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 American Atheists says it took down billboards critical of the candidates' religions in Charlotte, North Carolina, after threats.
August 27th, 2012
09:55 AM ET
Atheist group removes billboards targeting presidential candidates' religious faithBy Dan Gilgoff and Dan Merica, CNN (CNN) – An atheist group that raised a pair of billboards taking aim at the presidential candidates’ religion at the site of next month’s Democratic National Convention has pulled the signs after what the group called a “large volume of threats.” The billboards, sponsored by American Atheists, took aim at Mormonism and Christianity and went up this month in Charlotte, North Carolina, which will play host to the Democratic convention. Presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney is a Mormon, and President Barack Obama is also a Christian. The billboard targeting Christianity featured an image of Jesus Christ on toast and this description of the faith: "Sadistic God; Useless Savior, 30,000+ Versions of ‘Truth,’ Promotes Hates, Calls it ‘Love.’ ” Follow the CNN Belief Blog on Twitter The billboard targeting Mormonism lambasted – and, Mormons would say, distorted – specific Mormon doctrines: "God is a Space Alien, Baptizes Dead People, Big Money, Big Bigotry.” The Mormon billboard featured a man in white underwear, a reference to special Mormon garments. American Atheists said the billboards provoked a “large volume of threats” by phone and e-mail and that the group reported the threats to police. CNN’s Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories “It is with regret that we tell our members and all of those who treasure free speech and the separation of religion and government that American Atheists and Adams Outdoor Advertising have mutually agreed to remove the billboards immediately,” Amanda Knief, American Atheists’ managing director, said in a statement last week. “No subject, no idea should be above scrutiny – and this includes religion in all forms,” Knief said. “We are saddened that by choosing to express our rights as atheists through questioning the religious beliefs of the men who want to be our president that our fellow citizens have responded with vitriol, threats and hate speech against our staff, volunteers and Adams Outdoor Advertising.” American Atheists had wanted to put the anti-Mormon billboard in Tampa, Florida, to coincide with this week's Republican National Convention. When no billboard company in the city would lease the group space for such a sign, American Atheists President David Silverman said the organization decided to focus solely on the Democrats in Charlotte. soundoff (1,777 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21Post a comment
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It becomes a sad day when political campaigns becomes a low down punch below the belt about religion.
http://whatwemustknow.blog.com
There is nothing hateful in either of the two billboards. The Mormons believe that god was once a normal man on another planet, Ann Frank was recently baptized by the mormon church. The white underwear is 'temple garments'. All of the statements and imagery are TRUE so how can they be considered hateful. I know it may be uncomfortable to think about ones beliefs and why we do the things we do but that is the nature of thinking for oneself. The real hate is espoused by those who have threatened the lives and well being of the billboards sponsors.
Free speech is one thing; inflammatory hate speech is quite another. The utter ignorance revealed by these billboards is concerning, and deliberately inflammatory.
I don't think it was right for people to make threats against those who put them up, either. No excuse for being evil and inflammatory, no matter which side you are on.
Ethel, you forget that the fact that the Hulk is a fictional character is established fact. The non-existence of God is something you believe but do not have proof of, therefore it is a faith. So your creation myth (as a rational, nothing-but-the-facts atheist) is the following: Your deity, the Big Nothing (street names Biggie Nuttin', B. Nuttin', Biggie Nutt) created and designed all that exists from his Nuttin' brain. His Nuttin'ness could even violate the law of convservation of energy by creating Everything from Himself, that is from Nuttin'. In spite of His Nuttin'ness violating the laws of science, His followers (His "Nutt Jobs") view themselves as the apex of scientific thought and feel obliged to spread the Nothing to others. Incredible faith you guys have. Let us now join in the ancient Nuttin' Hymn, Dust in the Wind (and ignore its author's heresy in converting to Christianity).
At what point in the corruption of Christianity do you think we're at Christians? .....'Mat 13:33 ¶ Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.'
This blog reminds me of why I don't discuss religion IRL
Atheism is the position that affirms the non-existence of God. It proposes positive disbelief rather than mere suspension of belief.”Buddhism is atheistic in the sense of denying that there is any overarching deity such as the Creator-God of the Bible. Atheism in the western sense excludes Buddhism, and adherents claim that it is not a religion. One Atheist said:“Calling Atheism a religion is like calling bald a hair color However, atheists make such claims so Atheism can avoid legal imperatives placed on religions in many countries, and can avoid some of the ideological hang-ups people have about “religion”. It also creates a false dichotomy between science (which they claim must be naturalistic and secular) and religion. Atheism will be defined in the contemporary western sense: not just the lack of belief in a god, but the assertion about the non-existence of any gods, spirits, or divine or supernatural beings. Atheists in this sense are metaphysical naturalists, and as will be shown, they DO follow a religion. Atheism creates a false dichotomy between science which they claim must be naturalistic and secular and religion. Religion is a difficult thing to define. Various definitions have been proposed, many of which emphasize a belief in the supernatural. But such definitions break down on closer inspection for several reasons.
@ Robert: N0 – atheism is the intellectual response to a claim that a specific god exists. That response is, "I do not believe that god X – Thor, Zeus, Ra, the Abrahamic god, etc – exists." Generally the reason for that lack of belief is that there has not been sufficient relevant probative evidence provided to rationally support the belief in god X. Some atheists – but certainly not all atheists – go further and make the positive claim that they believe that no gods exists. As for calling atheism a religion, that is simply incorrect and demonstrates the maker of the statement either fundamentally misunderstands what atheism is and/or has an agenda to push. I do not believe in the existence of the Incredible Hulk. Do I therefore follow a "religion" based on the non-belief in that fictional being? Of course not. Now subst-itute Incredible Hulk for God, or god, or Zeus, etc. An atheist may hold other views – political, financial, sociological, etc – but those views are not a part of being an atheist.
There are two types of atheists (as defined by atheists themselves), from http://atheism.about.com:
Atheism is commonly divided into two types: strong atheism and weak atheism. Although only two categories, this distinction manages to reflect the broad diversity which exists among atheists when it comes to their positions on the existence of gods.
Weak atheism, also sometimes referred to as implicit atheism, is simply another name for the broadest and most general conception of atheism: the absence of belief in any gods. A weak atheist is someone who lacks theism and who does not happen to believe in the existence of any gods — no more, no less. This is also sometimes called agnostic atheism because most people who self-consciously lack belief in gods tend to do so for agnostic reasons.
Strong atheism, also sometimes referred to as explicit atheism, goes one step further and involves denying the existence of at least one god, usually multiple gods, and sometimes the possible existence of any gods at all. Strong atheism is sometimes called “gnostic atheism” because people who take this position often incorporate knowledge claims into it — that is to say, they claim to know in some fashion that certain gods or indeed all gods do not or cannot exist.
When pressed, virtually all atheists retreat to the weak stance (which is indistinguishable from agnosticism). A cynic would claim that atheists invented the weak stance so that they could call themselves atheists(with the implicit denial of the existence of God that accompanies that label), but not have a burden of proof.
By these definitions, monotheistic believers are also strong atheists.