Rock Beyond Belief Summary (with Video of Richard Dawkins’ Speech)

Richard ∑wald at Atheist Nexus has a terrific roundup (with pictures) of this past weekend’s Rock Beyond Belief rally:

Like the Reason Rally, Rock Beyond Belief served many purposes, first and for most a statement. Here’s were the two events have a slight divergence. The Reason Rally’s “you are not alone” and, “we’re here, we’re godless, get used to it” (aptly borrowed from the GLBT community) were an unspoken given. This message was from and for those who serve and often make the ultimate sacrifice in defending our country, and swear an oath to defend the U.S. Constitution, one that’s supposed to protect us all from the tyranny of religion…

If you scroll down, you can even see video of a marriage proposal 🙂

Here’s Richard Dawkin‘s speech from the event:

Incidentally, I loved this anecdote reported in the Fayetteville Observer:

Kelly Narowski, a 38-year-old officer’s wife, was among the onlookers. Narowski said she was an agnostic until 2007, when she became an atheist after reading “The God Delusion.”

She said she kept her non-belief from many of her military wife friends but has found atheism and agnosticism to be more common in the military community than she initially thought.

Recently, Narowski went to dinner with a close friend and told her that she had something to tell her.

“I’m an atheist,” Narowski said to her friend.

“That’s it?” her friend replied.

That’s it.

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Stephanie Thayer

We came a bit late ( around 4pm), but we still had a nice time. It was really great to meet so many Atheist! Fayetteville/Fort Bragg is my hometown, so it was really welcoming to me to see this held on the base. The Army can be very closed-minded to differences.
matthew greenberg

congrats to my friend Richard from A/N for getting a mention on a serious blog.
Larry Meredith

how is “∑” pronounced??
Anonymous

In regard to an afterlife, if the Christian is wrong, no harm done. If the atheist is wrong, serious problems. God is not mocked. For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us
who are being saved it is the power of God.
Richard Ewald

“how is “∑” pronounced?”

“Sigma”, or “sum” or…

The way I used it – œ
Richard Ewald

“In regard to an afterlife, if the Christian is wrong, no harm done.”

No “wrong” or “harm” has been committed in the name of Christianity?

…I beg to differ.
Richard Ewald

I was impressed by the welcome from any and all military who were there. I couldn’t tell atheist from theist (as it should be), and I spoke to many of those attending in fatigues. All were cordial and friendly in accepting my sincere gratitude.
Nazani14

I really hope this event is moved to a different location. Fayette-nam is not exactly a place with the hotels or inclination to host several thousand atheists.
chris

How can there possibly be an afterlife and why waste time and effort thinking there is one. The rules for getting into heaven are not clearly proscribed and vary depending on which religion you are talking about.

When your brain dies its contents are gone. For Alzheimer’s patients their memories and personality is gone even before they die.
NavinJay

There is also no harm done by worshiping a rock that someone else tells you will gives you an afterlife. And not only to worship this rock, but to expend energy, taking away from other areas of your life that you are missing out on, to not only to worship the rock but to convince others to worship your rock. So if I tell you to worship this rock, you’ll do it simply because its better than being wrong not to worship it. That is your position?? I say if I am going to take time away from my life to worship something, first there should be considerable facts supporting whatever reasons to worship the rock. Since there are no facts supporting any afterlife, I choose not to waste my life and my time. We have but one life and it can be better spent than wasting time worshiping dumb things.
Nirst Fame

Regurgitated propaganda related to idea you can become a zombie in the hope of being a zombie for eternity, or no harm is done but wasting your life as a zombie. Pascal’s wager anyone?