In front of nearly every church is a sign with the church's name and usually a
message board underneath it. That board usually has get together dates, or
simple messages related to their religion. I'm curious to know if anybody has
ever been insulted or had any kind of reaction to any of the messages posted on
their boards? We aren't counting when obviously some kids messed with it so now
it says "The lord says penis" but legitimate messages that just don't
sit right with you.
I bring this up because I've seen a few that made me scratch my head a bit,
namely the one I saw today that said "April 1: National Atheist Day".
I thought it was going a bit too far to call all people not believing in that
church's god an outright fool. Having some kind of inspirational message is one
thing, but outright attacks or scare tactics just seems wrong to me.
It simply reminded me of those people who stand on the side of the road yelling
"You will go hell!" while you sit at a traffic light. Thoughts?
Well... I don't pay attention sometimes when I'm on the car and stuff. So I
can't say much.
Though that is a really bad idea for whomever put that.
April 1st, nowadays with the idea of fooling others, and being mean to others
and such. Trickery, and using that date for that purpose, its demeaning, and
personally speaking, the church is resorting to use of defamation in order to
achieve whatever their goals are. Its also doubtful that its national. Whether
that itself was a an April Fool's or not, that is going way too far. It is a
horrible tactic to succumb to and to see that, they're being desperate.
Looking around a bit, I found this list of all the
"national" days in the States, but there was no "Atheist
Day" among them. The first of April is "One Cent Day,"
though.
As for potentially (or obviously) offensive
church message boards, back when Richard Dawkins' book "The God
Delusion" came out, one of the local churches had a message on their board
that said, "Watch Dawkins burn in Hell! Book your reservations
inside!"
I didn't take too kindly to that, and, it
seems, neither did others: the church's sign was broken (the front cover) and
the sign was changed to "Watch these hypocrits burn in Hell! Book your arrogance inside!" (bold emphasis is mine, and yes, the vandal
misspelled 'hypocrites' [or perhaps they didn't have an extra "E"
handy?]).
It was changed during the night on a
Saturday, giving a nice little surprise for the sheep as they arrived for their
weekly kool-aid.
(And before anybody suggests it, no, I was
neither the vandal, nor an accomplice; I simply approve of what they did, except
for the spelling error.)
Quote by IronSerpentAs for potentially (or obviously) offensive
church message boards, back when Richard Dawkins' book "The God
Delusion" came out, one of the local churches had a message on their board
that said, "Watch Dawkins burn in Hell! Book your reservations
inside!"
I didn't take too kindly to that, and, it
seems, neither did others: the church's sign was broken (the front cover) and
the sign was changed to "Watch these hypocrits burn in Hell! Book your arrogance inside!" (bold emphasis is mine, and yes, the vandal
misspelled 'hypocrites' [or perhaps they didn't have an extra "E"
handy?]).
So, does two wrongs make a right? And if so, does a third wrong cancel out this
right, turning it back to a wrong?
I haven't read "The God Delusion", so I can't tell what tone it uses
when talking about Christianity. Nor am I familiar with the church who put
"Watch Dawkins burn in hell" on their signpost. However, since I'm
pretty sure the latter is a jab back at the former, it's kind of hypocritical of
atheists to get offended by it. If you want to be taken seriously when you say
you don't want Christian gospel shoved down your throat, then you simply do not
have the right to do the same in reverse. Practice what you preach.
The reason I haven't taken part in any of the science and religion discussions
on this board is because they have a bad tendency to devolve into egomanical
posturing from both sides, although mostly -- I'm sad to say -- from the
atheists. Indeed, some of the topic titles I've seen here honestly makes me
ashamed to be an atheist/agnostic myself. This forum is a place for discussion,
and honestly, if any of you start a thread with the sole purpose of
"showing those stupid Christians/Atheists what's what", you already
lost sight of the threads purpose AND you've also lost your argument.
Seriously, people... it's IMPOSSIBLE to force something on someone over a
message board, and to think otherwise is downright laughable. People tend to
change when they choose to do so, usually after a rather lenghty period of
consideration. Those of you who are afraid that reading Christian song lyrics or
an atheist manifesto will change you on the spot, think about that for a while
and stop being so fucking paranoid just because someone posts something you
don't believe in. Take it at face value.
When I start or even participate in any of these kinds of threads, I do try to
keep it discussion worthy. I had hoped that the way I worded the inital entry
would show that aim, but maybe it was been construed otherwise.
Religion is always going to be a tough nut to crack. People on all sides are so
sure they are right that they completely disregard anything from another person.
I'm fairly certain that one of the pillars of agnosticism was things like open
discussion and that all things are possible. That it required a scientific mind
that can take data from everywhere and propery analyze it and develop ideas and
theories from that. And even if we find ourselves at some conclusion, we would
still be open to other realms of possibility.
Again my point of discussion was general thoughts on the particular practice of
posting messages on their boards, more particularly ones that may be deemed
offensive by some. If it devolves into something less than that, then I can't
help thinking that the point was missed.
