University of Georgia Atheists Will Lead Protest Against Pastor Mark Driscoll

While he’s despicable and all, this does leave me wondering where I can get a bacon air freshener. 

agreed!

For the first time in my life, I’m proud of the school where I got my MA.  There were no atheist groups at UGA in the 1970’s.  Progress is being made.

Pretty sure at thinkgeek

i know archie mcphee has many, many bacon related products. that’s where i got my bacon flavored toothpicks(not that accurate in taste, actually).

If you’re gonna criticize Twilight, at least come up with criticisms that make sense. Like how Edward is a creepy stalker. Or how vampires should not sparkle in sunlight. 

Good idea, but I hope it won’t just be atheists who are protesting. It will make more of a statement if they can convince moderate and liberal Christians to join them.

Best scene in the movie!

If you’re in the area, please consider joining them. The larger the crowd, the more your message will drown out his.

It would be better for our message to discredit his message, rather than drown it out. I think Hemant, in your passion for social justice and your very understandable anger at Driscoll, which I share, you probably meant something more about clearly showing the ugliness of  his ignorance and hate mongering. Using his own words against him  sentence-by-sentence is the way to get young people to repudiate him without inadvertently making him a martyr of mob censorship.

Since the singing guy on the cross is Eric Idle and the person playing Jesus during the Sermon on the Mount scene isn’t Eric Idle, I think I can say with some confidence that the singing guy on the cross is not Jesus.

What is the difference between a religion and a cult anyway?  Isn’t Christianity merely a Johnny-come-lately cult that broke away from Judaism?  An upstart religion that shattered and scattered into tens of thousands of little cults all hiding under an umbrella term.  Isn’t Judaism a cult of monotheism that stems from Amon-Ra monotheism in the Egyptian tradition (well, if you squint at it just right)?  At least with Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Neo-Paganism, Cargo cults and Scientology we have records of how these cults and practices started whereas the older faiths (Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism and even Islam) have origins that have dwindled into history.

Anyway, I’m glad to see the UGAtheists continuing a long tradition of heckling.  Every crowd should have a contingent of hecklers, especially those who are spouting garbage like Driscoll does.

The word “cult” has a pejorative, very negative meaning these days. It usually refers to groups with a very authoritarian leader, severe seclusion and even isolation from the outside, use some mind control techniques, restrict information to insiders, etc.

I’d agree with Mormons, JW and Scientology are definitely cults. They are very insular, shun apostates and people identify with the group to an extreme degree

Originally though it just meant a group with abnormal practices. Today, we refer to that as a “sect”, which is a splinter group from some faith. Though some people think even that is negative.

I didn’t even think it was funny when I first saw it as a teenager.  Then I got older, became an atheist, read up on the history of the time and area, and laughed myself silly.

Nope, I am pretty sure it is one of the robbers hanging next to Brian. Same guy that jokes around when they are waiting in line for a cross, or whatever … when the roman solder asks “Crucifiction?” he says something like “No, I’ll take freedom – just kidding!”

One of the best movies ever – no wonder a dumb fundie won’t like it.

Thanks for the support, everyone! We will indeed be sporting posters containing excerpts from these quotes. We also have some liberal Christians who will be joining us. Stay tuned for pictures!

I drive a 1978 Chevy pickup with a bacon air freshener, okay… I read the Bible, and I take the parts literally, all of it, including the be kind and this is a sin. I take it all literally.

Surprised that no one else saw this but the contridition in these two statements is hilarious. Apparently he takes all of the bible literally, you know, except for the parts that mention not eating bacon.

And that’s what I consider the best scene in the movie (though the naughty boy scene was good, too).

Yeah, Mars Hill is a big institutionalized cluster-fuck of crazy. Mark Driscolls says that he has “visions” and can call people out on their “sins” (seriously? this guy claims to see things and leads a church with thousands of followers??).

This is a church, like you’ve pointed out, is really geared toward young families that want to be “hip” and “relevant” (some of my favorite Christianisms!), so come on down on Sunday morning! Drop off your kiddos in the child-care facility that used to be a Lane Bryant! Grab a cup of coffee or espresso from the built-in coffee shop! Take a sermon outline that fits perfectly in your Mars Hill-brand binder! Get enraptured with the swelling worship music and the smartly-dressed worship team members!

