” and “villian” being assigned a-priori. If the hero commits genocide, there had to be some good, moral reason for doing so, if the villian gives money to charity then he must have some dastardly reason for doing so. It’s the essence of mindless tribalism–insert your nation or religion or whatever other community into that and very little changes.

Of course, compare that with the discussion of the Mojave cross. There was much more discussion and even condemnation of that theft in the atheist community than there is of Holy Christian Vandalism in the Christian community. Nothing but justifications (well, it’s bad but you had it coming) and outright celebration, puntuated with false claims of atheists having done the same things for years and insistence that they, as an overprivileged majority, are “just as persecuted, even more so!”

And yet, as Hemant pointed out, it’s rare to see any of the “nice” non-insane Christians take a stand against the fanatics, which is telling. It’s a little hard for me to see you as different from those fanatics when you either openly defend them against the atheists because “at least they believe in God!” or “Sure it’s wrong, but you invited the abuse by existing openly and without shame!”–or they just duck the camera and try to avoid notice. It kind of makes me think that they at least implicitly support the nutjobs and thus their insistence that they are “not like those nutjobs” is unconvincing.
keddaw

Yeah, but she is cute…
Christine

As an aside, when my husband and I moved from CT to NC, we noticed a plethora of two kinds of billboards we’d never seen before. One was advertisements for Jesus. The other was for strip clubs.
Samiimas

As an aside, when my husband and I moved from CT to NC, we noticed a plethora of two kinds of billboards we’d never seen before. One was advertisements for Jesus. The other was for strip clubs.

On a stretch of I-45 going through Houston their is, I’m not making this up, a billboard for a strip club called Heartbreakers less than 50 yards up the road from a billboard asking you to open your heart to Jesus.

They both have the exact same heart covered, bright red imagery. Every time I drive by I try to figure out which billboard was put up to parody the other.
Mike

Crissy defines what is wrong with the hard Christian right. There is a small minority of good people who live for god. Everyone else are evil liberals who are intent on making our country into a beehive of socialist Muslims (or some other non-Christian religion). One can only believe in global warming if your are under the influence of LSD (or have a brain that has been burned out by a past life). It is especially sad to see a young woman infected by this hatred of everyone else but the groups that pay her to write this hatred.
JD

Wow, really? She’s excusing criminal acts because of some kind of manufactured persecution complex? She needs a sense of perspective not derived from an M.C. Escher drawing. Most of the stuff she complains about is probably about the cases where she wants government to take sides in the religion debate, her side, despite the first amendment.

If there are defaced Christian billboards (I’d like to see proof please), who wants to bet that it had nothing to do with subverting the message, and was just some random tagger?
Hitch

It’s WND. I wish I could say I’m surprised because then there would have been progress. Like this I’ll go with Huckabee “at least you are not getting shot at…”

But yes it’s a huge problem for this country to consider how people think (or rather not think).
keddaw

I emailed her the following:

Dear Chrissy Satterfield,

I read your article on the World Net Daily website entitled My Kind Of Vandals with a mixture of bemusement and alarm. Please allow me to point out some of the elementary mistakes I believe you made:

In a secular country there should be no government sponsorship of any belief over any others. This would include the idea that a monotheism is more ‘official’ than polytheism, pantheism or atheism. The words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance is a dangerous precedent for US Government supporting, implicitly and explicitly, one type of religion over all others. And remember the words “under God” were only added in 1954 after a long campaign by various religious groups. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance#Addition_of_the_words_.22under_God.22

Never would I encourage vandalism, but in this case I think I’ll let it slide.

Surely a crime is a crime. Not agreeing with the message that you vandalise is certainly not mitigating circumstances. Would you be so eager to let it slide if a Muslim, Hindu or atheist were to cut down a cross off of the top of a church because they disagreed with the message?

…the CAA felt its only recourse was to deliberately insult those who understand the importance of “Under God.”

There are two problems with this:
What is the importance of “under God”?
How are people being insulted by quoting the original Pledge Of Allegiance? And is it a deliberate insult or simply a wish to remove government sponsorship of a world-view they disagree with and one which is explicitly forbidden by the First Amendment?

Atheists are always saying how offended they are by, well … everything.

Really? I must be reading different news reports than you. As far as I can tell atheists (and secularists which include religious people!) do not get offended by most things they simply see public institutions defying the Constitution and point it out. That is not being offended, that is being a patriot by upholding the Constitution.

And who’s protecting my right not to be offended?

You don’t have one. Freedom of speech virtually guarantees many people will be offended but that is the price you pay for it.

Don’t give the secular world a reason to call your name; instead, let them call for our God.