Quote: Seriously, people... it's
IMPOSSIBLE to force something on someone over a message board, and to think
otherwise is downright laughable. People tend to change when they choose to do
so, usually after a rather lenghty period of consideration. Those of you who are
afraid that reading Christian song lyrics or an atheist manifesto will change
you on the spot, think about that for a while and stop being so fucking paranoid
just because someone posts something you don't believe in. Take it at face
value.
Mainly cause its really annoying, I'd prefer a forum not to be of use of
conversion. Its annoying, and useless, its annoying enough people walking around
trying to convert people, but its even more annoying just to know they're trying
do it online. I've gotten PMs before (though now purged) with comments on
religion. Also, if you want to know, the Religion and Science fora tends to go
off topic, a bit like what you just did. >.>..., so its not best to start
saying one side or the other at the moment has a bigger ego, and if you've seen
previous threads, you'll see a lot more.
DarkRose: I don't really have a problem with threads going a bit off topic at
times, as long as it still sticks to the topic somewhat. It's just that some
people get so ridiculously defensive about "trying to be converted",
when they're more often than not are the one visiting a thead with a clearly
Christian title. (Offhand, I remember someone making a thread named "Church
song" or something like that, and one doofus making a post in said thread
containing the words "STOP TRYING TO CONVERT PEOPLE!")
The thing about Christianity is that, unlike atheism, it has a specific topic,
so you can basically talk about Christianity without having to remind people
that you are talking about Christianity. On the other hand, since atheism is
just that -- the lack of theism -- you won't really ever know someone's
religious belief if they're talking about anything else, since there is no
belief system to add to the equation. And since science isn't a religion, anyone
can talk about it, regardless of religious beliefs. I think this is the reason
why we've got more "STOP TRYING TO CONVERT ME" asshats on the atheist
side when someone is talking about their beliefs.
I still think you sound more defensive on the issue than you need to be. But
then, I don't really know what was in the PMs you mentioned. Just someone
talking about something related to religion? Jack Chick tracts? "Join us or
die and burn in hell" threats?
Shoujoboy: I'm sorry about taking your thread off topic, but nothing came to
mind when I posted, and I wasn't entirely sure what you were talking about in
the first place. "April 1.st: National Atheist Day"? Are you sure
that's not an April's fool prank concocted by said church for a bit of a giggle?
Did the poster say anything else?
As for myself, I don't really make a habit of reading the poster walls at
churches (or visit churches in the first place, for that matter), so I can't
really say I've ever seen anything that offends me. There's a few
Christian-related announcement posters at work (they tend to change randomly),
but those are mostly just information-and-invitation posters with information of
what/where/when an event at any church in the neighborhood is taking place.
Hardly anything to get offended by.
I think the most "offensive" I've read on Christianity is probably the
Jack Chick tracts. Stuff like
that I mostly ignore, though.
I'm not completely sure of their intended message obviously, but it's a simple
case of annotation vs connotation. Whether they thought it was some clever play
on words or holidays or not I couldn't say. But when I read it, I saw it as
simply them taking it upon themselves to switch fool with atheist.
On a side and quite humourous note, I've also seen one church with a sign that
said "ATM inside". I wondered if you went in, would a preacher jump
out at you and convert you, or would the ATM have a 10% tithing fee?
In front of nearly every church is a sign with the church's name and usually a message board underneath it. That board usually has get together dates, or simple messages related to their religion. I'm curious to know if anybody has ever been insulted or had any kind of reaction to any of the messages posted on their boards? We aren't counting when obviously some kids messed with it so now it says "The lord says penis" but legitimate messages that just don't sit right with you.
I bring this up because I've seen a few that made me scratch my head a bit, namely the one I saw today that said "April 1: National Atheist Day". I thought it was going a bit too far to call all people not believing in that church's god an outright fool. Having some kind of inspirational message is one thing, but outright attacks or scare tactics just seems wrong to me.
It simply reminded me of those people who stand on the side of the road yelling "You will go hell!" while you sit at a traffic light. Thoughts?
Well... I don't pay attention sometimes when I'm on the car and stuff. So I can't say much.
Though that is a really bad idea for whomever put that.
April 1st, nowadays with the idea of fooling others, and being mean to others and such. Trickery, and using that date for that purpose, its demeaning, and personally speaking, the church is resorting to use of defamation in order to achieve whatever their goals are. Its also doubtful that its national. Whether that itself was a an April Fool's or not, that is going way too far. It is a horrible tactic to succumb to and to see that, they're being desperate.
Looking around a bit, I found this list of all the "national" days in the States, but there was no "Atheist Day" among them. The first of April is "One Cent Day," though.
As for potentially (or obviously) offensive church message boards, back when Richard Dawkins' book "The God Delusion" came out, one of the local churches had a message on their board that said, "Watch Dawkins burn in Hell! Book your reservations inside!"
I didn't take too kindly to that, and, it seems, neither did others: the church's sign was broken (the front cover) and the sign was changed to "Watch these hypocrits burn in Hell! Book your arrogance inside!" (bold emphasis is mine, and yes, the vandal misspelled 'hypocrites' [or perhaps they didn't have an extra "E" handy?]).
It was changed during the night on a Saturday, giving a nice little surprise for the sheep as they arrived for their weekly kool-aid.
