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October 9th, 2013
02:27 PM ET
Creationists taunt atheists in latest billboard warBy Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor (CNN)– A new video billboard in New York's Times Square has a message from creationists, "To all of our atheist friends: Thank God you're wrong." The video advertisement at 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue in Manhattan is one of several billboards going up this week in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, paid for by Answers in Genesis. Answers in Genesis is best known as the multimillion-dollar Christian ministry behind the Creation Museum outside Cincinnati. The museum presents the case for Young Earth creationism, following what it says is a literal interpretation of the book of Genesis, which says the Earth was created by God in six days less than 10,000 years ago. Ken Ham, president of Answers in Genesis, said the idea for the advertisements came from an atheist billboard in Times Square at Christmas. During the holidays, the American Atheists put up a billboard with images of Santa Claus and Jesus that read: "Keep the Merry, dump the myth." “The Bible says to contend for the faith,” Ham said. “We thought we should come up with something that would make a statement in the culture, a bold statement, and direct them to our website. "We're not against them personally. We're not trying to attack them personally, but we do believe they're wrong," he said. "From an atheist's perspective, they believe when they die, they cease to exist. And we say 'no, you're not going to cease to exist; you're going to spend eternity with God or without God. And if you're an atheist, you're going to be spending it without God.' " Dave Silverman, president of the American Atheists, said he felt sad for creationists when he saw the billboards. "They refuse to look at the real world. They refuse to look at the evidence we have, and they offer none," Silverman said. "They might as well be saying, 'Thank Zeus you're wrong' or 'Thank Thor you're wrong.' " Silverman said he welcomed another competitor to marketplace, noting that after atheists bought a billboard two years ago in Times Square that read "You KNOW it's a myth," the Catholic League purchased competing space at the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel for a sign that read "You KNOW it's true." "I would suggest, if they're actually trying to attract atheists, they should talk about proof and reason to believe in their god, not just some pithy play on words," Silverman said. Ham says part of the goal of the campaign is to draw people to the website for Answers in Genesis, where he offers a lengthy post on his beliefs for the proof of God. Ham insists that this campaign is in keeping with their overall mission. "We're a biblical authority ministry. We're really on about the Bible and the Gospel. Now, we do have a specialty in the area of the creation account and Genesis because that's where we say God's word has come under attack." Ham said Answers in Genesis made the decision to split its marketing budget for the ministry between a regional campaign for the museum and this billboard campaign, rather than a national campaign. IRS filings for the ministry in recent years have shown a yearly operating budget of more than $25 million. Ham said the marketing budget is about 2% of that, about $500,000 a year. Though they are waiting for all the bills to come due for this campaign, he said he expected it to cost between $150,000 and $200,000. Silverman noted that his billboards were not video and cost approximately $25,000 last year. He said another campaign was in the works for this year. "They're throwing down the gauntlet, and we're picking it up," Silverman said, adding that his group would "slap them in the face" with it. Ham said that despite criticism from other Christians for being negative and the usual criticisms from secularists he received on his social media accounts, the advertisements have been a success. "We wanted people talking about them, and we wanted discussion about this. We wanted people thinking about God," Ham said. The Creation Museum and the theory of Young Earth creationism are widely reviled by the broader science community. In a YouTube video posted last year titled "Creationism Is Not Appropriate For Children," Bill Nye the Science Guy slammed creationism, imploring parents not to teach it to their children. "We need scientifically literate voters and taxpayers for the future," he said. "We need engineers that can build stuff and solve problems." The museum responded with its own video. For the past 30 years, Gallup Inc. has been tracking American opinions about creationism. In June 2012, Gallup's latest findings showed that 46% of Americans believed in creationism, 32% believed in evolution guided by God, and 15% believed in atheistic evolution. For as long as Gallup has conducted the survey, creationism has remained far and away the most popular answer, with 40% to 47% of Americans surveyed saying they believed that God created humans in their present form at one point within the past 10,000 years. The Creation Museum said it recently welcomed its 2 millionth visitor since its opening in 2007. soundoff (8,748 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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I love it!