I just can’t decide between Mars Hill/Driscoll and Elevation/Furtick…who represents the greater evil? They both do an excellent job of marketing the faith and selling it to the masses. Ugh.

If I were in the area I would problably go, and I’m not normally a public protest kinda guy.

Using that definition, I think you’d have to add fundamentalist and conservative evangelicals (like Driscoll) to that list, too. They’re more popular than some of the other groups, but they’re just as insular and they use the same pressure-filled and fear-based tactics to get people to stay in the fold. 

I think everyone agrees that Scientologists are scary, but it’s funny how JWs often get tagged as a cult, while the Amish are thought of as quaint and wholesome. But both groups encourage rigid gender roles and severe corporal punishment of children, discourage all forms of higher education, and practice official shunning of people who leave the church. Mormons, on the other hand, I don’t see as fundamentally different from, say, Baptists or any other evangelicals.

This. 

This was my experience also 🙂

To be fair, I protest the twlight novels as well, but for the reason of I think it’s really horribly written.

The Monty Python thing is still doing the rounds? What year is that guy living in?
TV debate from when the film came out-

And a response-

Mark Driscoll is a man of the living God, his message could never be drowned out by your protest. YOU ARE LOVED BY A LIVING GOD, AND YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN!

Regardless of who preaches the Word, if you don’t believe in Jesus Christ you will live eternally in hell. Period.point.blank. enjoy your earthly life now while you can. Your forever is gonna suck….

lol Atheists. 

I know that I am going to get blasted on this website but thats  okay. I kn0w Driscoll can say some things that are out there but he knows the Bible very well and to to say he doesnt is uneducated….Most of the arguments on here agianst him are weak….My one question is why cant he have a faith or an opinon without getting blasted…He would never show up to one of your meetings  or confrences. There might be some so called christian groups that would show up but it would not be driscoll. Driscoll is secure in his faith so he doesn’t need to protest yours…..Are most of you not secure in your own beliefs that you have to protest his…..If you dont beileve in God that is fine but why are you bothered by those that do.

Just want to point out the missed obvious here- these protests are not against Mark Driscoll, no matter how badly you’d like them to be.  They are against God’s Word and God himself.  Mark is a pastor and you take issue with what God put in the book Mark believes in and preaches.

So lets be honest here Mark Driscoll didn’t make you an Atheist, you are just an Atheist. Christians are people too and like anyone they sin and they say stupid stuff just like everyone else. I’m not Driscoll fan and I don’t support what he says above but you have to realize those are his opinions; they aren’t based in Biblical fact though he may try to make it seem that way sometimes. Is it messed up that he is preaching this to hundreds of people? yes. Should he be keeping most of that to himself or at least behind closed doors? yes. Look Atheist are some of the smartest people in this world because they question and think for themselves. So why is it that you are viewing the Christian religion though another mans eyes? You should be using you obvious intelligence to find out what you DO believe, not simply refusing to believe anything because of one bigot.

As consistent atheists, the only reason you folks are making these statements are due to certain chemical reactions in your brains, not because of any truth values in your propositions.

After reading this diatribe against Driscoll, I have been pondering holding protests against atheist conventions and gatherings.  Perhaps I can pull quotes from contemporary atheists and get the megaphone out, shouting things such as “Bibliophobe,” Christophobe”, “Theophobe,” “Decaloguephobe,” and the like…

“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart.” (Proverbs 21:2)

Bible says you can read…read the new testament

He’s been quoted saying that he is “putting the fun back in fundamentalism”. So, really it is no secret that his teaching fits that definition. There is no pretense in dressing how you please, if he doesn’t fit your vision of what he should dress like then this is quickly becoming an argument about fashion and not beliefs. And on your third point, loving someone and agreeing with their actions are two entirely separate things.

Amen. Well said!

If you think Mormons and Baptists are similar, them it is clear you know nothing of either one. Mormonism believes you become a god. Baptists worship the One true God.

liberal christian is an oxymoron.

It’s not that most Christians ignore Leviticus, but rather that most people have a misunderstanding of the laws and how they work with grace.

The laws in the Old Testament have different types: Ceremonial Law, Civil Law, and Moral Law.

