I'm sure many area christian fundamentalists will consider this to be a person attack on their religion (and will probably quickly deface the ads), but that was not the intention of the Coalition of Reason. Area coordinator for the group, Terry McDonald, said, "We're not trying to convert anybody. There's so much religion in this area, and it's so visible, we're just trying to let people who are not believers know that there's a lot of people like them."
That's a worthy goal and something that's badly needed here in the Bible-belt, where atheists can easily feel alone and oppressed. Personally, I appreciate the broad-minded attitude and belief in fair-play demonstrated by the Fort Worth city bus system, known as The T. Joan Hunter, spokeswoman for The T, said, "We try to be fair to all parties in accepting advertising, and we do not discriminate among faiths and beliefs. They met the criteria. If we receive other requests from other faiths, we'll evaluate them as well."
That's a bit more broad-minded than the Dallas bus system (Dallas Area Rapid Transit), who turned down an attempt by the Coalition of Reason to buy ads on their buses. DART spokesman Morgan Lyons said, "We rejected the ads because we don't accept ads from religious groups." That's acceptable if they really mean that, but I have to wonder if they'd really turn down an ad from one of the mainstream fundamentalist churches in the city.
Of course outrage over the rather innocuous ads is already starting. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram ran a silly and unscientific poll regarding the issue. As I am writing this 487 people (46% of respondents) say The T shouldn't have accepted the ads and say they won't ride the buses until the ads come off of them (although I suspect these people aren't bus riders anyway).
Why are so many christians so afraid of a different point of view being represented? Is their faith really so fragile?
You miss the point my friend; true Christians are not afraid.
ReplyDeleteYou sure couldn't tell that by the reactions of many people claiming to be true christians. By the way, just what is a "true" christian?
ReplyDeleteDear Writer,
ReplyDeleteAs a Christian, who has struggled with my faith over the course of my lifetime, and who has been strong in my faith most of my life, I have to say I am glad I do not live in Texas. I can say that I am PROUD and FIRM in my faith to say that Jesus died for ME, for YOU and for everyone else on this planet. And that those who feel the need to advertise THEIR faith are the ones who are fragile. I don't see my church advertising, I don't see GOD Himself advertising. So tell me, sir, who is the weak-link in their faith, and who among us are the stronger ones. Please, re-evaluate your own faith, whatever it is and be certain you have convictions within it, or shall you fail in what you think is right. Also know that when you do fail, and you will, just as I did without God, He WILL be there with loving arms to pick you up, dust you off and love you unconditionally.
I hope you have a WONDERFUL CHRISTmas.
Do you really believe that Christians don't advertise their religion?
DeleteAs an agnostic, and yes, I know it's undecided and how can that really be, but here's the reason why, it's more than what I believe in, it's a mindset that everyone in all likelihood is equally wrong, but through being a good person, I will end up in a better place regardless of religion.
ReplyDeleteToo many things from the bible have just been adopted from pagan beliefs, not so much because they are true, but because they were easier for people of the period to accept. While one might argue that anyone of religious be it catholic or protestant or christian or any other derivative is a better person. Now While I believe that someone might be instilled with better morals because of that religion, those morals are not exclusive to any faith. Most sin I believe is also pretty much bullshit, because basically anything you do is a sin, most are common sense dos and don'ts, others are just plain condescending. Also most people of those faiths, even when they are not pushy about their beliefs, tend to hold a superiority complex over those who don't share their beliefs. Ultimately, the vast majority of people under these belief systems end up being hypocrites. There are many proven theories like group polarization and confirmation bias which assist people in taking one belief or another, and it seems like people refuse to take a second and think for themselves.
So my belief is that there may or may not be a god, god might be deistic or theistic or nonexistent, god might even not exist as a single entity, god might be human or otherwise. God might be of any race if he is human. There might be heaven and hell, there might be just darkness and nothing. But ultimately what matters is doing good - That is not doing anything because i have faith that tells me to do something because it might get me into a better afterlife, but doing it because I figure mostly good things can come from doing good, when people take advantage of it in a malevolent way, they only show their own ugliness and that is enough for me. Now to hold this open belief, and do good, I live just as happy of a life, I have family and friends to go to in times of need, I avoid talking about religion with anyone of any faith, not because I will make it into an argument, but because they will probably look down on me for being "without religion". I do live in an area where Christians are very prominent and through that, I've seen the ugly ones, which has forced me to re-evaluate my beliefs, and came to this conclusion. And even though I don't feel that certain belief systems are correct, this doesn't stop me from educating myself in them, doing so helps me understand what other people think and why. As for religious holidays, I participate not out of some belief that the day is indeed sacred but more that it's a good opportunity to reconnect with family, and tradition is a good thing. Christmas, as in December 25th, was actually based on a pagan holiday. So I wish you a merry Christmas as well.
That being said I don't necessarily believe that atheists throwing up signs is the right thing to do, but without radical movement, we may never reach a middle ground. The existence of god is not the issue with me as it was in my adolescence, it's a hard argument because there is so much, basically everything, that can be attributable to science (even things that science can't explain now, at some point will likely be brought to light scientifically), but there is no definitive nail in the coffin to say that a god never existed.
In the end I just feel that it should not be an issue between the groups, because once everyone makes an issue out of it, nobody is really right.