I love chocolate cake.
translation-"Hey moron, check out my website?"
lol, exactly.
Religious people expect PERFECT PROOF from science while giving ABSOLUTELY NONE for religion. Anyone want to challenge that one with LOGIC?!?!?!?
We know the difference between the two and what to expect out of each.
if proof were required, religious folk would have to admit they were wrong. Oh the horror!!!
Here's the logic you requested. Now it's your turn to read it. A chrono-specific prophecy in the Book of Daniel specifically predicted that the Jews would regain sovereignty over the Temple Mount on June 7, 1967. See http://www.prophecysociety.org/research/proof_for_athiests.pdf
Self-fulfilling prophecies seem a bit on the weak side in my opinion.
Its not about logic. Its about faith. Religious people have faith about their beliefs. You don't need anything besides conviction to have faith. The trouble is that faith is used to discount fact, and gets confused with truth.
Nice blanket statement there. I'm a "religious person" who happens to think the young earth creationists are dead wrong. I DO NOT expect perfect proof out of science. In fact, "science" continues to evolve as what we understand about the world around us constantly evolves. Hundreds of years ago, scientists believed with absolute certainty things that we have completely disproven today. I expect those who subscribe to the scientific mindset to understand that no knowledge is absolute. Religious people don't need to prove to you that God exists any more than you need to prove to them that He doesn't. Since we can't, and YOU can't, why even bother? What Atheists (and many religious types) refuse to understand is that faith, by its very definition, is something that exists without proof. Add proof, and you remove faith. I'm fine with believing in something I have no proof of. You are not. That's OK. Seriously, get off your high horse of intellectual outrage and just live your life.
Let me explain something to you. Unless you are a scientist yourself, who has proven every scientific theory yourself, then to a certain degree YOU take things on faith. Do you personally know what an atom looks like and what it is made up of? Have you seen one? You've undoubtedly read others' descriptions of them and their makeup and even their descriptions of experiments they did to prove their existence and makeup. But since it's just something you READ, you are taking it on faith. You "know" for a certainty many things that you can't really prove yourself. Know what that is? Faith. It takes faith for a scientist to simply attempt to prove a hypothesis.
I choose to believe in God. It brings joy to my life. I choose to believe in a God who creates, using a perfect knowledge of the natural laws we are only beginning to scratch the surface of. I know I have no proof. I know that I believe in the unbelievable, but I accept that and have faith in a future where I don't just wink out of existence. And guess what! If I DO wink out of existence, what exactly will be my regrets? That I spent too much time trying to improve myself? That I spent too much time trying to emulate someone who did good for others? Oh, I know. I won't have any regrets, because I won't exist. BUT, if I DON'T wink out of existence, and there is something after this life, then just maybe I'll be a little bit prepared for it. I'm willing to take that risk. In fact it's a pretty simple decision. I win both ways. My life is in no way hindered by a belief in God so I think I'll stick with it. And you can take your anger and outrage and hatred for people who CHOOSE to believe something they don't have proof of, and you can hug it tight to your chest for the rest of your life. I hope it serves you well.
Very well said Aaron. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).
Aaron,
" I win both ways."
Not if Allah is the real god. You lose (well, unless you are doing all those Pillars 'n stuff on the side). Same for all of the other gods that you are ignoring...
This is exactly why I always bet on red AND black when playing roulette. I always win ! (even though I don't and neither will you with your bet, Mr Pascal.)
"I would suggest, if they're actually trying to attract atheists, they should talk about proof and reason to believe in their god, not just some pithy play on words," Silverman said."
Pot meet kettle...
Elaborate.
wikipedia: wiki/Pot_meet_kettle
"Ham says part of the goal of the campaign is to draw people to the website for Answers in Genesis, where he offers a lengthy post on his beliefs for the proof of God."