The commands to not eat “unclean animals” was a ceremonial law, which Christ’s sacrifice put an end to (Eph. 2:14-15). We can eat meat that was once considered “unclean” without fear of punishment. (1 Cor. 10:25-27, Rom. 14:14). Ceremonial law was for specific people, for a specific time, for a specific purpose.

The Moral Laws, on the other hand, such as your example of homosexuality, are still to be observed by Christians. The moral laws, which include the “Big Ten”, are for all people, and for all time.

The Civil Laws were also for the Hebrews, much like our civil laws in America pertain to us.

I hope this helps.

What is everyone so worried about?  Over time, this mental weakness of Christian fundamentalism will be bred out of humanity.  The more evolved homosexuals will pass on their genitc code to future generations and……oh, wait…

Great. Just great.

What’s that conference about again?  Being nice to your spouse?  This might lead to Christians geting more “action” and making more…gasp…babies.  

What in the world are you doing protesting?!?!?!?  Get busy with the procreation already!!!  Future generations of Hedonistic Nihilists are counting on you.

Oh, by the way.  If you need help with your relationships with your mate and offspring later on, I know this guy. Driscoll or something….

I wonder as an atheist why you think that there is some duty for you to speak out against the “vile things” Driscoll spews out.  Assuming a naturalistic account of Driscoll and his thoughts they are really just a complex set of chemical and bilogical reactions over which he truly has no control.  Why blame that bag of matter for saying things that other bags of matter don’t like?  Why this puritanical moralism when it seems to me you have foundation to base it on?

With a wife and 4 kids?! … yeah, makes perfect sense.  Did you bother to look up that message and read that quote in context?  No?  Just prefer to do ad hominem and get some laughs and ignore the issue?  Oh ok.

I wish you could understand that this type of comment is completely destroying your purpose as a Christian and should cause you to question the foundation of your “loving” faith.

Wow. Driscoll really mobilized his troll army

Strange enough, their is absolutely nothing controversial about the quotes selected. You may disagree with them, but they are not inflamatory. Maybe I could poke at the last one (I don’t know that hanging drywall is a heterosexual trait). But really. Barrier to peace and equality? You mean a society with no disagreements, everyone does as they wish? Discernment and truth are relics of the past? What happened to dialogue?

That’s your opinion. Just because you believe something doesn’t mean everyone else has to agree with you.

I typed  “your are not FORGOTTEN”. You have misread…but don’t worry, I FORGIVE you.

It’s interesting that Atheists believe Jesus to be a fake, or “just a guy” or whatever, but the mere mention of this “man” who lived 2000 years ago still gets you all riled up. Gotta be something to that! (Ohhhh….and I KNOW that at least one of you will say it’s just because us coo coo crazy Christian people who tread on EVERYONE else  beliefs just won’t shut up about it blah blah blah…just remember, we’ve all been fed to the lions one time or another….

God loves all those people too- He loves everyone.  However, he does not like what they choose to do, nor does he like anyone else’s sin.  This doesn’t negate His love though…as it never does.  YOu don’t have to like what your friend does yet you don’t stop loving them…yet He is infinitely better and more loving.

Ah yeah, the concept of informed consent has always been a problem for Christians

And no there is nothing wrong with polyamory. It’s just polygamy as practiced by religious groups is very misogynistic

Lies are far worse. Spreading lies, even if they’re not your own, is just as bad as making them up in the first place.

Do you have any evidence to back up this claim? Whatsoever? I’d be glad to hear it.

So I should believe in Jesus and gawd, because if not, I’ll burn forever? So it’s not about love. It’s about fear.

If they were, then why aren’t atheists protesting all churches? The fact is, it IS against Mark Driscoll, no matter how badly you’d like them not to be. He is incredibly sexist, saying that lesbians are masculine and gay men are feminine. I doubt if he’s ever met a gay person in his life.

Sweet imaginary Jesus April!

actually the message is “you are worthless in god’s eyes, but if you jump through this hoop he might let you into his club”

sounds like a school bully, doesn’t he.

Being a Christian is more like relieving yourself of responsibility. You wrong someone? Oh, well that’s alright, God will forgive you. It’s complete irresponsibility. 