Our God? How do you know you both believe in the same God? It is this kind of assumption that secularists fight to stop being instilled in the government. Would you be so keen to support the person if they’d written “under Vishnu” rather than God? As soon as the government take the Christian God as the de facto ‘real’ one then they will institute laws and policies that discriminate against people of different beliefs, perhaps not intentionally, but discriminatory none the less.

I’m happy that I can count on other Christians to stand up for themselves and for Christians everywhere.

Your assumption that only Christians can be offended by atheists presenting their views in the public sphere is simply you playing the victim. All religions could be offended by people who profess that there is little evidence for any of the gods of religions yet you solely mention Christians. Given the recent Muslim attitudes to insults to their prophet, is it not possible some of these billboards were vandalised by one of them? Do you think they were standing up for Christians by defacing someone else’s property?

Finally,

I am not happy that vandalism seems to be the only way to get an atheist’s attention.

Here’s how to get an atheist’s (or secularist’s) attention:

* Place the Ten Commandments in front of a court house (only two of which are actually against the law!)
* Have a National Day of Prayer
* Place religious displays on public property (nativity scenes etc.) while denying any other religions’ displays
* Have a prayer before a public meeting
* Have teacher led school prayer in public school
* Teach Creationism as a viable alternative to evolution
* Allow Judges to give different sentences based on the defendant’s religion (or lack thereof)
* Ban gay marriage because a Holy Book says it is wrong
* Allow teachers to use corporal punishment because a Holy Book says “spare the rod, spoil the child”
* Stop scientific progress in certain areas because some religions are uncomfortable with it (stem cell research)

And any number of other thing that the US does solely because of religion when it is supposed to be a secular country.

Please note, I have no problem with you being religious, having a deep spiritual relationship with God or spreading the word, I simply see some of your arguments in this piece as hypocritical or misguided.

With the deepest respect,
Jenny Bliss

@Christine

well you know what the next logical step is dont you? jesus themed strip clubs! lol ahh the ineundos i could make there which arnt quite appropriate ^_^

sillynis aside to be honest this is common logic we see quite often by such people, the best example are those who scream about abortion being murder ect but then on the other hand are fully in favour of capital punishment, an intresting paradox it is 😀
Tom H from Cleveland

I hope some atheists step forward and say that they were responsible for vandalizing the billboard. I hope they say that the are not members of N.C. Secular Association, but they vandalized the billboard knowing how the hypocritical faux-Christians would react – by praising the vandalism. I hope they say that the faux-Christians’ responses actually grant premission to non-theists to vandalize Christian churches. That would steal the thunder from whomever vandalized the billboard in the name of Christ.

I’d take credit myself but as you can tell from my screen name, I don’t live in North Carolina and my claim to fame would not be believeable.
Jude

For what it’s worth, I googled “christian billboards vandalized”, and in the first five pages all the links were to reports of christians vandalizing atheist billboards.

Apparently, the closest thing to vandalism that atheists do are these clever photoshop edits I found: Spanish Inquisitor: Billboard Vandalism 😀
Everyday Atheist

This is exactly the kind of blinkered thinking you need religion to do. People disagreeing with your ideas=vandalizing property. The overwhelming majority not being allowed to force their ideas on others=persecution. Incidents like this make me wonder if, in the long term, Christianity isn’t doomed to become more radicalized, and therefore more violent.
Nicole

And who’s protecting my right not to be offended?

You don’t have one.

^ 🙂
Hypatia’s Daughter

If a Xtian sign did get defaced, how does Ms Satterfield know it was done by an atheist? Perhaps a pro-Catholic sign was defaced by a Baptist who thinks the Pope is the anti-christ; or a Mormon sign by a Catholic? For many xtians, anyone who doesn’t share their particular spin on the Bible is an atheist.
This generic piety for “my God”, usually falls apart when any one xtian sect gets the power to make the rules.
gribblethemunchkin

Such a shame. I was going to write a long refutation of her article but frankly whats the point. She’ll neever read it and if she did, she wouldn’t understand.

I don’t like to resort to ad-hominems but to write that article she really must be dumb as a box of rocks.

It displays the self centred attitude that prompts these billboards. Its OK if its a christian. Its wrong if its an atheist.
tez

Oh my fucking god. What a dumb shit – can she actually hear what she is saying? Where do these people come from and why does anyone give them attention?

Plus, I don’t know why anyone is offended by this poster. After all, it’s just the *original* text from the Pledge of Allegiance. It’s not like is says something like “God is dumb” or “Only idiots believe in god”…
Beth

I think everyone has covered the problems with this pretty well, so I will just say, what a total dumbass!
hoverfrog

Never would I encourage vandalism, but in this case I think I’ll let it slide. Atheists aren’t really citizens and their opinions shouldn’t be protected by law like Christians opinions are.