(And before anybody suggests it, no, I was neither the vandal, nor an accomplice; I simply approve of what they did, except for the spelling error.)
So, does two wrongs make a right? And if so, does a third wrong cancel out this right, turning it back to a wrong?
I haven't read "The God Delusion", so I can't tell what tone it uses when talking about Christianity. Nor am I familiar with the church who put "Watch Dawkins burn in hell" on their signpost. However, since I'm pretty sure the latter is a jab back at the former, it's kind of hypocritical of atheists to get offended by it. If you want to be taken seriously when you say you don't want Christian gospel shoved down your throat, then you simply do not have the right to do the same in reverse. Practice what you preach.
The reason I haven't taken part in any of the science and religion discussions on this board is because they have a bad tendency to devolve into egomanical posturing from both sides, although mostly -- I'm sad to say -- from the atheists. Indeed, some of the topic titles I've seen here honestly makes me ashamed to be an atheist/agnostic myself. This forum is a place for discussion, and honestly, if any of you start a thread with the sole purpose of "showing those stupid Christians/Atheists what's what", you already lost sight of the threads purpose AND you've also lost your argument.
Seriously, people... it's IMPOSSIBLE to force something on someone over a message board, and to think otherwise is downright laughable. People tend to change when they choose to do so, usually after a rather lenghty period of consideration. Those of you who are afraid that reading Christian song lyrics or an atheist manifesto will change you on the spot, think about that for a while and stop being so fucking paranoid just because someone posts something you don't believe in. Take it at face value.
When I start or even participate in any of these kinds of threads, I do try to keep it discussion worthy. I had hoped that the way I worded the inital entry would show that aim, but maybe it was been construed otherwise.
Religion is always going to be a tough nut to crack. People on all sides are so sure they are right that they completely disregard anything from another person. I'm fairly certain that one of the pillars of agnosticism was things like open discussion and that all things are possible. That it required a scientific mind that can take data from everywhere and propery analyze it and develop ideas and theories from that. And even if we find ourselves at some conclusion, we would still be open to other realms of possibility.
Again my point of discussion was general thoughts on the particular practice of posting messages on their boards, more particularly ones that may be deemed offensive by some. If it devolves into something less than that, then I can't help thinking that the point was missed.
No, I haven't found any offensive church sign...but I can't resist linking to this site now:
http://www.churchsigngenerator.com/
Mainly cause its really annoying, I'd prefer a forum not to be of use of conversion. Its annoying, and useless, its annoying enough people walking around trying to convert people, but its even more annoying just to know they're trying do it online. I've gotten PMs before (though now purged) with comments on religion. Also, if you want to know, the Religion and Science fora tends to go off topic, a bit like what you just did. >.>..., so its not best to start saying one side or the other at the moment has a bigger ego, and if you've seen previous threads, you'll see a lot more.
DarkRose: I don't really have a problem with threads going a bit off topic at times, as long as it still sticks to the topic somewhat. It's just that some people get so ridiculously defensive about "trying to be converted", when they're more often than not are the one visiting a thead with a clearly Christian title. (Offhand, I remember someone making a thread named "Church song" or something like that, and one doofus making a post in said thread containing the words "STOP TRYING TO CONVERT PEOPLE!")
The thing about Christianity is that, unlike atheism, it has a specific topic, so you can basically talk about Christianity without having to remind people that you are talking about Christianity. On the other hand, since atheism is just that -- the lack of theism -- you won't really ever know someone's religious belief if they're talking about anything else, since there is no belief system to add to the equation. And since science isn't a religion, anyone can talk about it, regardless of religious beliefs. I think this is the reason why we've got more "STOP TRYING TO CONVERT ME" asshats on the atheist side when someone is talking about their beliefs.
I still think you sound more defensive on the issue than you need to be. But then, I don't really know what was in the PMs you mentioned. Just someone talking about something related to religion? Jack Chick tracts? "Join us or die and burn in hell" threats?
Shoujoboy: I'm sorry about taking your thread off topic, but nothing came to mind when I posted, and I wasn't entirely sure what you were talking about in the first place. "April 1.st: National Atheist Day"? Are you sure that's not an April's fool prank concocted by said church for a bit of a giggle? Did the poster say anything else?
As for myself, I don't really make a habit of reading the poster walls at churches (or visit churches in the first place, for that matter), so I can't really say I've ever seen anything that offends me. There's a few Christian-related announcement posters at work (they tend to change randomly), but those are mostly just information-and-invitation posters with information of what/where/when an event at any church in the neighborhood is taking place. Hardly anything to get offended by.
I think the most "offensive" I've read on Christianity is probably the Jack Chick tracts. Stuff like that I mostly ignore, though.
I'm not completely sure of their intended message obviously, but it's a simple case of annotation vs connotation. Whether they thought it was some clever play on words or holidays or not I couldn't say. But when I read it, I saw it as simply them taking it upon themselves to switch fool with atheist.
On a side and quite humourous note, I've also seen one church with a sign that said "ATM inside". I wondered if you went in, would a preacher jump out at you and convert you, or would the ATM have a 10% tithing fee?