It’s also somewhat nonsensical to say that atheists are protesting god, when we don’t even think that such a being exists. But then, many Christians think atheists are just angry at god and other such things

I’m just curious which bible passage explains how driving a 70’s Chevy means your straight or that Jews pray to Satan?  It’s not taking issue with what he cites from the bible, it’s what he cites as biblical that’s anything but. 

phobe implies irrationality. My fear of theocracy is rational. I don’t want to go back to the dark ages.

First, how is the crucifixion scene in Brian anything to do with Christ? the entire movie pushed the intent to make fun of Jewish people who picked their messiahs – as Pilot puts it – by the sackful, and the numerous and innefective terrorist groups that faction into sub-groups so never really accomplish anything.  Do you realize how many thousands of ‘not-Christ’ individuals were cruxified?  Christ was subjected to this thing a lot of other people were subjected to.  So, Christ also ate fish, is someone who makes light of eating a fish dinner not being equally blasphemous?  The miracle wasn’t the cruxifiction, it was the resurrection which only one person achieved.  Unless you count 1 Kings 17:17-24, 2 Kings 4:32-37, and 2 Kings 13:21, or the many many Greeks and Pagans like Achilles, Alcmene, Castor, Heracles, Melicertes, Krishna, Bacchus, Osiris, etc.

And true, your additiude seems to think you don’t want these Buhddists and pieces of fabric.. sorry Muslim.. people to convert, you really aren’t giving them any incentive but fear of something they don’t believe in without offering anything that will actually cause them to believe it.

You have such unrealistic expectations on those who went to Seminary school and were taught which passages to emphasize and in what order (which is not chronological) and which passages to avoid entirely and which ones to cover far far away from others to avoid people doubting the Word thanks to the contradictions, and sometimes to avoid them doubting the political party the church in questions is supporting.  I sat through a prayer directed only at the believers of Katrina at one church, I walked out and never returned because a believer has many who will pray for him, but not a prayer can be spared that Christ may open the heart of a non-believer and take pity on him.  Another church had a closing prayer that invoked so many of Moses’ instructions that Christ corrected (sorry, fulfilled) that I’m surprised it didn’t end with in Moses name we pray… the prayer included a statement justifying our occupation of Iraq and had a special prayer for George W. Bush “our godly commander and chief” his words of someone who said the Bible probably isn’t even true.  Another church I never returned to.

And what you’re talking about with gays and homosexuals (these are different?), is a misunderstanding of lesbian vs. feminist vs. trans-gendered, they are not interchangeable words.

I don’t care what he wears for the most part, I know a pastor who will perform a marriage with him, bride and groom, and the audience entirely in the nude if that is their preference.  But if the event is the weekly honoring of God and his greatness and you are so big on not insulting him, don’t you think it’s a good idea to at least look decent and not like a slacker (unless you happen to not have anything else to wear, because I don’t believe someone should be turned away because they only have the clothes on their back).  To have a wardrobe of nice close and choose to dress in a manner that shows how little care and concern you have for the reverence of your position and the function you are performing is nothing if not an insult to God.  Reverence to god is not the same as ordering a Venti Peppermint Mocha.  I’ll take mine with a triple shot please.

I am amazed  that your brain can make sense of this rubbish.

Okay so thank you all for explaining that to me. It really did help, I only have one concern and I hope one of you can explain it to me. If God is love (thats what it says in the bible right?) then how is he gonna send someone to hell for how they love? I mean I understand it’s a sin but why? Why is loving someone differently so wrong?

my mistake 🙂 thank you for the forgivness and understanding

Hedonistic Nihilists? Really? How many atheists do you actually know? I’d wager the answer is “none.”  And, for what it’s worth, my relationship with my wife and kids has improved dramatically since we quit going to church a couple of years ago.  But I guess if stereotyping makes you feel better…

Oh, I love this Moral, Ceremonial, Civil law shtick. I bet you’re a Ray Comfort fan, aren’t you? Where does the Bible say the Law is broken into those categories, guest? 

Agreed. I love how they place consenting sex between adults on the same level as child rape and animal abuse. 

And they think we’re perverse. Hahaha.

Actually, that was Peter in Acts 10. Mark 7:18-19 doesn’t mean what you think it means.