That’s what she means. Of course you could substitute “Atheists” for “Blacks”, “Muslims”, “Jews” or “Homosexuals” to really demonstrate how wrong her thinking is. You know, if you were in any doubt. 😉

It took a lot of guts to do what you did –- and the fact that you haven’t stepped forward to take credit makes you a hero. Like if you’re in the Ku Klux Klan you’re a hero because you wear a mask when you burn a cross on your black neighbour’s lawn.

God Bless America, the land of the free…as long as you’re a Christian.
Everyday Atheist

Wow, when I clicked through and read it, it’s even worse than the sections Hemant quoted. She is full on endorsing vandalism of atheist billboards as a valid christian action, not just this particular incident. She cites incidents in other places and includes ominous language about “we’ll only take so much before we stand up for ourselves.” Did she kiss the Sarah Palin poster in her locker after writing that?
Judith Bandsma

I don’t understand how this is an “atheist” billboard to begin with. It only states the pre-1954 pledge of allegiance and only a small part of it at that.

The irony these people don’t seem to get is that Bellamy was a BAPTIST minister who left god out of this writing. If it was good enough for a ‘man of god’, surely it’s good enough for the rest of us.

ALL the rest of us.
Jeff P

Someone should interview her and post it on youtube along with the other dumb blond postings. She would rank high up there.
Jenny Bliss

@Hypatia’s Daughter

hmm if 1 of there’s DID get defaced im sure it’d be this guy
he does look MIGHTY suspicious to me! lol

(i would go on about how blonde jokes piss me off enough to smack somone i sharnt lol wrong place and ive gotten in trouble for doing that before >.<)
Tina

This Christian is sorry that those Christians resorted to vandalism & ridiculous rhetoric.

I’m also grateful that we now have blogs & other social media which facilitate communication and a better chance for understanding one another & how we’ve impacted others (intentionally or not).

I’ve learned a lot here~ mostly about how ridiculous and offensive we Christians can be towards atheists.

Again, for what it’s worth, sorry for what i’ve contributed to the problem.
plutosdad

These people are offended by our very existence. Lucky for us we live in the West where we are pretty safe. in some areas of the world these people rule, and that’s when you see real persecution – people not being able to hold jobs, being run out of villages, beatings, and executions or murder. These “it’s ok to harm people we don’t like” are the kind of thugs totalitarians like, they’ll do whatever they’re told in the name of the cause. Whenever unthinking automatons that see life in black and white take over a country you see mass slaughter or starvation.

Sure they say “oh we love the sinner” and “that will never happen again,” but at the turn of last century Europe thought war was a thing of the past as well. And mass murder of minority groups who don’t “deserve” the same rights happens today in many countries.

Make no mistake the people who run and write for WND are examples of the most dangerous anti-freedom and anti-life people out there.
Erik T

They underestimated their demographic, and because the vandalism occurred days before the Fourth, no one could service the billboard until after the holiday. It’s the small victories in life that make it all worthwhile.

FYI everyone, she’s both a bigot and a liar. She apparently just made this “fact” up, because it wasn’t in any news reports and it’s not correct. The billboard was repaired on the morning of July 1 and remained intact throughout the holiday weekend.

Ms Satterfield would probably also be disappointed to learn that since the billboard was erected two weeks ago, we at CAA have added 165 new members, most of whom found us specifically because of the news coverage of the vandalism.
Jen

I enjoy the phrase “Vandalizing my beliefs”. What does it mean? ‘People said stuff I disagreed with and it made me think till I shoved it deep, deep down to where I don’t have to think about it’? ‘Atheists caused me to doubt and it made me sad’? ‘I don’t understand why respecting my beliefs means I still have to learn about Thomas Jefferson?’
Roxane

Anyone who has ever driven through heartland America can attest to the fact that every other farm has a billboard about Jesus. So how can they argue that their rights are infringed?
flygracefully

As a resident of Charlotte and a member of the Charlotte Atheists and Agnostics I can assure you that the billboard was replaced on July 2nd which was in time for the holiday. I personally haven’t checked recently, but as of the 5th it was still intact so over the 4th it was unaltered.

It wasn’t press release worthy so I don’t think a press release was issued, but the Charlotte Atheists website clearly mentions it. Anyone with 2 seconds to study before writing a story could have learned that. Anyone just pushing an agenda obviously doesn’t have time.
Neon Genesis

“If a Christian group would like to respond to this tripe in a positive way, they could always pay for a new atheist billboard. It would suggest: “We may disagree with your beliefs, but we defend your right to believe them. And Satterfield does not represent the true meaning of Christianity.”

