par4dcourse Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 I'm considering an atheist letter to my local paper (a community of 30k or so). I feel the need to express myself. What should I include? I'm not specifically lookng for a fight, but in the bible belt I'm not likely to be welcomed. I'm looking to make people think above all. We're near liberal Charlotte but conservative in thought (birthplace of Jesse Helms). What could I say to make people in the bible belt think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llwellyn Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 I would write a letter in response to some kind of article published by the paper. Look through the past few weeks of papers and see what strikes you. Are there articles about religion or Christianity? If I were writing a letter, I would try to make people think about Christianity from an outsider's perspective, showing them how ugly and divisive it is. So, you are near Charlotte, NC? The closest I have been is a town on the SC border called "Waxhaw." It is the location of a missionary center belonging to the organization my parents are with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiderwire Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 What could I say to make people in the bible belt think? You always express yourself very well here. I enjoy your posts and hearing what you have to say. I think the troll that visited us today should reinforce the fact that the Christian community is not only unwilling to entertain any thought process other than their own, but also that the atheist ranks at the bottom of the barrel of sinners. They'd likely welcome a practicing abortionist before they'd be willing to actually listen to anything you may have to say. There may be a liberal slice of the religious sector that would chime in in agreement that we all need to accept one another and "get along". But I think you'll see your remarks ignored or rebutted with typical Christian venom and ignorance. Do what you like, however. I'd love to see your letter. You know that the vast majority of us would be cheering you on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted September 18, 2008 Super Moderator Share Posted September 18, 2008 Christians, of all the religions in the world, why is yours the only correct one? Do you realize that if you had been born in the Middle East you would likely be practicing and defending Islam? Were you born in India you would likely believe with all your heart that Hinduism is the way. Do you know the history of the Bible, and how the canon was selected? Do you know the Bible is not only contradictory to itself (with mental contortions you manage to explain those away, to at least your own satisfaction) but is in conflict with recorded history from multiple sources? It conflicts with irrefutable and observable scientific fact? Do you know that every study that has been conducted on the efficacy of prayer has shown that it has no effect over outcomes? That no god, including yours, has ever healed an amputee? That this inspired word of the creator is so poorly contrived that virtually none of his creation can agree on what it says? And do you realize that others can examine your religion and come to a different conclusion than you did? Why does that make them wrong? Can you see how arrogant it is to claim to know the Truth, have the ear of the deity and claim he also speaks to you but not me? That it is rude and unthinking to say to people not of your belief that you will pray for them? What you are really saying is that you speak to the real god and he does what you ask. We need you to intercede for us because we don't have your superior understanding of how the universe works. Did you ever notice how Scripture discourages thinking? Those who study the Bible, apologetics, history and science may very likely think their way out of a religion that is based on fear and superstition. Just something to think about . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiMamaFeminAtheist Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Believers and non-believers have so much in common. We are both almost entirely certain that the Tooth Fairy does not exist. Likewise, neither of us subscribes to a faith in Zeus, Shiva, Aman-Ra or Qutzecoatl. An atheist takes this common non-belief just one step further, and does not believe in your god either. - That's the nicest thing I can find it in myself to say. The mean things could fill a book (which I'm actually writing now) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Genesis Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 If I could write a letter about religion to the local paper, I would bring up all the most shocking bible verses to make people think because those are the only bible verses Christians can't justify without making it look like they're justifying mass infanticide in the process. I would focus on all the evil actions god committed throughout the bible, like how god commanded the raping and sacrificing of virgins, slavery, and mass genocide. I wouldn't just stop with the OT, either. I would also include all the immoral teachings in the NT, like the sexism of St. Paul, and how even Jesus approved of slavery. I would also bring up how evil and disgusting hell is and compare the worship of god to the worship of Hitler and compare fundamentalist Christianity to Nazism. Also, I would bring up how Hitler was a Catholic, not an atheist or pagan, and bring up all the other evil actions that religions have done, like the Salem witch trials and the Spanish Inquisition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hereticzero Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Be sure and include some of my graphics located around this website somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astreja Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 I would ask "Why do you think that someone else supposedly dying for you is a good thing? Don't you feel even slightly embarrassed at someone else taking the fall so that a 'loving' god doesn't have to torture you forever? And doesn't it trouble you to worship a god that would set up such a horrible situation in the first place?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legion Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Par4, I guess I am going to rain on this parade. I just don’t see that you are going to make much of an impact with any concoction of words. Actually that gives me an idea. Maybe you could write a piece entitled “I Give Up.” And then state all the reasons why you think it is futile to try and encourage Christians to bring critical thinking to bear upon their religious beliefs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 If you live in the Bible belt, I suspect there's a chance your letter might not even make it into the paper, particularly if it has a lot of inflammatory content. Something else to think about. You do express yourself well. Have you got a blog yet? If not, you might want to start one. I'm on live journal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
par4dcourse Posted September 19, 2008 Author Share Posted September 19, 2008 Thanks for the input guys. Much to consider. Making a point without shooting myself in the foot will take some careful planning. Llwellyn, Waxhaw is 20 minutes away from me and home for the JAARS (jungle aviation and radio service)center. Although it's xtian based, it's still interesting. Jungle pilots and museum of written language and such. Link to JAARS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llwellyn Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Thanks for the input guys. Much to consider. Making a point without shooting myself in the foot will take some careful planning. Llwellyn, Waxhaw is 20 minutes away from me and home for the JAARS (jungle aviation and radio service)center. Although it's xtian based, it's still interesting. Jungle pilots and museum of written language and such. Link to JAARS Yup... I lived there for a couple months as a child and more recently I visited my parents there a couple years ago. My parents will probably retire there. Missionary aviation and indigenous language development may seem interesting, but it supports a wicked project of Christian prostylization. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
par4dcourse Posted September 20, 2008 Author Share Posted September 20, 2008 Yup... I lived there for a couple months as a child and more recently I visited my parents there a couple years ago. My parents will probably retire there. Missionary aviation and indigenous language development may seem interesting, but it supports a wicked project of Christian prostylization. I know, I know. I just have similar interests in aviation and word origins, so the place would be a holy grail (pun intended) for me if they weren't holy rollers. If it's any consolation, locals know the back roads around the center and teens have used 'em for drinkin' and fornicatin' and such since my day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godlessgrrl Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 If I were going to say anything to xians en masse, I'd probably want to tell them that they don't have the slightest clue what atheism really is or what non-believers' lives are really like, and they need to shut the fuck up and stop slandering us. Quit the bullshit about how we're totally depraved and have no morality, crap like that. I have my doubts that they'd listen, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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