Perhaps you should take your own advice.

Jesus love you long time!

Oh my [INSERT DEITY HERE]!  Trolls eat babies!  Won’t someone think of the babies?!?
😉

No no, [I] am a Hedonist, these people are Atheists, the Nihilists don’t care enough about anything to bother responding to you.  Insults work best when you get the names right you communi-uh-sociali-uh-capitali-uh… somethingist!
I choose to side with what Jesus said… and yes the words were in Red… when he criticized the Jews for not following the law by killing their children when they disobeyed.  So, if I really wanted to follow the word of Christ, and I was going to have children, AND my children ultimately at some point would disobey me because that’s just what children do, I would have to kill them (courtesy of Matthew 15:4-7), and I don’t want to have to kill my child like Jesus tells me I should so therefore I won’t have them and that’ll save me the trouble.
And before you say it’s just a parable and he was chiding the Pharisees of being hypocrites, let’s also review Matthew 5:18 which tells us the old law still stands, every little comma, exclamation point, ellipse (the little literary whore) as well as the bastard Oxford fuckin’ comma,  and we have to keep obeying it, so Jesus couldn’t have been saying it out of pure sarcasm, it was already outlined that we still have to follow that law.
And schmott guy, do you know what happens if the whole world turns gay?  A few will still artificially inseminate but for the most part human life will die out.  And given the sheer number of Trolls out there that are technically of the human race, I’m not sure our species extinction is such a bad thing.  I think the earth could finally heal the wounds we’ve inflicted by anally raping it for greed and profits and war… and since most of that was done at the behest of what you call a Christian Nation, must have been the will of God for the world to be so utterly damaged.

Did you bother to check on just how many people were divorced from their wives and lost custody of their children when they finally realized they were just living a lie to hide their homosexuality?  Being a good looking guy in a pin-stripe suit with a perfect Stepford blonde wife and 4 kids, 2 dogs and an SUV is actually the perfect cover for a closeted homosexual.  You should check the craigslist casual encounters section m4m, you’ll see a lot of married “straight” men looking for very discreet encounters.  Yeah, wife and 4 kids can only mean straight.  The Shakespearean phrase “methinks thou doth protest too much” comes to mind. Sheesh!

While I agree that one misguided pastor spouting bible-like rhetoric should not be a valid basis for rejecting an entire religion or rejecting all religion for that matter.  But please keep in mind, Dogma was BIBLE BASED and was probably one of the most blasphemous movies to come out (including some of the porn out there). 
So here’s my bible lesson for you today, absolutely everything is from the Red:
I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until EVERYTHING is accomplished.
I can guarantee this truth: Until the earth and the heavens disappear, NEITHER a period NOR a comma will disappear from Moses’ Teachings before EVERYTHING has come true.
And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.

Very nicely put, bravo!

Can we please leave Reagan out of this? 😉

The most telling point to “Brian” comes from all the behind the scenes commentary.  They sat down and decided to write a script making fun of Jesus, they thoroughly researched the New Testament and came to the conclusion that you just couldn’t make fun of him personally.  So they decided, what if we took some random guy the Jews mistake for the messiah (which happened quite a lot). 
So technically, they committed a sin simply by sitting down and planning their blasphemy, but the movie itself is actually clean of said sin.  It’s filled with a lot of other so-called sin, but blasphemy is not one of them… unless you count depicting Jesus’ image which is a commandment breaker if the Trinity has any merit, but that would condemn upwards of Trillions of people throughout history, so Christians can safely ignore that one.

Well, there’s one.  But otherwise we’re solid!

I’m so straight even my truck has balls and high cholesterol!  My wife put a pansy-ass pink cancer ribbon on the windshield, so I locked her in the closet for a weekend while I painted over the ribbon with camo.  Oh yeah, I’m so flamboyantly straight I had to build a closet full of power tools to hold my excess testosterone!  Smell that armpit… go on, smell it!  That’s sweat, manliness, and BACON!

Hi Chris. Thank you very much for asking.  Very often Christians visit this site only to tell us about what we think, feel and do, rather than to sincerely ask us.  You can see a few examples of that right here in these comments.  I’ve conversed with many hundreds of Christians, and it seems that the Christians who don’t actually know any atheists closely at all are the ones who are the most eager to tell atheists all about what atheists think, feel and do.