Yeah, I’m not holding my breath for that…”

And if some Christian group did put up a counter-sign which I think they should do too, some atheists will still pick the counter-sign apart to show how the Christians didn’t put up a counter-sign the “right way” and argue that by putting up a counter sign, the Christians are in fact enabling WND.
Ralph

So, by extension, young Chrissy would also condone the execution of doctors who perform abortions. After all, it’s not a crime if it accords with her beliefs.
Casey

You have no idea how much I would love someone to vandalize it again, this time crossing out god and putting “his noodly goodness” or even just “fsm”
Adam

Type her name into a search engine and read a few of her other grammatically correct, well thought out and essentially flawless articles.

Have a barf bag ready.
OverlapingMagisteria

My email to Chrissy:

Chrissy,

I read your column supporting the vandalism of the atheist billboard. I’ll keep it short since I’m sure you’ve received plenty of other responses to this article.

You wrote “And who’s protecting my right not to be offended?” You do not have that right. No one does. That is the whole purpose of free speech; that people are allowed to say things whether or not it offends others. Freedom of speech is crucially important as it allows for criticism of government, corporations, and yes, religion. Any type of criticism will offend the target of that criticism.

Frankly, your endorsement of vandalism offended me. But you have every right to express your opinion so I don’t pretend that my rights were violated. If you enjoy exercising your right to free speech, do not argue that others can’t exercise theirs.
Fred Edwords

Nobody seems to have noticed the simple fact that Chrissy had her facts wrong. She wrote:

“because the vandalism occurred days before the Fourth, no one could service the billboard until after the holiday.”

FALSE. The billboard was restored July 1. See details at http://www.ncsecular.org/coverage.html#br .
Aaron

I called her out on it. Sent her an email.

Dear Twit,
The behavior you are applauding in your WorldNetDaily article is exactly the sort of behavior that shows what hypocritical asses many Christians are. Yes, I am saying you are a hypocritical ass. Applauding petty criminals who are too cowardly to openly face anything they see as a challenge to their point of view is beneath me, but apparently not beneath you. Much of my family and many of my friends are Christians, and you have just brought shame to them. You make Christians look like small-minded, hypocritical, jerks.
The organization in question put up this billboard knowing full well that it would likely be vandalized. We Atheist have said that your Christians despise us, and it just gets proved over and again. We can’t even mention that we exist without criminal responses. The Atheists are brave enough to openly put their money on the line to get their message across, while the vandals you are so proud of sneak around in the middle of the night, presumably between huffs of paint. Who is braver in this scenario?
These vandals are not broadcasting their names because they do not want to be punished for a crime, not because their supposed piety motivates them to avoid the limelight. I thought conservatives were supposed to be tough on crime. I guess I was wrong. You seem to love crime when it serves your purposes. Next will you be clapping your hands when someone’s uppity wife gets beaten because she needs to learn to submit to her husband?
You claim that Atheists have been “vandalizing your views for years” yet give no examples. I understand that giving evidence for beliefs is not the strong suit of conservative Christians, but I ask that you give some evidence of an Atheist applauding the vandalism of a church or religious billboard. If you have an example, I will gladly condemn the ass who did it. Perhaps this is too much to ask, but being a rational adult, I ask for proof of ridiculous claims. Are you referring to the fact that we openly disagree with your acceptance of unscientific, bronze-age myths as fact when you say “vandalism”? Boo-frickin-hoo, you infant!
You ask “where is my right to not be offended”? You have no right to not be offended. Neither do I. But we do have a right to property. This is a basic right of all civilizations worth living in. Vandalism is a violation of that right. I would condemn anyone who spray-painted asinine doodles on a church or on a “Jesus Saves!” billboard, not matter how much I disagree with the owners of that property. I see that you would not do the same for me. Dancing for joy when property rights (not to mention this petty attempt to stifle free speech) are violated reminds me why we call the times when the church was in charge “the dark ages”. Petty cowardly criminals. Is this the image you want of Christians?
I doubt you will respond to this. It is probably in your best interest to “sweep it under the rug”. Any debate over this will likely end up embarrassing you.

Aaron Harmon
Aaron

@ Fred
Come on! You know facts don’t matter!
theistsnightmeh

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=836385631
William

Personally, I’m glad that the billboard was vandalized and that idiots like this are cheering it on, keeping the story alive. You just can’t buy publicity like this. So for the cost of a billboard that would have been seen by a few tens of thousands over a short time, the buzz this story has generated has brought attention to the Atheist cause from at least ten times the number of people who otherwise would have seen it. And it only serves to prove again who petty, pathetic and frightened the Christianists behave when an alternate view of reality is offered up as a choice.
Darwin’s Dagger

Moron says what?
And I care why?
codemenkey

show of hands: who didn’t know that wingnut daily has an authorship and readership of rabid conservative mouth-breathers?
Justin

*GASP* She’s posting from BEYOND THE GRAVE!!

