Marcia Segelstein has a piece at OneNewsNow about all those atheist billboards that are “bashing” religion:
I guess I just don’t understand. Christians (along with Jews and Muslims) gather in groups to worship. Atheists don’t gather not to worship, so why seek out members? What’s there to be a member of? And why should atheists care about stopping worshippers who are just “going through the motions”? Do they think they might get their hands on money once pledged to churches?
Trying to tear down the belief system of the world’s foremost religion — Christianity — is what seems intolerant to me. Placing prominent ads declaring the birth of Christ to be a myth seems downright hostile. To my mind, these campaigns feel defensive, as though atheists are weighted down with chips on their shoulders, or feel left out of some club.
No one’s trying to be hostile. It’s a question of truth. Christians think they have it but they don’t. They don’t have evidence; they cling to their “faith” precisely for that reason. Atheists are the ones shouting “The Emperor has no clothes!” and we’re frustrated that people usually don’t listen. Those people love listening to those pastors, though, who offer them false hopes and warped history wrapped in a wink and a smile.
When we find out someone else isn’t duped by all that, we get excited. Someone else doesn’t believe in a god?! We want to talk to them. For once, we don’t have to censor ourselves. We can talk openly about the mythology we learned in our churches and mosques, and the silly holy books and rules that everyone else actually based their lives around, and the absurd theories about science and history which were propagated by our pastors.
It’s refreshing to be around people who are honest about the way the world works.
You can joke about how atheists come together to “not pray” but we do so much more than that when we get together.
Maybe Segelstein can drop in on a local group’s meeting and see that for herself.