So it’s refreshing to actually hear a sincere information-seeking question.

This site is called Friendly Atheist because of the widespread and for the most part unfounded prejudice that atheists are nasty, mean, evil, angry, depraved, aggressive and dangerous.  To be sure, there are a few atheist websites that sometimes have an angry tone, but more often this perception is from the bias rather than actual observation. So to try to counteract that, and to have a website where atheists and believers can at least have a chance for respectful dialogues, Hemant Mehta founded this site.

Bear in mind that “friendly” does not mean “make nice,” and it does not mean accepting abuse.  We disagree with much of what believers believe, and more often we object to objectionable things that believers do to other people.  While some atheists who comment here can get frustrated, we generally try to disagree and object in as respectful a manner as our human patience will allow.

For a very long time, religion has been held in what is called a privileged position. It has enjoyed a “hands off” social policy insisting that religious ideas should never be questioned or challenged.  Many Christians have become very accustomed to this. So no matter how gently, politely, and respectfully an atheist forms a question or a challenge to a religious claim, Many Christians will automatically perceive that as “unfriendly” or “rude,” or “aggressive.”  The reality is that it is not rude to simply question or challenge any ideas.

So Chris, please consider the possibility that your initial perception that we’re not being friendly is more about not being used having your ideas questioned or challenged by people who see things differently.  Also, please forgive the few of us who forget our manners once in a while and go beyond simply questioning or challenging your ideas.  There are well-behaved and poorly behaved individuals in any kind of group, and any individual can have well-behaved and poorly-behaved days.

I hope that you will visit again and like several other Christians who often comment here, I hope you will dialogue with us in a good-natured way.

/wiping off monitor/

Good one… 🙂

Phew!  Now I can go eat shrimp again. 

If you can honestly look at those quotes in the post above and tell me he’s a good man who means good in the this world, then there is no point in arguing with you.  He is a misogynist.  He interprets the bible in ways that are hurtful to others, especially those who don’t agree with him.  I understand he’s of a denomination that adheres to these beliefs, but that is the underlying problem. 

And I, personally, am bothered by those who believe in god because they are trying desperately to take over this country by using their beliefs and bible to influence law to govern all people in this country, regardless of belief or nonbelief.  It is incumbent upon me and others like me to speak out and let them know that their methods of enforcing their religious beliefs using the US law is wrong.  Period.

Let’s say the atheists were using some ancient book written about a golden frog to determine who to elect to office and those people use said book to pass laws outlawing many of the freedoms you enjoy, would you not speak out?  Would you not just ask that we go ahead and believe in our golden frog and our book but not use it to pass laws?

I know it sounds silly and I could probably come up with something better, but it’s late and I’m tired.  I hope you get what I’m saying.  THEN you might understand.   

I don’t believe in God.  I don’t believe in any gods.  I’m not against gods or the words of gods.  I just don’t believe that they exist.  Driscoll exists though.

Your mistake is that you assume that homosexuality is something that people do and not something that people are. The problem is that you are flat out wrong about that. All major psychological and medical organizations recognize that homosexuality is in no way a choice and also don’t recognize it as an illness, which is to say there is no scientific backing for the religious notion that homosexuality is a chosen set of acts and also no backing to the notion that there’s something objectively wrong with it.

So how does this sound: I love my black friend, I just don’t like that he is black.  Would you call me a racist for that?

How about this: I love my Christian friend, I just don’t like that they choose to be Christian and I think the government should not recognize the Christian religion? Would you consider that persecution of Christians? Would you believe me if I said that despite wanting to restrict your civil rights I still “loved” you? Even when associations dedicated to the subversion of your rights advocated outlawing Christianity and routinely compared Christianity to alcoholism and pedophilia?

Sorry but when you oppose the core of someone’s being and would like there to be laws ensuring they have fewer rights than you do, you have given up the right to be believed when you say you “love” them.