Or it could just be a really common name. Brain death would explain her depth of thought, though.
Andy

Anyone who takes seriously the term “hate crime” (a term I have slight legal reservations about) would have to classify the vandalization of the billboards as such. This is not to say that it’s “as bad” as my gay friend getting the shit kicked out of him, but the fact is the essential ingredient of a hate crime is present in the vandalization of the billboards: impetus. What motivated these vandals to do what they did? If you said “A lack of tolerance of, and probably hatred for, the beliefs of their fellow citizens,” you’d be correct.

You can test my theory with s simple thought experiment: Imagine it is not a secularist billboard, but instead a billboard advertising the daily Salah prayers at the local Mosque. Imagine the billboard said “Come every evening at 6pm to worship Allah, in peace, with us!” Now imagine some idiot climbed up there and spray-painted over ~~Allah~~ and wrote in “Jesus is Lord.” Can you imagine the outrage, the righteous indignation coming from the secular left alone? OK then.
Saganist

In a way, it’s interesting to me that the vandalized billboard accurately reflects the Pledge of Allegiance itself: “one nation indivisible” with the words “under God” incongruously scrawled by someone who felt the need to inject their personal religion into our secular government. Thanks indeed to the Christian vandals for their clear demonstration of how the words “under God” got there in the first place.
martymankins

Judith Bandsma said:

I don’t understand how this is an “atheist” billboard to begin with. It only states the pre-1954 pledge of allegiance and only a small part of it at that.

The irony these people don’t seem to get is that Bellamy was a BAPTIST minister who left god out of this writing. If it was good enough for a ‘man of god’, surely it’s good enough for the rest of us.

ALL the rest of us.

My thoughts exactly. Before 1954, this was the correct wording of the pledge. So Miss Crissy was offended at what existed for years? What a mindless person.

Nothing to be offended by. Not to mention her support for vandals when it supports her views and beliefs.
Mike

I hate to break this to the outraged Christian masses, but the person who vandalized the atheist billboard is the same type who’d vandalize the Christian billboard.
Once, I encountered a Jewish kid who was apprehended spray-painting swastikas. Criminal mischief is criminal mischief, just like murder is murder. The motives and other subjective packaging supposedly don’t matter to God.
Keith

I absolutely love the comments on this one. And to everyone who sent this whack job a reasoned, passionate e-mail, well freakin’ done. The religious zealots really don’t get that we just want to exist, have our beliefs (or lack thereof, to be more precise), and be able to express them openly. And not even without debate –I personally enjoy the heck out of a spirited argument– just without harassment. And we want you to have the same, even if we think you’re a bit silly.

Oh, and @Samiimas, I used to pass Heartbreakers every day on the way to work in Texas City. The billboard behind it says “Jesus heals the broken hearted,” so I’m guessing the church group put it up in response to the strip club. I gotta give them credit for cleverness. Though Heartbreakers still seems to do a damn good business, so…Strip club 1, Jesus 0!
martymankins

My reply to Ms. Satterfield:

Ms. Satterfield,

I read your article and was stunned at a Christian woman suggesting vandalism based on a billboard you don’t agree with. Does this mean that all people who profess to be believers are given a free pass to vandalize a public structure that they don’t agree with? So much for liquor stores, non-Christian churches, retails stores that carry objectionable material and the such.

To encourage such behavior goes against any of the teachings of Jesus that Christians profess to believe in. Or do those passages in the bible get ignored when someone is offended by something they feel is wrong?

As for what is wrong with the words of that billboard, I must remind you that for many years, those were the exact words of the Pledge of Allegiance. It wasn’t until our President and Congress felt threatened by another country that we added two words.

Being offended by something that was part of this country’s history seems a bit out of place. But praising the work of vandals is out of place with Christian teachings and values.

Marty Mankins
Salt Lake City, UT
Jeff P

@Saganist,

Good observation
Viggo the Carpathian

It is no surprise but sickening that this sort of attitude prevails.

I just want to ask Ms Satterfield two things, how have atheists vandalized her beliefs? and where does she get off claiming that atheists are offended by everything?
Atheists do not make a practise of deliberately misconstruing Christian beliefs and Christians do atheists – calling us satanist, haters of god etc.
And as for the second question, the whole imagined war on Christmas is a classic example of Christian thin skin. By my observation, when atheists get offended it is when some-one’s freedom is at stake or a dangerous precedent is being set.
JB Tait

@hoverfrog: You forgot to include, in your substitute list, the category “women” as I am sure their opinions are not to be respected unless verified by a male. At least that is what her Book says.

