Comments on: Corvino: The Village Atheist

By: Wilson

Wilson — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:32:54 +0000

In the end, it doesn’t matter what “religion” has done. All that matters is that people of faith make claims, and iff they want anyone to respect those claims, they have to provide proof. Since they can’t provide proof (and no, feelings and anecdotes are not proof), their beliefs don’t deserve respect.

lfivepoints69, criticizing someone’s beliefs is not bigotry against them – and regardless, being a person of faith is a choice. People who make poor choices should expect to have those choices criticized. No one says that someone’s choice to smoke/cuss/sky-dive is above reproach: Faith should be no different.

By: lfivepoints69

lfivepoints69 — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 15:46:01 +0000

The 73% of gay Americans who are Christian is only slightly lower than the 77% of heterosexual Americans who are Christian. I’m somewhat surprised to read some rather anti-Christian comments here. Bigotry against Christians is, like homophobia,unacceptable.

By: steps

steps — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 22:11:18 +0000

This is a subject I have written a lot about and have debated before many a “religious” arena.
Religion is by fact of deed,dogma and docrine the organizational “use” of a belief.
What that means in its well documented and sadly too often displayed could be summed up as “organized discrimination for purposes of social comformity”
Faith is not exclusive to a God belief or no God belief ,it is a hope of something and a belief in that hope.
For a religion to claim a God created everything then in the next breathe to proclaim that selective parts of it are an abomination, said religion has placed itself above and in judgment of the very being its claims to of created it.
Life is and has always been filled with many differences, be then racial or sexual or lifestyle.
There is no dispute to the reality of existance and the vastness of those differences.,all of which have “always been”.
This leaves two possiblities.
1. that it is all here to “learn” of for an understanding of it all without prejudices of it or bigotry towards it or.
2.That it is “all” here to “learn” of and to evolve into a better understanding of it all without prejudice or bigotry of it.
A god belief or not the conclusion remains the same/
All of existance is and has “always been a “learning process” we learn to talk,to walk to find our way,to interact to survive just has “all” of the rest of existance does.
This is self evident in the whole of nature.
Religion uses the intolerences found in many people to justify its existance and excuse its dogma and example it docrine.
This to is self evident in its past and present “selective” judgment which are in direct conflict with its own concpet of a creator and highly evident of a discriminating policy.
If a person has choosen to belief in a possible God creator that belief must accept the “reality ” of that reality and that reality is that “we are all a part of it” other wise it has placed itself above and in judgmnet of the sanity of such a creator and its displays of selective use evident its discriminating and bigotry of of excuses to justify itself.
If there be this God then the only possible words it ever said are evident in the whole of nature.
There is but one enemy ,that has been responsoible for more war,hate,child abuse,illness and torture then all other enemies combined.
Its name is Bigotry and it will organize around anything that encourges a selective discrimination and an excused intolerence.
History is overly littered with its examples.
The time of change is long over due, and that change must have an understanding and willingness to learn.
That learning starts with the exposure of that enemy.
The only conflict between the athiest and the god believer is in the refusal to learn from each.
That learning only requires a non prejudice mind. The conflict has always been in the “reason in the use ” of a belief.

By: Southernhemisphere

Southernhemisphere — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:25:54 +0000

90%. aND WE THINK THIS IS BECAUSE WE ARE OH SO WORTHY NOW DONT WE.,it is by the grace of God.evil what is evil but a witness to the longsuffering and mercy of The Almighty and who told you God is strictly male? smile see you in heaven one day Mr. Corvino. lined up really

By: altair

altair — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 05:23:11 +0000

Assumed Fact Below: Countries with strong religion have correspondingly fewer civil liberties.
Correction: Countries with ENFORCED strong religion have fewer civil liberties.
Assumed Fact: All people who believe in something greater than themselves are mislead/delusional/on crack.
Correction: The above is oppinion, not fact.
Assumed Fact: All religious people are either Jewish, Christian, or Muslim.
Correction: There are other religions.
Assumed Fact: Everyone religious believes/follows/agrees with the Christian standpoint.
Correction: Many do not, namely, those who are not Christian.
Assumed Fact: Because when one specific religion is forced on people by government it causes problems, it means religion is the cause.
Correction: It means that government forcing ideals of any kind on people causes problems.
Assumed Fact: The only countries that have done well are those without religion.
Correction: There have not been any.

Learn your history before trying to use “facts” to back oppinion.

By: altair

altair — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:50:56 +0000

I am not asking anyone to believe in whatever I believe in. I do not preach. I will not force my beliefs on anyone. I expect the same in return. That should not be considered unreasonable.

By: altair

altair — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:42:37 +0000

I’m pagan. What now? Have you a beef with my religion as well?

It’s all well and good to say it as some of you have done, to take offense to a religion when the religion is one intollerant of you or your beliefs, but to say ALL religion is wrong and ALL religion is intollerant is being just as bigoted as those you dispise. My religion is not intollerant.

And please, don’t diss my spellling. I know I don’t spell well. It has nothing to do with validity or lack thereof.

By: The Godless Monster

The Godless Monster — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:33:50 +0000

@ Wayne M.,
I certainly see where you are coming from with the need to show respect for other people. I’m not on board with the implication that we need to automatically respect your beliefs, however. It is incorrect to paint all members of a group with a broad brush, but let’s face it, if you were a Jew in a concentration camp; you would take little comfort in knowing that the camp guard that just shot your bunk-mate was nice to cats and gave generously to his church. Nobody is 100% evil or good, I get that, but for you to state that we must somehow subscribe to the notion that we must respect your religion because you happen to be a nice person, well, sorry, it’s just not a good enough argument for some of us. I believe in striving for peaceful coexistence, but I live for the day when religion is no more. I won’t coexist with religion at the expense of my dignity, my sanity or my human rights. If some of us saw moderate and liberal Christians taking a more openly aggressive stance against fundamentalists, then maybe we’d take you more seriously as progressives. Until then, you come off as silent collaborators…

By: Morgan

Morgan — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:39:20 +0000

DaveW,

At least I don’t shower atheists with disrespect. I just simply say atheism is not for me and I leave it at that.

By: Zack Ford

Zack Ford — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:18:11 +0000

I’m a proud gay atheist and I would never apologize for either. If people are offended because I don’t honor the validity of beliefs, that’s their problem, not mine. It’s nice to see some mainstream visibility for atheism in the gay movement, and I thank you for sharing this, John, but I’m not totally impressed. I think you have some internalized atheophobia to work through.

If anyone wants to discuss the overlap of gay and atheist identities, I welcome you to visit my blog where I write about just that! http://www.zackfordblogs.com