Wait a minute. I thought they're not concerned with "proof"? Why do you still need faith if there's "proof"?
If all it takes is one book as proof, then Hogwarts must exist.
Anyone here think the earth is less than 20,000 years old? 4 billion years old?
you're looking for Topher. go git em, Toph!
I don't know how people can recognize the earth is billions of years old and not see evolution as an inevitable consequence (given we are in the Goldilocks region).
Here's an idea......you believe what you want to believe, I'll believe what I want to believe, and we'll both just keep our differences to ourselves and respect FREEDOM OF RELIGION (or lack thereof)!!!
that would work well if christians didn't try to hijack our political system and change the laws we all have to live with to match christian dogma.
Amen. I mean, well said 🙂
I'm totally with you on that, if it was only possible for the Christian terrorists to respect our differences of beliefs. Nice name by the way! Bootyfunk...LOL
Isn't that is what's bound to happen with a majority of the US is Christian? I hope more atheist leaders step up and run for office. This is coming from a Christian.
That would be a nice start booty.
I agree with live and let live, for me that would include removing god from the pledge of allegience and our currency. Also to make all things equal in the eyes of god and government churches should be taxed. Their...now everything is American and equal.
Why keep our differences to ourselves? Creationists are idiots and should be told so and I imagine they have the same opinion vice versa. It would be a very boring world if nobody ever voiced their opinions.
it doesn't work well with evangelicals. they want respect, they don't want to give respect
So everyone wallows in ignorance. That's a swell idea. No, ideas and beliefs must be shared. What needs to happen is respect.
Sign SHOULD read: Thank GAWD I'm an ATHEIST!
Thank God your, Stupid? Wow, if you insist!
I see they quoted Genesis. Only a fundamentalist would do so, and take a word by word interpretation of it. Other mainstream groups of Christianity have a wider and more open interpretation. Face it, whom ever paid for that billboard is very anti-science.
love the billboard its funny no side side has 100 percent proof unless they have a timemachine i find it funny your a atheist till your on your deathbed ill gladly believe in god and be a proud christian i dont judge though its not my right t judge someone its gods . have fun believing in nothing.
"I find it funny your a atheist till your on your deathbed"
+++ hopefully the fear of death doesn't make me irrational enough to believe in an invisible sky fairy.
Life hasn't helped you why would death...you have nothing to fear, right?? Right??? Are you sure?? How do you have such knowledge?? Where did you find it?? Does the media know??
Where do you find your 'knowledge'?
I find it funny that somebody with such poor spelling, grammar and punctuation can afford internet access.
There's no such thing as 100% proof for anything out there. But the difference here is that atheists/scientists have the highest confidence given all the available evidence, whereas theist have 0 proof.
And what's your backing for the claim that all atheist will resort to theism when on death beds?
You do NOT know what proof is.
enlighten me, please?
Me too, me too!
you know ive always wanted to ask a atheist this what if your wrong i mean what if there is a heaven and hell and a god
What if Islam is the true religion and every Sunday you're only making Allah angrier and angrier?
and I want to ask a Christian what if you're wrong. What if you've been worshiping the wrong god the whole time and that the Hindu god is the real one? Or how about if Apollo is the actual god?
I refuse to believe that a "true and just God" will burn me in Hell for an eternity because I guessed wrong in a game of "do I exist?" which offers no physical or spiritual proof of his (or her) existence. Still waiting....................!
I believe in myself, my family and my friends and don't need your god to make me feel good about just being me. Good luck with your faith, but I would appreciate you not trying to force everyone to believe in something I find to be the stupidest thing man has ever created.
Creationists who take heart in a view of a 10 thousand year old universe's age are as dumb as their counter intuitive scientific socialists and their case hardened illogical perspectives regarding there being only one big bang universe instead of immeasurable big ban universes filling forever the voided chasms of spatial nothingness...
