Atheists will be hated by families of fallen heroes

This blog is about an article on CNN's website. Atheists win at removing road side crosses

CNN reports that the atheists have won a battle against unconstitutional favoritism of religion. Specifically, Christian crosses on the roadside that are meant to honor fallen heroes.

Do I know these heroes? No.
Did they ever save my life specifically? No.
Do I owe them? Yes.

Every day, hard working men and women don their gear to protect us on the streets. Police officers who perform traffic stops are heroes. They stop the drunk drivers, reckless drivers, and speedsters who don't stop to think about the lives they may take all because they were more concerned about getting somewhere. Is a human life really worth making it to work on time? You may think so at the time you're running that red light, but if you caused an accident that kills someone, you may think differently after wards.

But for the cops who don't make it home, we owe a debt of gratitude. We should seriously stop and think about the danger they face just trying to earn a living, support their loved ones, and make the world a little bit safer. That's why I support any ways their families need to remember them by. If a family is so emotionally damaged by their loss, they deserve what ever they need to help the healing process. Some of them need their religious beliefs and cling to them like a crutch.

So what?

It doesn't bother me. Two sticks crossed together on a roadside as a memorial does not bother me, hurt me, offend me, or make me upset at the government. Tax payer money is being spent to help remember a fallen hero, and as an atheist, I'm not upset.

Now... if the government refused to recognize the wishes of a family who lost an atheist police officer, or a pagan/Jewish/skeptical/non-believing officer with a roadside symbol that helped them. Then I'd be upset. That's not the case here. Instead, atheists have won a legal case saying the crosses have to come down.

Did you hear that?

We won. We won the right to harm families who are already suffering.

How is that winning?

How to argue with an idiot

We've heard this title before, "how to argue with..." an idiot, a republican, a democrat, an atheist, a christian... etc, etc. I keep coming across people who want nothing more than an argument where they can claim victory. But so far, all I've come across are the same old arguments and name-calling.

My most recent one comes from a CNN article Black Church: Place of Empowerment. I read this article, and was so upset that people who have been so repressed by an institution could continue to praise and give thanks to that same institution.

I re-quoted the article "Enslaved Africans were exposed to the literature of the Christian Bible, and they found comfort and direction in the same book that was used to justify their enslavement." And I added that I was "pissed off" at the article for not giving praise to the true source of power: the people with the strength to overcome the obstacles set by the institution of faith.

A person replied to my comment and started off with an insult. He called me "dumbalot" as a reference to my user name "teksalot." He accused me of not knowing the Bible and stated that it did not advocate slavery.

My response to his argument is the following from the site: Scary Bible Quotes


On Slavery & Subjugation of Women
Ephesians 5:22-24 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Exodus 21:20-21 If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished, but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property.

1 Peter 2:13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men.

Peter 2:18 Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.

Leviticus 25:44-45
Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property.



Now, how does that not advocate slavery. Actually demanding that women submit to their husbands, and telling you exactly where to obtain slaves sounds pretty convincing to me.

But to get back to my original point in the blog and title. How to argue with...

Everyone, every where, "knows" they are right. I put "knows" in quotes because it is only internally that we "know" we are right. I can not put in words any argument that will change the mind of a reader until they are ready to change their mind. Every Christian "knows" God exists and Jesus is the only true path to eternal salvation and at the EXACT SAME TIME every Atheist "knows" God does not exist and Jesus more than likely is an amalgam of oral story telling traditions from ages ago.

There is no way to win an argument until the other side is ready to change their mind. You can not win an argument with anyone until they decide they are ready to lose.

Sorry

I apologize, I did exactly what I said I didn't want to do. I've let this blog slip out of my mind. But I updated my other blog instead

roxannerosas.blogspot.com

And it actually is a blog concerned with atheism. I posted it on my personal blog specifically because I know a few people read it. I hope the controversial subject of religion makes a few heads turn or at least makes people leave some feedback.

Apatheism

Rather than have this blog fall into the category of 9 posts then stop, I have decided to update on my lack of interest in the atheist field. It's very difficult to care when I work 60 hours a week.

I am trying though. I recently joined the meetup website under the skeptics category.

The next meeting is January 28th and if all goes well, I will attend. I may change to evenings at work or I may be one of the unlucky people who get drafted to serve on a jury. As of right now, I just have to call in on Jan. 22nd and find out if I have to show up.

The upcoming topic is "Can Science and Religion co-exist?" I have no knowledge on previous debates of the topic, but my only question before I can really answer that question is... "What defines a religion?"

If it's the typical dogma + ritual + faith over evidence, then my answer would have to be a big NO! Since science is constantly trying to answer questions, and religion is constantly answering questions with the same answer, I don't think the two can ever peacefully co-exist. Eventually, a person has to choose one over the other.

We'll see how it goes, if I make it to the meeting. I promise to update.

Thanks