America's most prominent atheist group has placed a billboard near the Lincoln Tunnel entrance that takes a direct shot at Christmas and those who celebrate it.
The billboard, on Route 495 and Kennedy Boulevard on the New Jersey side of the Lincoln Tunnel, displays a nativity scene, with three men on camelback approaching from the left and an elongated Star of Bethlehem at the top, and this caption:
You KNOW it's a Myth. This Season, Celebrate REASON!
The sponsor is American Atheists, the most prominent atheist group in America today. The billboard is the centerpiece of a larger campaign against Christmas, that begins by addressing those who do not accept the Creation and Fall-of-man stories (Genesis 1-3).
Chances are, if you're reading this, you don't believe in the fable of Adam and Eve and the talking snake. You probably think it's a story, created out of ignorance, to explain the origin of life. You probably don't believe that Adam literally ate a fruit, resulting in God expelling him and Eve out of the idyllic Garden of Eden.
In other words, you know that's a myth.
David Silverman, the group's current president, told Stephanie Akin of The Record (Hackensack) that his group spent $20,000 to put up this billboard in order to anticipate accusations against liberal groups over a "war on Christmas."
If the religious right wants a war on Christmas, this is what they’re going to get. If they want a war on Christmas, we’re going to make sure they know what one looks like.
Silverman chose New Jersey because he believes that New Jersey is ripe for spreading a secularist message. He chose the Lincoln Tunnel entrance because he expects a lot of commuters to see the billboard as they sit and wait for the slow-moving traffic to move during their morning commute.
American Atheists dates from 1963. Its founding president was Madalyn Murray O'Hair, who served as its president until 1986, when her son Jon S. Murray took over. Nine years later, an employee named David Waters was accused of embezzling vast sums from the organization. In September of 1995, Waters extorted $500,000 in gold coins by taking O'Hair, Murray, and Murray's daughter Robin hostage. He then murdered his hostages, literally cut them into pieces, buried them on a ranch in Texas, and left with about $80,000 worth of coins. (Ironically, a group of thieves having a master key to the kind of lockbox that Waters used, broke into it and made off with the rest.) The authorities would not realize the truth until six years later, partly because O'Hair's surviving son William waited a full year before filing a missing-persons report.
Another employee named Ellen Johnson took over American Atheists after the O'Hairs vanished. The organization has built itself up since then, almost from scratch.
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Comments
It takes significantly more faith to believe the universe happened by happen chance than it does to believe someone or something created the universe. Especially when one examines the complexity of the universe.
@ laster
Nice strawman argument. Atheists don't believe that the universe began from chance, they state that they don't know what began the universe. What's more is that you don't understand that complexity does not equal design.
You fail.
@John: just one problem. If the universe did not begin from chance, then some-One made it. When the null hypothesis fails, the alternative hypothesis remains.
These stories are seen as myths only because there is no understanding of the language used to tell the story. The Torah/Bible, is in fact only an outer garment. It is in fact, an explanation of the human soul and what happens as an individual goes through the changes of waking up to spirituality. It must be understood in the Hebrew language which is the language of spiritual states. If you want to understand the language and what it explains, then look into Kabbalah. There you will learn the actual meaning behind the stories.
http://www.perceivingreality.com
Glad to see the billboard, money well spent!
Yet another example of the miserable trying to make everyone else as miserable as they are.
Those that believe in nothing, live for nothing.
@ John
It's misleading to state that atheists "don't know what began the universe" The defining characteristic of an atheist is the belief that a divine source is ruled out a priori. Assertions to the contrary notwithstanding, atheists are doctrinaire about matters of origin.
No. Atheists are open to a divine source for the universe for as long as there is adequate evidence for it. We don't just buy into this claim that God is the default answer. The orgin of the Universe could be a transendent energy force that wouldn't need to be intelligent. Or the Universe was just a science experient and this intelligence caused an explosion that killed him which is why there is no evidence of an outside force tinkering with anything. Sorry, but the imagination can come up almost an endless amount of ideas through analogies. The SUPERMAN analogy is just wishful thinking. God was created in man's image.
Well, they have a right to their opinion, and they are paying for the billboard.