I see a parallel in her “logic” to the admonition that it is acceptable to support a “Pro-Life” position by killing doctors.
Andy

My e-mail to Satterfield went thusly:

Ms. Satterfield,

I’m rather alarmed by the liabilities of your July 7 column. Are not conservatives supposed to reject moral relativism?

What is this inability to simply condemn all acts of vandalism, irrespective of whether the vandals share with your worldview? Would it have been so difficult to say, “I condemn vandalism, and I wish these vandals would have found a more constructive outlet for their frustration”?

I’m sure you disapprove of abortion. But to what extent are you willing to “let slide” the actions of Scott Roeder? I’m guessing (hoping) you don’t condone the murder of abortion providers. Well, why not? Probably because you recognize that lawlessness is lawlessness. (Or do you?)

The answer to speech you disagree with is more speech, not encroaching upon the speech of others. This is an American value, one I hope you learn to appreciate more.

Your pal,

Andy

P.S., As I’m sure you know, the “under god” locution was not original to the pledge. The billboard, therefore, can be said to advocate what Justice Scalia would call “textual originalism.” The original intent of Francis Bellamy was as follows:

“I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands: one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”

Her e-mail address is crs.wnd@gmail.com. Everyone should send her something. If there are any Christians out there who are disgusted by what she wrote, you might want to send something, too.
Brittany

I wish someone would call the cops on her. Tell them that maybe she was behind the vandalism since she supports it so much.
Jeff P

I sent her the following email:

Ms. Satterfield,

I’m writing you in response to your July 7th column about the vandalism of the North Carolina Secular Association billboard.

The United States is a great country which has attracted people of all races and creeds to live side-by side with the hope of greater economic opportunity and freedom from religious and ethnic persecution. The United states spearheaded in modern times an alternative to the monarchies and theocracies seen throughout much of the rest of the world. The founding fathers also recognized a danger even in a democracy of a “tyranny of the majority” where a majority could prescribe into law persecution against a minority.

The concept of a separation between church and state is not a pandering to the non-religious. By keeping religion disassociated from government, people are free to worship as they please. The wording in all pledges, oaths, and currency pertaining to the United States should be inclusive of ALL the country’s citizens. Since all US citizens have the freedom to worship one god, many gods, or no gods, the pledge ideally should be worded without the “Under God” line. The pledge was in fact originally written (by a Baptist minister) without that controversial line. “Under God” was added to the pledge during the height of cold war (with the Soviet Union) in a moment of fear and short-sided expediency.

I see from your accompanying photo in your article that you are quite young and perhaps can be forgiven the impertinence of youth. Perhaps with time you can appreciate the true benefit of the separation of church and state and that vandalism is vandalism whether or not you agree with or like the property that was vandalized.

respectfully,

Jeff
claidheamh mor

That’s vile. She would probably squeal in protest if atheists vandalized a christian board, and say, “Can’t you stop being so intolerant of other beliefs?”

So, since she apparently can’t, I’m convinced she’s a hypocrite.
Slickninja

Good ol Christians. “I love everyone as long as they adhere to my narrow belief set”
Chris Jones

I just sent a very short e-mail asking Crissy to explain how she can be so comfortable having just written an article which is condoning vandalism. I asked if she has no conscience at all. Let’s see if she bothers to reply.
Chris Jones

“Her e-mail address is crs.wnd@gmail.com. Everyone should send her something. If there are any Christians out there who are disgusted by what she wrote, you might want to send something, too.”

I would *EXPECIALLY* encourage the reasonable Christians who are reading this to contact her. For all of the harping I’ve heard by some Christians about other religions needing to patrol their own ranks, this young lady is sorely in need of some patrolling by her own ranks. Being called out by some of her own will be far more effective in bringing her to understand the ethical problem with her position than anything we apostates and infidels might write to her.
Chris Jones

A final point — there are probably a dozen or two dozen of these kinds of billboards in the entire US. There are at least this many Christian billboards just in my suburb in Georgia. I have yet to see any of them vandalized.
Buffy

More hateful twaddle from a privileged nitwit who thinks it’s perfectly appropriate to damage or destroy anything that remotely threatens her narrow little viewpoint.
Dan

I emailed her too!

Dear Ms. Satterfield,

Hello, I hope this email finds you well. I had a question. In your latest article, you state:

“Atheists have been vandalizing my beliefs for years, so it’s about time the shoe was on the other foot.”

Also, you say near the end of the article, “Incidentally, when was the last you heard about a Christian billboard that was vandalized? It happens all the time”

I was not aware of atheists vandalizing Christian billboards, or religious buildings. Could you point me to some examples over the years? There must be dozens as you say it happens all the time, and for years.

