Posted on 11/25/2013 8:59:52 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Atheists in San Diego, Calif. are trying a new approach to recruiting non-believers by offering food, such as pretzels and cheezits, and putting up large banners that read "Relax: hell does not exist, or heaven either, enjoy your life."
The atheists are members of the San Diego-based group the San Diego Coalition of Reason, and every Saturday they set up a booth in the city's Balboa Park alongside other religious groups, such as Hare Krishnas and evangelical Christians, to educate passerby on their lack of beliefs. Along with the quirky banner that hangs over their booth, members of the group also lure people into a conversation using pretzels and Cheezits; the pretzels are used to symbolized the "twisted logic" of theism, while the cheezits represent the "power" of non-belief.
"We like to have a gathering place for our members, people that want to chat, get to know each other, they can come do that on any Saturday," Debbie Allen, one of the organizers for the atheist group, told local KPBS-TV. "But also we like to let the community know that there are groups that they may want to participate in."
Additionally, Jim Eliason, another organizer for the group, told the local media outlet that their group is not afraid of being aggressive in their beliefs.
"We're constantly fighting to get religion out of our schools, constantly fighting to get the teaching of creationism out of our schools," he said. "So if we can de-convert people away from these religious ideas that keep them stuck in this dogma that forces them to believe these things, that's a moment of pure joy for us."
Small atheist groups have also been popping up around the country in the form of atheist churches, or Sunday Assemblies where atheists gather to discuss all things non-religious. One such gathering recently arrived in San Diego, and it has been dubbed by some as an "atheist megachurch" because the services include singing, reflection, and fellowship for non-believers.
Allen, who is also an organizer for the atheistic Sunday Assembly, told 10News that the purpose of the Sunday Assemblies is for atheists to form a local community together. "My hope is nonbelievers and non-theists no longer have to hide in the shadows."
Eliason added to 10News that the purpose of the gathering is "to provide some of the same universal needs provided by a house of worship […] Some people are yearning for that connection and we provide a godless connection to do that."
And what if they were chocolate covered, peanut butter filled pretzel sticks? Would they serve milk? And would it be whole milk, 2%, or skim?
Yes. Again, we are in agreement.
And I see it this way: Proverbs in Wisdom 101, Ecclesiastes is Wisdom 301 and the new testament is Wisdom 401.
Wine with those, too.
A Seinfeld philosophy about nothing.
yeah its amazing to find out later what people will accept when they reject God,
the few atheists I’ve come across were arrogant, the ones on the news or in articles like this one are arrogant, and we can never encounter spiritual insight from a standpoint of arrogance, and if they were honest to themselves, they would just be agnostic and say ‘i dont know and i dont care’
they tend to have a grudge about being held accountable and this is some default rejection behavior,
the good news for them is that they continue to struggle against the truth, kicking against the goads, and its only much later, once God is no longer striving with them, standing at the door and knocking, that’s when i suspect they do become honestly agnostic and forever fail,
the sign above that reads “ask an atheist” would be humorous if it involved some trivial matter,
ask them what? directions to nowhere,
they can only see with half their soul,
And that, my friend, is the most important point of the day.
The biggest difference between an Open Satanist and a militant atheist is that the Open Satanist tells you who he serves.
"Relax: hell does not exist, or heaven either,..."
For any of the gambling atheists out there, you may think that is a 50/50 bet (e.g. either/or, one/zero, etc.). No, its not. Pascal is/was correct.
5.56mm
C.S. Lewis, a former atheist, authored many Christian books following his conversion.
Among them, “The Screwtape Letters”, in which Satan instructs one of his students that the most important lie they can convey to humans is “That we don’t exist”, referring to himself and their fellow, demonic tempters.
The point being, if no threat is perceived, then there is nothing to defend against.
Boy are they going to be surprised at the moment of their death!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.