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You beat me to it. |
Posted on 03/26/2005 11:04:31 AM PST by wagglebee
PHILADELPHIA - It was a good Friday - with a small "g" - for Lori Lynner, 39, who chatted with another member of the American Atheists group inside the Hyatt Regency at Penn's Landing.
The slight singer-songwriter, for once, felt at ease talking about her conviction that God is a myth.
"I'm usually quiet about my beliefs," said Lynner, who had flown from Los Angeles to attend her first American Atheists convention since becoming a member in 2001.
Outside, it was far from quiet, with a dozen members of Repent America, a Philadelphia-based Christian group, holding a sidewalk vigil with banners and bullhorns.
"We just want to share the gospel truth with the atheists," said Nancy Major, 53, of Phoenixville, Pa. "Everyone needs to hear it because eternity is at stake."
But another convention-goer, Sandra VanMaren, 44, of Chicago, found their tactics offensive.
"I don't go to their meetings with a bullhorn," said VanMaren who was clutching a bright blue bag with a "No God" sticker. "The vast majority of Christians do not do this. But this group has got to have their little circus."
More than 200 members attended the American Atheists' 31st annual convention, which began Friday and continues through Sunday. The timing was not meant to offend Christians celebrating the Easter holiday, convention spokesman Dave Silverman said.
"Atheists have nothing else to do on Easter and hotels are cheaper, flights are cheaper," he said.
Silverman said the organization isn't trying to convince anyone to join, but is concerned about governmental support of religious groups that provide social services. The group's "long-term goal is just to have a seat at the table in government," he said.
"We're here to promote the total separation of church and state - when that isn't enforced, people lose out," Silverman said.
The nonprofit organization, founded in 1963 by Madalyn Murray O'Hair, now has about 2,000 members, Silverman said. Since George W. Bush was elected, he said, "we've gotten a lot of new members."
O'Hair rose to prominence in the mid 1960s with a succession of court battles that successfully removed prayer from the nation's schools. In 1995, she vanished. Authorities believe that O'Hair, her son and granddaughter were killed, though their bodies have never been found.
Friday's keynote speaker, political commentator Jack Germond, couldn't give his audience much in the way of good news.
"We nonbelievers are the most despised group in America," said Germond, an atheist, and the author of "Fat Man Fed Up."
Like others at the convention, Germond wanted to talk about Terri Schiavo, a brain-damaged Florida woman whose relatives have been battling in the courts over her fate.
Germond accused Congress of pandering to religious conservatives with legal attempts to "save" Schiavo, whose feeding tube was removed a week ago. In particular, he singled out U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., a doctor. "Frist knows if he wants to run for president he's going to have to have the support of the religious right," Germond said.
For some, the convention was a chance to socialize. Rick Wingrove, 55, of Sterling, Va., found it refreshing to meet other veterans and debunk the oft-repeated claim that "there are no atheists in foxholes."
"The hell there aren't, there are lots of them," said Wingrove, who served in the Navy in the Vietnam era. "In November, in Washington D.C. we're going to have a rally to address that issue."
I don't expect him to understand this, but it the political anti-religious intolerance of many leftist, secular atheists that is so despicable.
Who gave the invocation?
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
Probably John sKerry or the Hildabeast.
there's an old saying that organizing atheists together is like herding cats. Most of the atheists I know would never join an organization like this. Their non-belief is something they keep private and don't make a big fuss over. In fact they see their rejection of God as part of a very individualistic personal philosophy - so alligning oneself with an organization doesn't appeal to them much.
These people (at the convention) don't give a damn about atheism, which as you state is an individual's personal belief system, the goal of these people is the destruction of Judeo-Christian tradition in America.
Cool... I would be an atheist myself but alas I don't have enough FAITH for that..
Must have been some very dedicated and faithful people in attendance..
I stand in awe in the presence of so much faith..
I'm also a coward to risk really really pissing God off..
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
nah I think both of them are too smart to come close to these whackos...
Very few atheists belong to any organization that has anything to do with atheism. There's no need to do that. I can't imagine being in a group with a bunch of atheists who somehow feel they need other atheists to support their disbelief.
Silliness.
I don't believe this really happened.
I agree, if you don't believe in God, you're wasting time. If this is "it", you better live it up!
BTW, you should let your mind and heart open to the idea there is something more to life than what you see with your eyes. Happy Easter.*
*this salutation was in no way meant to insult.
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You beat me to it. |
While giving the keynote speech, Jack Germond sneezed....and no one knew what to say to him.
And the Atheists on Freerepublic deny Atheism is a religion.
Modern secularism is basically nothing more than the organized worship of big government, which would basically fit the definition of a religion.
I don't believe in Atheists. They wouldn't be so anti-God if they sincerely didn't believe.
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