Though, you do say however, that they have vandalized your beliefs. I was curious how you define “vandalize” as they only definition I’m aware of involves the destruction/defacing of physical objects, which a belief is not. I know that a lot of homosexuals are beaten up for being gay. I’m not sure if it’s always Christians doing the beating, but it has happened from Christians before. (See: http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/10/how-the-bible-can-be-used-for-violence.html )

I was also curious why you say you’ll only follow the teachings of the Bible for a limited amount of time. I don’t recall any passages from the Old or New Testament in which Christians are told how much time may pass before the law does not apply.

You say later on:

“What did this group think would happen? They placed this controversial message on abillboard that just so happens to be on a street named after Rev. Billy Graham. Did they expect the response to be positive?”

Perhaps they didn’t expect 100% positive feedback, but I sincerely doubt that they expected vandalism. As I’m aware, they just wanted to use a day very apropos to The Pledge Of Allegiance, to voice their opinion on the state of our country. As I am sure you know, “Under God” was placed into the Pledge in 1954 – perhaps some may consider adding “Under God” vandalism to the original pledge?

You say:

“The group claimed that the billboard was not meant to disrespect Rev. Graham, but for some reason I don’t trust them.”

I understand you used the term “trust”, but to be honest, I feel that’s also judging. Jesus spoke against making judgements against others.

You say:

“They took an American celebration and made it about them.”

Really, I don’t think that is true. Everything about the billboard is about how the ENTIRE nation is indivisible, not just the section of our nation who are god fearing. What is so wrong about wanting to remind people that atheists are here as well?

You say:

“Any time you have a problem, the Left is ready to hear you out. But anytime a Christian has something to say it gets swept under the liberal rug and dismissed like our rights aren’t important.”

Please provide examples of both these claims.

You say:

“Someone actually made a difference without broadcasting his name to the world. The vandal stood up for what he believed in and said, “To heck with what anyone thinks.” I find it quite refreshing considering all of the negativity our country has accumulated lately.”

I’m just curious about your logic here. It seems you are only saying that vandalism is alright so long as the the person vandalizing doesn’t provide their name. But when do vandals ever leave a name? Don’t you think they forgo leaving their name so they aren’t arrested? I don’t think they refrain from writing their name because of modesty. I’d also like to ask why a story about vandalism is the opposite of ‘negativity our country has accumulated’.

Thank you for your time,
Daniel
Dan

I think it’s interesting that she considers an atheist billboard on a Billy Grahm street to be a shot at Christians. But what about naming a street in America after a famous hateful Christian? Wasn’t the naming of the street in a country with a Congress that shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, really the first fist thrown in this disagreement?
Michael (SQFreak)

Dan,
Billy Graham was a rather important figure in Charlotte’s recent history. He single-handedly created an industry in the town. Yes, it was the Bible-thumping industry, whether in radio, publications, or television, but a lot is based in Charlotte, and the street naming is a recognition of his importance to the city. In my opinion at least. Basically, there was a secular purpose to name the street after a religious leader (like, say, nearly every city in the US has a Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.), so it’s not a First Amendment problem.
Palaverer

Someone should vandalize her property–by spray painting it with “God is great” or “I sure do love the lord.” Because her premise is that vandalism is okay if it supports Christianity, so she won’t mind at all, right?
Palaverer

I’d also like to see the billboard vandalized again, but this time, cross out the painted word “God” and write in “Allah.” What do you think the response from the Christians will be then?
Ron in Houston

Actually I’ve noticed this as a pattern.

Christianity by its nature tends to be absolutist. Yet, individual Christians will suddenly abandon their absolutism and descend into a form of relativism when it suits them.

Hey Nimrod – what about Romans 13:1? If you obey Earthly authorities then you don’t vandalize. Is the Bible true or not?
Dan W

I’m not too surprised to see this from a fundie Christian on World Nut Daily. So, Chrissy Satterfield thinks “Atheists have been vandalizing my beliefs for years…” Well, I’d like to see some proof of this claim. I’ve not heard anything about atheists vandalizing Christian billboards- only articles about atheist billboards being vandalized, probably by Christians. Unless she has a different definition of vandalism than what the dictionary says.

Did anyone else notice that World Nut Daily doesn’t allow comments on the ridiculous shit fundies post on their site?
Hugh McBryde

No fair I used “Nimrod” first.
Jeff P

My views on the wording of the pledge are summarized here.
colin

Here’s the part that really stood out for me:

“It’s nice to know that I am not alone in my beliefs”

yeah right. I’m so sure that she was under the impression that she was the only Christian in the United States of Jeebusland.

Now she can sleep better at night knowing that there is at least one other person who favors the inclusion of “under God” in the pledge of allegiance.
quisquose

“Never would I encourage vandalism, but in this case I think I’ll let it slide.”

