Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Aleena on August 4, 2012 at 7:50am

I know exactly what you mean even though it's not to do with Christianity in my case , pretty much everyone around me is a Muslim and when it came out (I didn't plan on telling them) that I was an atheist they laughed it off as a phase and assumed that my becoming atheist meant a complete breakdown of my morals and beliefs. Not to mention the incessant preaching that followed it. They keep waiting for me to grow out of it.

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Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on August 5, 2012 at 11:01am

Yesterday, I ran across a slogan I really liked:

"Religion - together, we can find a cure."

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Permalink Reply by Tex on August 13, 2012 at 5:15pm

Found the bumper sticker yet?

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Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on August 5, 2012 at 12:21pm

Just when you think we're starting to make some progress --

Tunisia blasphemy bill threatens free speech:
A bill to criminalise offences against "sacred values," filed in parliament this week by Tunisia's ruling Islamist party Ennahda threatens freedom of expression, Human Rights Watch warned on Friday.
"The draft bill would provide prison terms and fines for broadly worded offenses such as insulting or mocking the 'sanctity of religion,'" the rights group said.
International human rights law generally prohibits criminalising the defamation of religion, the New York-based watchdog added.
http://news.yahoo.com/tunisia-blasphemy-bill-threatens-free-speech-...

This is what frightened people do when they feel their foundations slipping out from under them - there's no need to criminalize a behavior unless you expect it to happen.

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Permalink Reply by James Cox on August 5, 2012 at 1:25pm

I worked with a Tunisian moslum years ago. I lead a repair crew fixing student rentals. During our work day the crew would crack jokes to lighten our work load, and sometimes the laughter would echo through the structure we were working on. One day the fellow came by to check on us, and as usual the work was getting done and I had just made some funny observation followed by a rather loud chuckle, but he told us that it was against his religion to 'laugh'. At his job site, on his quarter, no laughter was allowed. Since I had known the guy for years, and had been on many repair jobs already completed, I let him know that, 'in the states, which is still not a moslum country, no 'freedom to laugh' would be an intolerable work condition and I would not continue under such a condition.'  Happily the statement was a very well placed trump!

The laughter continued, no one was ever hurt, the work got done, a little joy was maintained amide the dirt, dust, and the occasional blood blister!

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Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on August 5, 2012 at 2:40pm

That must be a Tunisian thing, as I have worked with Muslims from other countries, Pakistani and Iranian, who had great on-the-job senses of humor.

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Permalink Reply by Banned Atheist on August 7, 2012 at 4:33pm

Same here. My best math buddy when attending the Univ. of New Mexico was an assoc. prof. and a Muslim. To say he had a great sense of humor -- and a great attitude toward atheists -- would be an understatement.

Fact is, most Muslims couldn't care less if someone is atheist, unlike most Christians.

ETA: most U.S. Muslims.

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Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on August 7, 2012 at 6:10pm

My American History professor in college was Iranian - he made American History come alive, and taught me more about my own country than any American teacher I've ever encountered.

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Permalink Reply by James Cox on August 8, 2012 at 1:34am

During my second return to school, I was the co-director of the campus SOS/Atheist group. During one afternoon, our group of guys were out on the park blocks selling bumper stickers and buttons, debating with the local evangelists, and handing out 'Pop God' balloons. The campus Muslim group was near by, and came to our rescue when the theists got routy about our balloons! We were very surprised!  

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Permalink Reply by Tom Sarbeck on August 5, 2012 at 6:10pm

"This is what frightened people do when they feel their foundations slipping..."

So very true, archaeopteryx, and when those frightened people enlist the state, with its monopoly on violence, to help them put down dissenters, another Inquisition follows.

Some nations are where Europe was six centuries ago, and here in the US of A some people want to return us to those times. They all but control the Republican party, and if they win in the November elections they will have a grip on the state and its monopoly on violence.

People in every nation have to win their freedom; so do people in every generation.

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Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on August 5, 2012 at 8:18pm

I can't imagine that it ever dawned on those people that if their god existed, he wouldn't need man-made laws to influence human behavior - the necessity of those laws gives testimony to his weakness.

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Permalink Reply by Tom Sarbeck on August 6, 2012 at 9:18pm

archaeopterix, your post moved me to speculate.

For a few moments think of pre-human times.

Our pre-human ancestors lived in social groups and these groups had rules. They also had leaders and followers. They had struggles for leadership and left no written evidence.

I think it reasonable to assert, without written evidence, that rules in these groups were made by those who won leadership struggles, and these rules preceded any rules that recognized sky beings.

It's my guess that the first rules that recognized sky beings were made by those who'd lost leadership struggles in these groups.

If they survived unsuccessful leadership struggles (if winners didn't kill them), their bodies continued to produce testosterone so they sought other kinds of control.  

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