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A 14x48-foot billboard, carrying the John Lennonesque theme, "Imagine No Religion," with a stained-glass window backdrop, went up today for one month in West St. Louis County (in Manchester, Mo., at approximately 14030 Manchester Road, just west of the intersection with Weidman Road).
This is the first billboard placed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation in Missouri as part of a national educational campaign. The Foundation, based in Madison, Wis., is the nation's largest association of freethinkers (atheists and agnostics), and works to keep church and state separate. The state/church watchdog has 13,900 members, and more than 200 members in the "Show Me State."
"We'd like to invite everyone to imagine a world free from religious wars, sectarian strife, and superstition," said Annie Laurie Gaylor, Foundation co-president.
"Like John Lennon, I've found that nature and reality are enough for me. I also like to imagine no hell below us, above us only sky. The only afterlife that should concern us is a secure and pleasant future for our descendants," said Dan Barker, Foundation co-president and author of Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One's America's Leading Atheists (Ulysses Press, 2008).
The Foundation has placed billboards in about 18 states and more than 28 cities since launching its educational campaign in late 2007. It is now launching a national bus sign campaign.
Comments
Bravo! St. Louis MO. I like the real world of John Lennon's song and Dan Barker.
This is wonderful.
Should the public school system be subjected to the assumption of a particular deity this ostracizes other factions who recognize other deities or no deity at all creating further divisiveness and challenges. These biased perspectives can and do lead to further escalate intolerance, bigotry, hate, and violence. Once these conditions have developed into one or any combination of the aforesaid results we refer to that as terrorism. To support any religion through a public institution or government operated facility is to support terrorism and the very basis that supports terrorism.
Source: khouse.org newsletter
Religion is often blamed for the miseries of the world. An "Imagine No Religion" billboard has just gone up in St. Louis, and most people get the point even if they disagree with it. If it were not for religion, after all, there would have been no Spanish Inquisition, no Taliban, no World Trade Center bombing, no human sacrifices to various and sundry gods. Religious wars would be conspicuously absent from world history and nobody would follow cult leaders in sipping down toxic Kool-Aid. Richard Dawkins' book The God Delusion spends the first page of the Preface going through the evils that have been done in the name of religion. Yet, while atheists love to blame zealous believers for the world’s sufferings, they have missed the true problem. Yes, much earthly evil has been done in the name of one deity or another, but religion isn’t the real problem. The real problem is …. human nature.
Religion is a convenient scapegoat for the atheist, who...
....Have people been slaughtered in the name of religion? Certainly. Yet, the Crusades are a drop in the bucket compared to the massive death toll caused by atheistic regimes. The leaders of the French Revolution shoved God out of their social justice crusade, and the result was a blood bath. Stalin is responsible for the deaths of at least 20 million of his own people, and Mao Zedong's death toll runs upwards of 40-70 million. From Pol Pot in Cambodia to the Kims in North Korea, governments freed of "religion" – those utopias of atheistic communism - have murdered millions upon millions of people. People of various religions continue to fight all around the world, but, anti-God governments streamline human death. Any time people get starry-eyed about imagining "no religion too" they need a little history lesson.
The problem isn’t religion or even lack thereof. The problem is humanity.
It wasn't religion that killed John Lennon it was a lost soul. The agnostics/athiest Socialist-Communist Leaders/Army of Russia, Germany, China etc killed millions under their government with out God Regimes. Anyway I will pray for them all but I'm not sure what part of "Love your neighbor as yourself"...GOD.... they have a problem with. Will still pray for them as I know their final fate with out Jesus. Thank you for allowing me to contribute.
Someone should put a billboard next to that billboard, "Imagine No Religion," that says (as is stated above):
"Stalin imagined no religion -> 20 million dead. Mao Zedong imagined no religion -> 40-70 million dead. Imagine the life and peace that comes from a relationship with the living God instead!"
"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." - Gal 5:16,22-25
Hurrah for the FFRF! I'm thinking about attending this year's conference in Seattle.
To Ken, Chris and lop -- Stalin, Hitler and Mao used the forms of religion to create "atheist" cults of personality with themselves as the diety. Communist ideology as practiced was a religion in all but name. Nobody kills people over the question of who is the most rational or who believes in the fewest fairy tales. Also, people always mention the Crusades and Inquisition as part of the Religion Death Tally, but many forget the "heretics" slaughtered on the orders of early church fathers such as Augustine and Origen starting in the 4th century, and the millions killed during the wars of religion during the Reformation and Counterreformation.
To support a religion means nothing. Everyone wants to talk of religion, why not talk about God? People have become so wrapped up in their own version of religion that they have squeezed God completely out of the picture. Those people are not hard to spot. Just look at how lost they are, full of hate, and headed to Hell. Everyone sees it, so why hate God for what sinful people do? Get over your outrage and ponder who God is. Read your Bible and pray to the Father and he will reveal the truth. Just because there are many who are on the wrong road in the name of God doesn't mean that there are any less on the RIGHT road to God. You have to seek them out. They don't get as much media attention, so look carefully.