Never would I condone murder, but in George Tiller’s case I think I’ll let it slide.
ckitching

She has a right not to be offended? Does that mean she’s supporting those Muslims who were holding up signs, “Behead those who insult Islam”? I wonder which makes her froth at the mouth more.
Rich Wilson

I also need to extend a thank-you to some people in Sacramento and Detroit. In February, 10 atheist billboards were defaced in the Golden State and a slew of atheist bus ads were vandalized in Detroit. My dose of honesty this week: I am not happy that vandalism seems to be the only way to get an atheist’s attention. I’m happy that I can count on other Christians to stand up for themselves and for Christians everywhere. It gives me hope.

I’d like to extend a thank-you to a) standing up for themselves and Atheists everywhere, and b) not doing it by vandalizing Christian displays everywhere. I know, it would get Christians’ attention, but our morals have evolved past the bronze age stone slabs.

(and I only recall one billboard in California defaced, not 10)
Randy

Has anyone gotten an answer from her yet?
Jeff P

I haven’t and I probably had one of the more mild letters to her. I would be surprised if she responded to anyone criticizing her posting. She is probably freaking out with all the negative emails she is getting. Or, more likely, she is evoking selection bias and just paying attention to the supporting emails from like-minded Christians and ignoring the ones from the “mean awful atheists”.
Rich Wilson

Maybe we should send her a letter of support and see what she says. I would but I just don’t have the stomach for it.
Pete

This Christian anarchist faith billboard graffiti vandalism seems to be becoming a bit of an international phenomenon.

Even here downunder in NZ,at times the lawless faithful have also been getting all creative with their spraycans.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/vandalism/news/article.cfm?c_id=500849&objectid=10636467

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3168791/Church-courts-controversy-with-Christmas-billboard

And they dont even seem to have a sense of humor either http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/arts/3889902/Comedy-billboards-attacked-outside-church

My opinion is its actually great for atheism, that these faithful all get to publically display and expose their lawless christian anachist type tendencies they long been quietly harbouring.
NevadaGirl

Has anybody ever gotten that text message/e-mail claiming that Pepsi has new patriotic cans with the pledge on them. As the story goes, the cans have omitted the phrase “under God.” The text pleas with consumers to not buy Pepsi products until this is resolved.
Well this text is flying around my town like wild fire now. Upsetting a lot of Christians. They don’t realize that this text is completely and utterly false. It came about because of a special can Dr.Pepper did way back in 2001.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/undergod.asp

This is where rational thinking and facts come in to play.

I’m just pissed at how many people fail to analyze anything properly. They just get in a big fuss, pass on the stupid inaccurate message. Reason does not work.

Anyway, I’m straying from the topic. Today my friend argued that the pledge should not be edited from it’s original wording. She said that the words “under God” were there when this country was founded and shouldn’t be changed by anyone. This is out of respect for the original writer of the pledge.
I argue that the pledge of allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy and later “under God” was added due to an act passed by Congress in 1954.

Why doesn’t anyone just find evidence and research anything? I feel like I’m stuck in a town of gullible fools. Help!
TC

I had to write her:

To: Chrissy

I had to write to you in response to your appalling article encouraging the vandalism of the atheist-sponsored billboards. Just because these billboards expressed a sentiment in opposition to your beliefs is no reason to encourage their vandalism. Frankly, I am shocked that you are expressing anything but outrage. Not only are these vandals breaking the law and repressing the views of other, they are not exhibiting moral behavior. Freedom of speech is protected in this country, as far as I can still tell, so encouraging the repression of opposing viewpoints is despicable.

There are many different viewpoints in this world and the expression of those is not an attack on your beliefs. In this country you have the right to be offended, you do not have the right to shut down the speech of others who don’t share your same beliefs.

It seems strange to me that you encourage anonymous lawbreakers rather than uphold the Constitution and rules of our land. How is this cowardice construed as heroic? I can’t begin to imagine.

I am also curious as to why you feel affronted with the atheists’ billboards. Do they somehow negate or cheapen your faith or the faith of any other person? Why do you need to even get their attention?

I feel that you and the vandals have done nothing to showcase the morality of Christians. Instead you have shown yourselves to be little more than sneaking cowards who can’t live with the fact that others have a different way of living and who feel threatened by a broader perspective.
Sophia’s lover

oh and by the way a cross at the mojave desert war memorial was stolen. You say we don’t face illegal persecution. This is about more than religion. The desecration of a final resting place for men who died for your right to say what you are saying, erected by their comrades or a little graffiti, you choose. (here are your damn links)http://www.donttearmedown.com/ http://cbs3.com/topstories/mojave.cross.stolen.2.1687292.html
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/05/11/mojave.cross.stolen/index.html