However, I will never understand why they feel so threatened by people who choose to believe "the myth."
As a Christian, I do not feel a bit threatened by people who don't believe in Christ, Christmas, or God for that matter. It's their business and none of mine.
But why do my personal beliefs make them so angry? That's all I want to know ...
Why do Christians want to force their beliefs onto others through our gov't? That is what I want to know. It is not that atheists or seculars are threatened by your private personal beliefs. It is the acting out through the gov't based on these beliefs and affecting everyone that is bothersome. And there are Christians out there that understand this. Just imagine having a group of Christians with power over you accusing you of not being Christian enough. Religion is self induced bondage.
Minx,
"People who choose to believe "the myth" undermine science education by insisting that the earth is only 6,000 years old, claim that religion is the only path to happiness and villify non-believers, are generally intolerant towards sexual minorities and deny them basic human rights like marriage, and generally promote superstitious thinking. Some of them spend billions of dollars telling AIDS-ravaged African states that condoms should not be used in the fight against AIDS.
In Nigeria "people who choose to believe the myth" are hunting down and murdering children being suspected as witches.
In Uganda, "people who choose to believe the myth" want all the gays hanged. Many more discard anti-retroviral therapy in favour of quack faith healing scams.
Should I continue? Indeed "people who choose to believe the myth" are a dangerous bunch!
didn't I just read this?
@ James
Truly dangerous Amercans are those who are intolerant of the religious views of others although that bunch generally goes out of its way to show "tolerance" for Muslims so as to not be accused of the cardinal sin of Islamophobia. Something should be done to address the more common Judeo-Christianophobia.
Are you saying that Christians are prejudices against more so than atheists? I think not. It is just that Christians can't understand the difference between neutrality and hostility. Christians think that if the gov't isn't blowing their horn somehow that is infringing upon their right to believe. The separation of church & state protects all of us. Something has to keep all the religious people from killing eachother just like in the past. That is why the founders fled a theocracy. America is America because it is America. Not because it is a Christian America.
Hi
I'm a Brit, but I know the Lincoln Tunnel, and what I'd suggest is that all the religious people drive into the tunnel, go as fast as possible and just say "Jesus take the wheel!" and see what happens. Just one thing; let us athiests know when you're going to try this.
Athiests - hey hands off Christmas, it's the only night we get a fair night's work out of Santa!!
you would think we as a race would evolve more...why can't we stop fighting...if it isn't about religion, then we'd fight over somthing else, like land rights or oil...really really sad...if it isn't hurting anyone, then why can't we leave other people's views alone..
The reason we can't stop fighting is because of the internal program through which we perceive the world. This program is called self concern, egoism, and 'the evil inclination'. This program obligates you to make decisions based on what will bring you the most benefit. And we make choices in an attempt to bring us to a pleasurable state for our own sakes.
Because of this instinctual calculation, we fight when we are unable to receive benefit from others. Our natural tendency is to exploit each other even if only to a minor degree. Kabbalah explains all this. And because it is not a religion Atheists might have an easier time finding the evidence of the divine that they are looking for. Because in truth you can only know divinity if you experience it for yourself. Then there will be no doubts. This is why the Creator is also called in Hebrew "Bo Reh" which means "come and see".
Atheists make a very valid point of demanding evidence. If you are willing to put in the effort to examine this for yourself, you will taste this hidden reality for yourself and you will attain direct experience.
You can start here: http://www.perceivingreality.com
Peace to you and yours.
I don't think that I want to debate the 'truth'. Jesus is the truth. There are many pros and cons about the Savior of this world and we will all know the outcome when the trumpet sounds.
As a Christian, I did not know the entire story about how O'Hair died. It seems as if the scriptures are true, "You reap what you sow and God will not help evildoers (Job 8).
Thank Terry, but I almost got sucked into doing a story about this especially the retaliation of the Catholic League buying space to counter the Atheist billboard (catholicleague.org/release.php?id=2034). It's not called Christ mas for nothing.
Could use the same phrase and apply it to Christians. All these atheists finally coming out of the closet and sticking up for themselves in a world of religious tyranny. You Christians are reaping what you sow.
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