groups

Like this quote:

"A lot of people on campus either don't know we exist or are afraid of us or hate us," says Bodnar, president of the ISU Atheist and Agnostic Society. "People assume we're rabble-rousing, when we're one of the gentlest groups on campus."

Many on Eons feel this way...that we exist to cause trouble...

Is changing the way people think "causing trouble"? If so, for whom?

Richard Dawkins relates an experience when he was invited to a debate with the Archbishop of York in Edinburgh. He thought "OK....this should be fun".

A religious physicist Russell Stannard wrote a letter to the Observer regarding the event. "Sir, Under the gleeful headline 'God comes a poor Second before the Majesty of Science' your science correspondent reported (on Easter Sunday of all days) how Richard Dawkins 'inflicted grievous intellectual harm' on the Archbishop of York in a debate on science and religion. We were told of 'smugly smiling atheists' and 'Lions 10; Christians nil'.

Dawkins shies away from adversarial debate with Christians. He is considered to be 'hostile' when he exposes the absurdities of religoun to Archbishops and such when in fact he is simply stating his point of view.

I saw the article in my local paper. Thought it was encouraging. As you have found, wot, if we athiests express our opinion, we are being bigoted or intolerant or members of H.A.T.E. (I will give our dyslexic friend credit for originality). You put up with a lot of abuse from a couple of people but you seem to handle it well. I have made a couple of comments in your defense but you don't seem to need my help and I don't want to sink to their level by name calling and insults. (for anyone here who doesn't know what I am talking about, it's the group called Deeper Thinkers). I think the world would be a better place without organized religion but, on the other hand, maybe there are some people who could not function in a civilized society without some such framework on which to base their behavior. If that is the case, it's a pretty sad state of affairs. On another note, my local paper publishes a column called the Buzz. In this column, people can make anonymous comments on just about any topic and, if the editors like it, it gets published. I am a multiple published "Buzzer" as they are called. Today, someone had the following comment published: "Who do athiests give thanks too for their blessings on Thanksgiving?" I sent in the following reply: "Athiests give thanks for their so called blessings to the same random forces of nature that we blame for all the tragedies and misery in the world". Don't know yet if it will get published but it was the best reply I could come up with. Any better ideas?

Thanks...mojo. I ruffled his feathers and he throws that HATE thing out as often as possible. I have yet to figure out where he is coming from?

We can be thankful for life, for the universe, for nature, for beauty...
the list could go on...

& even at some point thankful for death I guess.

I joined The Deeper Thinkers for about two days .... until I figured they were nothing of the sort, told them so and split. Even their name is presumptious and with cocksure ignorance censor anyone who might disagree with their prevaling prejudices. That's just my take on them.

Funny...

You could make a CREATIONIST T shirt as well....

Good one Scot. My luck an entire Baptist choir would show up just as I was getting on.

Nice to hear that youth is blossoming once again. It's been rather quiet since the 60's.