It’s downright scary that so many people have deluded themselves into thinking that the only thing that’s keeping them from stealing, murdering and raping is an ancient book. Maybe it’s better that they believe…

And likewise, just because you don’t  believe in a  God or think he’s imaginary – doesn’t mean he doesn’t exsist outside your own finite perception. Neither of us can prove God exsists or does not exsist, I guess we’ll both have to wait till after we die to see. I’m putting my bets on yes.. eternal life seems a percievable option.

“He even saved me” – remember you said that Heidi, next time someone uses the old line about how religion is ennobling and concerned with human dignity.

Religion tells you that you are a wretch but that your abusive partner … I mean saviour will overlook yor many flaws (that they feel the need to constantly point out) because they love you.

Your religion tells you that you are dirty so it can promise you soap.

There is nothing of human dignity in that.

Troll army for Jesus much?

I do hope you realize I’m merely correcting the Christian with their own book.  I am in no way implying this is my belief.  I am irrevocably pagan.

If you are interested, feel free to join our Facebook group, UGAtheists, if you would like to know what we are up to.

Hi! My name is “Sarcasm”! Pleased to meet you! 😉

Also, I’d suggest reading the entire comment 😀

No one’s trying to stop you from believing whatever you like. I was just explaining that atheists do not think that gods are real. You can believe that your particular deity is real while all the others are imaginary, but that strikes me as culturally myopic. There does not appear to be a shred of evidence for gods, continued consciousness after death, or the supernatural in general. The burden of proof is on those who assert the existence of such extraordinary things.

“The truth is that every one of us should die for the crap we constantly do.”

You’re okay with this, and this is a message you think should be taught to children. You, ma’am, are a fucking monster.

I love that you reference the limits of human perception as a *reinforcement* of your beliefs. If we can’t tell either way, then you sure as hell don’t know anything about it either.

The guy says atheists pray to Satan and you don’t see anything wrong with it: Protip: we don’t pray period.

Oh, and dialogue? People like Driscoll want nothing to do with it.

I’m not sure why I’m trying to reason with you here, but whatever.

Looks like your reply was to cap’n, but just so you know, I’m not mad.  Just wondering why you need the help of an ancient book or some pastor-type individual in order to figure out the best way to treat your spouse, mate or kids.  Even when I *was* a Christian I never understood that, actually.  But if thinking for yourself is too difficult, I guess…

Nope, the bible hates on the lesbians too 🙁     
Rom. 1:26-28, “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper.”

hahahaha. That made my day 🙂

Whoa Mike, cool down a second. Heidi did not make this up. This is not her idea. She is a victim to the madness like every other true believer. Please. I know it is challenging, but that is the job, talking to theists calmly and modeling positive communication skills. 

Maybe because Jesus (assuming he existed) didn’t write anything himself.  Maybe because Jesus (if he existed) seemed to be perfectly content to remain a Jew and said nothing about starting a new religion in his name.

I think it is fair to say “are you seriously endorsing this?” – we all know Heidi is not the inventor of christian doctrine.

But when someone straight faced says “we all deserve to die” they at least deserve a Silverman Stare

But with this insane argument, youre actually saying that Christians are born Christians and have no choice? If you really believe that gay people are born gay, then your point about Christians is invalid

Too bad your are doing exactly what ANYONE does to try to disprove something. You can easily take one statement that you know nothing about and take it out of context to prove your point. No where in the Bible does it say, “Thou shalt not eat bacon.” Really?! That’s absurd. What you’re refering to is the cultural aspect of not eating unclean meats. Which was just that, a part of their culture!

Oh… you’re right! Let’s just accept any old way someone wants to live and accept it. If a 70 year old man is attracted to an 8 year old girl, thats ok! Come on, anything goes!
How insanely absurd is that?! THERE HAS TO BE A STANDARD!!!!! You say that your group won’t say anything or think someones wrong for having a different belief! Then, if someone wants to be different and rape your daughter, that’s quite alright huh! That is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. You have to have a set of standards!!!

You’re right. Anyone can CHOOSE to sin. So, that, my friend, IS an inborn trait. We are all born sinners and being homosexual is just as much of a sin as lying. And yes, you can love someone and not approve of what they’re doing!

And other parts that Christians still desperately cling to as unfailing, eternal dogma were just as much part of the culture then.

You simply pick and choose which parts of the Bible to follow based on your own likes and prejudices. Then you try to rationalize the rest away

So it’s alright to fellate someone, as long as you swallow?