Big "bang" (Boy am I a dimwitted numbskull)..
i got a good chuckle out of "Big Ban Universe". Thanks 🙂
How adorable! None of the Bible should be taken litterally. Especially Genesis & Revelations. I do think it's nice of these idiots to self identify, you know so the rest of us don't leave them alone with matches. Do they also think the Earth is flat?
they should, the bible says it is.
Sometimes it appears to be flat. We have lots of phrases and sayings that demonstrate that in our culture.
There are also passages in the Bible that demonstrate the world was not viewed as being flat.
example?
Proverbs 8:27
Topher, a simple fix would be to put the bubble on the right, flip the text and make sure the point of the bubble is pointing left as you look at it. See?
Since we're riding the Creationist rollercoaster again, it's time for another installment of:
DOC VESTIBULE'S PRIMER IN EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
Firstly, we need to clarify a few basics.
1) Evolution does not deal with abiogenesis. The "spark of life" is not addressed – only the development of life.
2) The colloquial definition of "theory" is not the same as the scientific one.
A theory is what one or more hypotheses become once they have been verified and accepted to be true. A theory is an explanation of a set of related observations or events based upon proven hypotheses and verified multiple times by detached groups of researchers.
In general, both a scientific theory and a scientific law are accepted to be true by the scientific community as a whole. Both are used to make predictions of events. Both are used to advance technology.
There are 5 laws in the Theory of Evolution.
1) Evolution as such.
This is the understanding that the world is not constant, nor recently created, nor cycling, but is changing; and that the types of enti.ties that live on it also change.
2) Common descent
This is the understanding that every group of living enti.ties that we know of on this planet descended from a common ancestor.
3) Multiplication of species
This is the understanding that species either split into or bud off other species, often through the geographical isolation of a founder species.
4) Gradualism
This is the understanding that changes take place through the gradual change of population rather than the sudden production of new individuals.
5) Natural selection
This is the understanding that individuals in every generation are different from one another, or, at least some of them are. In every generation some individuals survive and reproduce better than others. Their genes multiply.
Creationism / intelligent design are not theories – they are rationalizations.
Way to many facts and good sense in your post. You must be the Devil!
Yes, and men similar to you purported that a piece of cheese in the corner would become a mouse if given enough time. They used test to support their hypo-junk and made scientific theories facts just like you are doing today. But NOW 1000's of years later, you would boldly refute their claims, and Creationist are still saying BOTH of you are WRONG!
DOC....that makes absolutely no sense. Would you like try again with something intelligent?
Explain how that makes no sense. ITS THE SAME PROCESSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IT'S
Doc, please read a SCIENCE BOOK on evolution before you claim to know the process. BECAUSE....It's rather apparent that you do not.
DOSE: Seriously, let the adults talk.
Let the adults talk? You gonna bring your mommy and daddy?
Excellent post. To bad the religious won't read it or comprehend it.
YOU do need a dose of reality, just not the one in your head!
OOOOOOooo, good one DOC, you really got me with that one! What grade are you in? I'm guessing maybe 5th or 6th. About right?
Good luck ever explaining any of that to creationists. They were most likely raised on home / catholic schooling and are about as connected with reality as your average schizophrenic during an episode.
Mr.Ambitious,
Partly true, but the Catholic Church does accept evolution. I was taught evolution in science class way back in the 1960s - they just think that "God" started it and stepped in to give humans a "soul" 'n stuff.
Unfortunately, the theory of evolution gives us no idea of what to predict. It's not currently happening.
Why do you say evolution is not happening? It certainly is. Evolution plays out on a scale of millions of years. It may not look like it's happening to the untrained eye, but evolution by definition is change in biology over time caused by environmental factors and natural selection. It's ALWAYS happening.
Answers in Genesis is best known as the multimillion-dollar Christian ministry
----–
Interesting name, "Answers in Genesis". Religion provides no answers to the questions of creation and spirituality. Religion is speculative opinion.
So says the person of little to no faith.
I have faith in many things. Religion is not one of them.