I just saw this billboard yesterday on Manchester Rd. in St. Louis! It was the first I had heard of FFRF. It's about time! There are huge numbers of non-believers out there and we are finally being heard
Imagine if 2/3 of the free world's hospitals no longer existed,
Imagine if a majority of the chartable organizations gone,
Imagine if there was no salvation,
Imagine if no heaven
Imagine if no hell
Imagine if you were wrong!
John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." Jesus Christ
Knowing Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour I don't live in the world of imagination and ifs, when I step into eternity I'm going to be in heaven.
Where are you going when you die?
John 3:16
Imagine if 2/3 of the free world's hospitals no longer existed,
Imagine if a majority of the chartable organizations gone,
Imagine if there was no salvation,
Imagine if no heaven
Imagine if no hell
Imagine if you were wrong!
John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." Jesus Christ
Knowing Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour I don't live in the world of imagination and ifs, when I step into eternity I'm going to be in heaven.
Where are you going when you die?
John 3:16
It may be nice to imagine no hell and worship nature because it makes you feel good. But the Bible that has existed over 2,000 years has never been proven wrong. In fact, more of it is being proved in historical digs than ever before. The Bible is the absolute truth; the only truth we'll ever have. There is a heaven and a hell and you don't want to spend eternity in hell. Please read it and ask for discernment when you do, and God will open your eyes to the truth.
The Bible has been proven wrong in countless ways. There is little evidence that most of it has any resemblance to historical fact. Some good stories, some bad stories...but just stories. Too bad so many have been swindled to believe more. No six day creation, no evidence for any flood, no massive Exodus from Egypt, no masses of dead people rising from their graves on Easter, no evidence for hell nor heaven,etc. Deal with it.
We are out there. The people who think that religion is exact need some education. The more we learn, the more deity based explanations get pushed aside. Anyone still think demon possession causes sickness anymore? Or, do you understand viruses and bacteria now? Still think the stars are a "crystal sphere" (one of the many past explanations), or are you familiar with the fact they are suns of different sizes, ages, and vast distances throughout the universe? Science explains, religion moves on to the "gaps".
Humans will always kill for any reason. What makes monotheism so dangerous is it starts with "thou shalt have no other god before I" Once you start with such a proclamation, you invite people to spurn other beliefs and turn against people who disagree.
How sad! For the Atheists, etc out there - go to this site www.anchorstone.com you will see the physical evidence of the stories of the Bible. I dare you - take a peak, or are you afraid that you will be proven wrong! There is more than sufficient evidence - don't know what you have been reading. I suppose it is easier not to believe, because then you are not accountable. Or so you think! However, it is your choice...
@Judith May-Potton: Hi, Judith. I suggest that you read a website about how Mother Goose stories are all real.... or are you afraid that you might be wrong?
I guess you find it easier to NOT believe in Mother Goose's tales, since then you are not accountable... or so you think! (i.e. implying Mother Goose will get you in the end).
FYI: for 'Mother Goose' you could substitute Thor, Zeus, the Tooth Fairy, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, or any other fantasy and I think you may realize how your appeal for the Bible sounds to most atheists.
But I did check out the website you suggested. I don't find it convincing at all.
If you would return the courtesy, check out short video, which is my favorite summary on the Bible:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkXOwBIRX7Y
Please view it ("or are you afraid that you might be wrong?") and let me know what you think. I am sincerely interested.
-Peter
The only thing true about religion is what mankind made up of it for his own selfish control,dont waste our air praying for me or against me this is the only life there is,no god,no deavil ,no hell,just the end of a life cycle,nothing last forever,not even our universe,and in the end the lie of religion will still be a lie just like the first time it was made up.
well. choosing to be a christian, muslim or hundi you have chosen religion, right. but who said believing there is no God is not a religion. it is a religion not against God but to self destruction-actually most athesist die regretting time waste in fighting against Christian good. am happy that is everybody's freedom of choice-a massive gift from our Creastor and redeemer. be an Abel (do as God say) and the Cains shall follow you maybe even kill you-but God has a final say.
Lets get one thing straight. Hitler was not an atheist. He refers often to divine providence in mein kampf and if anything he paid lip service to the roman catholic church if only for that 'holy' organization to turn a blind eye to what was going in in Nazi Germany.
Humanity does not need belief in fairy tales anymore, we need to recognize that the time we have here is precious and brief, and not believe that everything will be answered when we die.
Maybe if we stopped telling people that all the answers are waiting for us when we die, we'll start looking for them while we're alive.
Atheism is quite amazing.
Anti-religions are approving how immoral they have become.GOD JEHOVAH created everythhing like universy,earth,sun,moon and the stars including thhings we don't seeHE deserve to be worshipped and honour him.you are foolish if don't know GOD.
Marxist revolution.
"We must war against all prevailing ideas of religion, of the state, of country, of patriotism. The idea of God is the keynote of a perverted civilization. It must be destroyed." - Karl Marx
People have many beliefs. Some worship a tree. If these religions (whatever they may be) have a history of serious violations of the law then at some point there should be restrictions.
Some often considered:
• Marxism - as a political violent revolution conspiracy that has been banned in the past.
• Islam - the history is well documented.
• Roman Catholicism - same as all above, they have been banned in the past, they are agents of a foreign country (Vatican), and have a recent history and ongoing political activity.
• Freemasonry - conspiracy.
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