Abso-diddly-widdily,
They want us all to be like Ned. It never seems enough for religious people to simply be happy with their own beliefs. They always have to try to impose them on others. They have to insist on broadcasting prayers in the public schools when they already have complete freedom to individual prayer. People like Joe McCarthy had to ruin the Pledge of Allegiance by adding "under God" to it and thus destroying any claim that we are "one nation, indivisible." They push their theocratic government on us, but they get offended if we ever question their beliefs. They attack our viewpoints all the time.
Sure, there are some nice religious people out there, but that is because they just try to be decent human beings, which is what Secular Humanism is all about. Working for the ultimate good of Humanity requires no god. In fact, as nice as religious people may sometimes be to other people, they always have the ulterior motive of proselytizing. That is part of their belief system. At least when a Humanist treats his fellow human beings with respect, there does not need to be an ulterior motive.
And to all you religious fanatics out there, please save your breath if you are going to say secular people practice the "religion of atheism." Secular social values are about as much of a religion as baldness is a color of hair.
I see my prophetic powers are far greater than the biblical prophets ever had, since lemonsEpheraldedADyyying atheism could be a religion. Interesting, he also thinks Christianity is NOT a religion. It is a "relationship with God," he claims, which is probably the only meaningful element in the definition of a religion. If religions are anything with rules, then baseball is a religion and spraying Jehovah's Witless on Sunday morning with a garden hose could also be a religion. But, it is more meaningful to differentiate between a rational philosophy like ethical Humanism and a relationship with an imaginary character, like Jesus, who has no compelling historical evidence to show that he really existed. Humanists do not need a messiah, they just trust people to think for themselves and use tools like Science and Philosophy to make the world a better place. The fundamental problem with failed philosophies like relgion is that they do not let you question things like god. In a real philosophy, knowledge is cumulative and progressive, and no questions are sacreligious.
If religion is about FREE WILL, make the ultimate act of free will and say that no deity is entited to your unquestioning devotion. If there were such a deity, he would be an evil, power-hunger a.s.s. (don't you hate how yahoo tries to sensor colorful language). Do you know how many religions there have been throughout history all claiming a "true relationship" with god? There are 34,000 sects of Christianity alone.
Gutless religious fanatics remind me of king Priam, desperately locked on his knees in the temple of Aphrodite as the city of Troy burned around him.
If an atheist died tomorrow and ended up standing before god, no just god would give a rat's butt that the atheist had not believed in god his whole life. That is a good thing too, because when you meet the one true god, Ganesh, all you have to do is offer him a peanut and not tell any elephant jokes
Bottom line: Do not wait for miracles. Make "miracles" by contributing to the greater good of Humanity and forget all the mystical mumbo jumbo.
Is the true goal of Christianity, to convert everyone into being like Ned Flanders?