Talk about over-reach. "Religion provides no answers in...spirituality." Oh really? For one thing, yes it does. You might think they are the wrong answers, but they are at least answers. Secondly, science by definition does not provide answers in spirituality, because spirituality is not a scientific study. The biological phenomenon associated with the experience of spirituality is not the same thing as spirituality itself.
So I am hard pressed to think of what does provide answers to spirituality except religion, unless you want to say the individual provides his own answers. And that would be fine, except it is really just the same thing as saying religion does, because religions are just the beliefs of collections of individuals who agree.
define spirituality.
You might think they are the wrong answers, but they are at least answers.
------
LOL! That's some good funny stuff. Sure, "at least we have answers"! We may have made them up, but it's better than nothing! That's your stance? Religion is a creation of the human mind. It provides no objective answers.
So says you with all your life's experience, with all your proof, and with all the information. No one should ever make a statement of BELIEF that you have not approved of in advance.
Sorry you're so fragile and easily offended. What has religion answered for you? Is this answer objective and applicable to every person throughout the world?
The Creationist just can't accept scientific facts. Creationism is dangerous to our children because it is not true., So when they get to college.They have the wrong information so they can't be scientist or other trades. In the year of 2013 I am shocked that we still have to debate evolution. The republications still have trouble with these facts
as well as how the female body works. What a shame in the era of information so many people are misinformed. The Ark is sinking. I ask God to hit the ark with a meteorite.
In order for it to be scientific fact, it must be reproducible. This is the problem with both theories......neither one can be reproduced.
Evolution isn't reproducible but it is observable, which is why it has achieved scientific acceptance, whereas creationism is something espoused by the type of people who eat their own faecal matter.
Wow, I'm surprised that you even know how to operate a computer.
I'm surprised you like the taste of faeces so much.
Hey, you're the one obsessed with fecal matter here. Are you projecting your own repressed desires here or what?
We aren't currently observing macroscopic evolution. We surmise that it happened by looking at evidence from the past. But we really lack credible missing links. Time is such a magic thing, you can add an amount that is beyond the average persons scope of reference (millions or billions of years) and get them to believe fairy tales, like all the matter in the universe was condensed into nothing... for no reason, nothing exploded, and created everything, and from all the resulting chaos, this wonderfully ordered, complex world came forth, over the course of billions of years. Big Bang theory is the same as creation, basically, but it is a godless one, where infinite creative power came from nothing. The push behind evolution is atheism. It is hardly science. Creationism is not science either. At least I admit it's religion.
So says the person of no faith. No scientist can 100% say with any evidence that the big bang occurred. No scientist can theorize or explain events before the big bang. Spiritualism is a walk of faith. The monotheistic beliefs have been around a very long time and no matter how much a political, scientific or non-believer attacks it. We are still here. From the persecution of the Jews to modern day political attacks and outright hatred, we will persevere.
It is best to have faith in God and find there is no existence in death than to be a non believer and find out that God does exist.
Hello Pascal.
wow, what a dumb comment, natrdiver
Is your argument that being around a long time proves your religion is the truth? Hinduism and Buddhism are both much older that Judaism (and by extension islam and Christianity). Doesn't that mean we should follow all their principles "just in case"?
Imagine a wind whipping through a warehouse of airplane parts and blowing the pieces around until they form a perfect, functional 747 jet? That's what we are talking about in terms of the likelihood man "just happened" on Earth. Now if you had an engineer present, well then it makes sense. By the way, I have no problem with evolution, just one part: it was all by chance.
Your analogy is wholly innaccurate.
Where are all the missing links? The stages of evolution such as from a bird without wings to a bird with wings? Where is the bird with a small stub of a wing? Or a half-developed wing? They don’t exist. This is true for every species and sub-species. The absence of these life forms puts the entire theory into severe question. So how can the ideas be accurate? They can’t. This isn’t an argument for Creationism. But let’s be honest. There is no scientific proof for either. In the end it’s a matter of personal belief and opinion. In the end the Darwinist or materialist believes and states that the evidence of the missing links will eventually be found. Their total acceptance and belief in the theory makes that a logical necessity. Their unwavering belief in the theory of evolution is not demonstrable.
