CommentsDisplaying DamocleAurelius's 10 most recent comments.

• The Blaze Invites You to Ask Prominent Atheist Your Most Burning Questions

  May 10, 2012 at 4:12pm

  So often I see atheists attack public displays of religion as “unconstitutional”, despite this country’s history of religious devotion since its founding. Now my question is: how do atheists justify their use of taxpayer dollars (thru litigation and court costs) to try and force upon a predominately Christian people their unbelief? If the atheist feels wronged when a Christian community publicly “endorses” its faith (i.e. a public display of the ten commandments for example), how are Christians supposed to feel when atheists force them to recognize and endorse the anti-religious beliefs of atheist activists? Neutrality of the state does not mean support of community agnosticism.

• Alabama Town Bows to Atheists and Removes Bible Verse From Welcome Signs

  April 27, 2012 at 6:18am

  Here is my question to the Atheist: who was hurt by the verses on the sign? Whose pocket picked or leg broken? What harm was initiated by the proclamation of faith by a community? I would hate to think that the Atheist thinks himself morally superior for being willing to spend absurd amounts of money in legal costs for something so trivial, when that money could have been used to help the poor?

  Are you so threatened by religion, the very religion that BROUGHT YOU THE FIRST AMENDMENT, that you have to stir up a hornet’s nest wherever you go? What a sad, pathetic existence.

• Alabama Town Bows to Atheists and Removes Bible Verse From Welcome Signs

  April 27, 2012 at 6:14am

  Ah atheists! misinterpreting the Establishment Cause for their own agenda since 1971…

• BYU Hawaii’s First Non-Mormon Student President Credits Mormons for Making Him a Better Muslim

  April 23, 2012 at 2:59pm

  In reply to Baikonur.

  Experience has taught me (or just made me jaded and cynical) to expect the sort of negative comparisons between Mormonism and Islam (even tho it is far more likely that, thanks in part to Mormonism, this young Muslim man will grow up to be a productive, vital member of the community and positive representative of his religion, instead of a bomb-strapping terrorist), so I just read this story for what it is: a beautiful story about how different religious ideologies can influence one another for good.

  And how sad is it that so-called evangelical, or fundamentalist, Christians, are so fearful of Mormons that they cannot allow similar positive experiences into their own lives? Why do so many Christians have to spend their time tearing down and misrepresenting the Mormon faith? If Muslims, who have more in common with Jews than Christians, can be influenced by Mormons for good, how much more positively could Mormons influence their fellow Christians if the latter would just let them?

• ‘Gay Christian? Yes!’: Movement Sparks Debate Among Believers

  April 5, 2012 at 8:36pm

  Anyone else read the “yes!” with a lisp and a snap o the fingers?

• Pelosi: ‘I’m Predicting Six-to-Three in Favor’ for Health Care Ruling

  April 4, 2012 at 12:53pm

  In reply to Gonzo.

  Welk that settles it then: 6 to 3 it is…against.

• Atheist Students Encourage Christians to Exchange Their Bibles for…Pornography

  April 3, 2012 at 8:53pm

  In reply to DamocleAurelius.

  For purposes of democratic theory and practice, it matters not at all whether these religious associations are large or small, whether they reflect the views of a majority or minority, whether we think their opinions bizarre or enlightened. What opinions these associations seek to advance in order to influence our common life is entirely and without remainder the business of citizens who freely adhere to such associations. It is none of the business of the state. Religious associations, like other associations, give corporate expression to the opinions of people and, as Mr. Jefferson said, “the opinions of men are not the object of civil government, nor under its jurisdiction.”

  It is to be feared that those who interpret “the separation of church and state” to mean the separation of religion from public life do not understand the theory and practice of democratic governance. Ours is not a secular form of government, if by “secular” is meant indifference or hostility to opinions that are thought to be religious in nature. The civil government is as secular as are the people from whom it derives its democratic legitimacy. No more, no less. Indeed a case can be made-and I believe it to be a convincing case-that the very founding principle that removes opinion from the jurisdiction of the state is itself religious in both historical origin and continuing foundation. Put differently, the foundation of religious freedom is itself religious.
  -Richard John Neuhaus

• Atheist Students Encourage Christians to Exchange Their Bibles for…Pornography

  April 3, 2012 at 8:50pm

  Dear Lord, grant me patience to deal with the ignorance of your children…(specifically those smug atheists who can even see how blithely ignorant they are…) So to finish this I’ll leave this quote about the purpose of freedom of religion and pray that certain individuals (cough cough ANSE and DISSENT) will grow a brain cell or two after reading it…

  “In a democracy that is free and robust, an opinion is no more disqualified for being “religious” than for being atheistic, or psychoanalytic, or Marxist, or just plain dumb. There is no legal or constitutional question about the admission of religion to the public square; there is only a question about the free and equal participation of citizens in our public business. Religion is not a reified “thing” that threatens to intrude upon our common life. Religion in public is but the public opinion of those citizens who are religious.

  As with individual citizens, so also with the associations that citizens form to advance their opinions. Religious institutions may understand themselves to be brought into being by God, but for the purposes of this democratic polity they are free associations of citizens. As such, they are guaranteed the same access to the public square as are the citizens who comprise them. It matters not at all that their purpose is to advance religion, any more than it matters that other associations would advance the interests of business or labor or radical feminism or animal rights or whatever.”

• Atheist Students Encourage Christians to Exchange Their Bibles for…Pornography

  April 3, 2012 at 8:39pm

  In reply to Anse.

  speaking of fostering ignorance… do you actually do any kind of critical thinking before you post? or are you always this blissfully unaware of reality?

  ”religion impedes scientific progress”"
  Except the Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment can be directly linked to THE REFORMATION, whereby the Catholic church’s political monopoly was effectively broken…by ANOTHER RELIGION…so a counter example to you ignorance…

  “fosters ignorance…”

  Ignorant people, such as yourself, foster ignorance. Religious or otherwise. Religion no more fosters ignorance than spoons make people fat.

  “threatens civil rights”

  Only if you (incorrectly) define civil rights as being someone’s self-proclaimed right to have deviant sex, or fornicate without any sort of consequence (Where no such right exists). You seem to be ignorant of the POSITIVE influence religion had on the civil rights movement, or the RELIGIOUS justifications citizens used to denounce slavery, going as far back as the founding of this country.

  ”…basically has no place in public schools or in government”

  see above

  “which is hard to disagree with”

  Actually its quite easy to disagree with, since your definition of “religion in schools and government” is any set of beliefs or ideas that you can arbitrarily trace back to religious origins (just about anything and everything philosophical or metaphysical) that you disagree with. Which only makes you an irreligious fascist inste

• Atheist Students Encourage Christians to Exchange Their Bibles for…Pornography

  April 3, 2012 at 8:27pm

  In reply to Konacow.

  @ANSE

  Real original there, accusing religion as being nothing more than an attempt at controlling the masses. As if the tribe members you refer to didn’t already think of that one already.

  Ignorant statements like this one only give credence to my theory that more and more atheists are not so much disillusioned skeptics who grapple with the “big questions” of religious belief, but rather narcissistic pretentious prats who don’t like the idea of a God who dares tell them that being a good person means far more than “not killing” or “not stealing from” your neighbor, (We call that a “bare minimum” in civilized circles) even going so far as to include chastity and temperance among its list of must-have virtues.