Facitiousness aside, the bit generally translated as ‘sexual imorality’ is actually ‘dallying with prostitutes’ in the original Greek. ‘Moicheiai porneiai’.

Translating it as ‘sexual imorality’ and claiming it relates to homosexuality is begging the question in a big way.

Sidebar- the bit about not lying with a man as with a woman uses a different verb from the preceding sections detailing the women one can’t sleep with. The ‘man as with woman’ verb is apparently used in other places to refer to some form or coercion or trickery. If that is the case, it would mean ‘You can’t force a man to have sex with you as you would a woman’.
Niiiice…..

So does Ted Haggard.

“You can rape women, but you can’t rape men”

That would make perfect sense given biblical “morals”

Lost ya when you went for the Biblical quotes. Last vestige of a theist with no real answers. BTW, Zeus is not amused and will now release the Kracken. Thanks.

There are a lot bridges missing their tenders.

I’d guess most Christians are gay. Ever listen to Christian “rock”? They just suppress those feelings and that’s where all the hate comes from.

I was raised a Christian and all I did was listen to cherry picked verses read by men of the cloth. I remained an ignorant Christian until I read the Bible. Then I became an atheist. I was 11 at the time. Amazing how ministers and priests refuse to or just can’t answer even the simplest questions. I guess it’s just easier to say “the Lord woks in mysterious ways”.  Learnin’ facts n stuff is hard.

I’m simply saying that Driscoll’s hardline rhetoric along with his fundamentalist stances caused me to think about what I believe and started my search for the truth. I stated that I learned a lot about the Bible while at Mars Hill. Of course Driscoll didn’t make me an Atheist, He taught me what a fundamentalist evangelic moderate charismatic Christian was(his words). I’m aware that his off the cuff comments are  his opinions and don’t represent every Christian. I’m not just an Atheist, I became an Atheist after searching.
I was being flippant in my comment thanking Mark. I should thank John Loftus, Dan Barker, Bart Ehrman whose Books were influential and the many Atheist blogs.  

That which decreases suffering and increases well being.  Simple, no?

For the longer explanation, try here: http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text/the-moral-landscape-q-a-with-sam-harris/

I thought God gave us absolute morality.  Why did he tell us not to eat shrimp in the first place?  And what’s with Ex 21?  Are we still allowed to breed our slaves?  And if not, why not?

“We are all filthy, nasty sinners!” – is not a standard

I’ve never seen an atheist get upset about Jesus being mentioned. Some really good stuff’s been attributed to that guy.
What annoys a lot of people, incuding many Christians, is the tendency of extremists to twist the words around to support their world view, add a lot of mistranslations of what is, basically, Paul’s fanfic, and use it to bash people over the head.

Btw. I am anonymous

What’s your standard then? I never said it was a standard. It’s just the truth 🙂

No one deserves respect. If everyone would stop and realize they’re not the awesome people they’d like to think they are.. they would realize the need for a Savior.

And, no. I was not a ‘victim of child abuse’! Thats absurd. I was taught the truth. All of you who believe that you can get yourself to Heaven or you’re just good enough to live here, are victims of self-abuse.

The surest sign that respect is not deserved is that it is demanded.

The really sad part about this is that this is EXACTLY how some victims of spousal abuse think.  And it become so ingrained in their life that they literally cannot see how illogical it is. They think it’s their fault that their partner hits them.  They think they deserve it, and they actually feel bad for their partner, because they made their partner hit them, and the hitting hurt the hitter more than the hittee.

(I don’t think all religious people have abuse-victim-relationships with their god, but this one clearly does)

Are you insane? Or being deliberately foolish?

Ye olde golden rule is a pretty good first order approximation, and in particular, I’m partial to wording it in this way:”What you do not wish upon yourself, extend not to others.”

Jesus’s status has nothing to do with Driscoll.  He’s speaking his understanding of the truth, but not The Truth.  There are a lot of Christians who disagree with his interpretation, understanding, and discourse.

As a Christian and Seattle local, i’m appalled by just about everything that comes out of Mark Driscoll’s mouth.  I cry that he is acts as representation of my religion to other religious groups and communities.  I’m sorry to all of you for his behavior.