It was all by chance.
Well, chance has virtually no role in evolution. So, your only problem with evolution is a problem which doesn't exist in evolution? Good, that makes you a sane believer in evolution then.
That's a terrible misunderstanding of evolution you have there. In reality there is nothing probabilistic about evolution or the beginning of life.
Even if I believed there was some grand design and we just magically appeared, that does not automatically prove what is written in the bible. The bible was written by people who I will grant you may have believed but it was also the only way they could explain their existance or explain why or how we exist. Well, we have learned a lot since then and some of us no longer need these supernatural stories to explain things. I just cannot blindly follow a book that was written over many years by many different people and not question any of it. If you believe it and it helps you enjoy your life and you are fulfilled, great! I will not try and change your mind, I just as that you stop trying to change mine.
That's not what evolution says.
Interesting! When an atheist says prove to me or I will not believe, he comes across like a small child who is learning to use words without really understanding their meanings. PROVE and BELIEVE cannot coexist together at least not in the way an atheist means to use them. God will not perform "proof" geared to your specific satisfaction as he told a group in Mt 16:4 (the sign of Jonas is Jesus rising from the dead). With that in mind and given the fact that NO atheist of the past has ever proven the Bible inaccurate to the satisfaction of time, the Bible again points out in Hebrews 11:6 that "without faith (belief) it is impossible to please him (God): for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Since Atheist are DEVOID of FAITH and the matters that concern it, an Atheist will NEVER know God as long as they wait for their idea of "proof". Even though God does furnish "proof", it is NOT the proof the atheist wants. God still left the ultimate issue of his existence to FAITH. Start there and you will have taken the necessary step for the next issue of faith.
Too long.. too boring.. too much unnecessary capitalization... too much BS..
lol
You totally missed it, not surprising.
Funny, seems God made himself known pretty regularly in the Old Testament. The point is, we have science, which proves that the earth wasn't created 10,000 years ago. That doesn't prove or disprove God's existence. It just means the Bible is wrong. The Bible was written by Man, Man is fallible. Christians need to quit being so Butt-Hurt!
But see, that is where I do start and I just cannot blindly have faith in something just because it is written in the bible.
If you were to do what you ask everyone else to do, THINK, then you would have to admit that you arbitrarily give out BLIND "faith" (not to be confused with Biblical Faith) everyday. Your hang up (and to your own demise) is with this issue.
Wow. Your just adorable, cute as a button. Let the rest of us know when you decide to grow up & put on your big boy pants. Then you can sit at the adult table.
The world if rife with suffering and unmet needs from children and the environment. Even if God was real, it either has no power or chooses to be chaotic in the use of that power. Such a being deserves no admiration. It is you, Frank, who behaves like a child giving loyalty in the absence of informed choice.
Nice spin Frank. Prove it! Why aren't all the other religions with books on their side as well correct and you are? Prove it is not childish. If you believe everything you read, who is the child here?
The sad day for Silverman is when he dies and stands before God in judgement and at that moment he realizes there is a God after all .............too late
Yes, but thankfully the Flying Spaghetti Monster isn't a vindictive ass-hole.
too much BS.. but not too long!
A bit old (ok, I assume) to be believing in ridiculous fairy tales (ok, mythology / folklore at best) aren't you? Oy Gevolt......"Standing in front of God"......you believe in Santa and Unicorn too?
I love this billboard.
I love cold filtered Miller Genuine Draft. That's an adult beverage right there.
MGD is vomit in a bottle. Please choose something delicious, which would include almost everything else.
I love civilized debate that is supported by evidence and I prefer when Christians spend money on constructive messages that "live the word" like promoting service work. Make love, not hate everyone. Everyone can get behind helping our neighbors whether the belief is held from within or without.
It's a joke. I'm actually more of a whiskey man.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWBSJom20nA