Feb 25th: up-dated a few points.

Feb 8th adding: My main point with this entry was that I see right wing groups using information from left wing Christian groups to go off on a campaign against non-believers [and frankly people of different religions if this nation is only supposed to have one – that has what? 50 different branches] in a ridiculous manner, and I use examples of people like Bill O’Reilly using the War on Christmas as a tool against the same, and people who publicly call themselves something and claim to represent something causing harm, what should I do? Stay silent or be called a bigot?

When people use their beliefs [or beliefs they are claiming to have] in a manner that causes harm and here I don’t mean emotional harm, I mean things like denying someone a job, killing their chances to hold an office, killing off a campaign that was reducing AIDS transmissions, or say, preaching against homosexuality and encouraging people to strip rights from the same, while sleeping with men. If you say, those are false Christians, I agree! They don’t follow the tenants of the religion, or the spirit, but what else am I supposed to call them? Fake Christians? Dominicans? I’m not always going to choose the best words to express myself, but I don’t even know the words to start with this matter. I see an injustice here, so I spoke about it. If that makes me intolerant, than fine, I’ll take it.

Original post after 5 edits:

Atheists are misaligned by virtually everyone in the United States. They are voted the most distrusted, they’re not allowed to hold [elected] public office, because people fear atheists’ lack of morals simply for lack of faith in a deity. [Note: There is no religion test for holding federal office – I simply mean atheists are always denied offices simply for their beliefs. So, they are not allowed to hold office because of an overwhelming belief that they are lacking of standard character. This in a nation where all politicians are seemingly lacking in character. There is a rule in seven states that bar atheists from public office and one or two that bar them from testifying in court.] [This also frequently applies to people who aren’t Christian either. Remember that whole Obama is a Muslim campaign?]

In her losing campaign, Elizabeth Dole attacked her Sunday school teaching opponent by suggesting she had ties to an atheist organization. If an atheist voices an opinion about rationality, or science, they are attacking faith. [More examples: Bush the Elder said atheists didn’t even deserve to be Americans. Bush the Lesser would make veiled threats at people in his employee – government workers – who didn’t attend bible study.]

This is the movement of the post from discussion of broad discrimination against atheists to a right wing group attacking atheists in a very specific and crazy manner. PERHAPS I WASN’T CLEAR ENOUGH HERE. PEOPLE LIKE BILL O’REILLY. CRAZY RIGHT WING EXTREMIST DOUCHEBAGS. NOT PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIANS.

A nice example is the War on Christmas. People, especially Bill O’Reilly, argue that wishing anyone a happy holidays [holidays being plural much like the actual holidays of one religious based holiday + New Years] is an indication that people are telling you to reject the Bible and all of its teachings. [Except the ones they choose to ignore, like that one about the shrimp, or not wearing blended fabrics.] [See here I’m saying that focusing on one part of Leviticus and making a whole movement about it while ignoring all the other parts is wrong.]

So let’s have a war on religion. [See this is a joke because what I’m referencing underneath it is the Christians in this article going to war on the atheists.]

1) Headline from Christian wire service: Group Blasts Obama Administration Meetings with Atheist Lobbyists – Launches $1 Million Campaign Against President’s Efforts to Curtail Religious Freedom

[This is the Prospect article they are most likely referring to, not directly marked because it doesn’t really help their point? Or because all religious people read the Prospect, which I doubt. – okay see here what I meant was the Prospect is a progressive liberal christian magazine so I doubt people who aren’t progressives read it. haha. Get it? — My favorite part in the wire was the sentence that partly read, expand the efforts of the Justice department to enforce the so-called “separation of church and state.” And here I would be saying that they want to control the government because that’s what they are actually saying. The Treaty of Tripoli in article II, section 122, specifically states that the United States is not founded as a Christian nation. The Trust in God on 1 dollar bills was added in the 50’s, as was the addition of nation of under God in the pledge.]

[Translation of Christian wire service article: OBAMA TO KILL JESUS BECAUSE HE SPOKE TO SOME ATHEISTS. Just kidding. It’s a wire service so anyone can put up an announcement, it’s not a news service. They have PR services that are similar, but I believe to the average person it looks like actual news.]

Today’s headlines: [And with these articles, I’m pointing out that Obama is in fact trying to expand the role of faith in government]

USAToday headline: Obama: Expand faith-based programs

NYtimes headline: Obama Seeks Bigger Role for Religious Groups

The big killer here? [And here I am saying why this is apparently not good enough according to some]

From the New York Times: “If you get a federal grant, you can’t use that grant money to proselytize to the people you help and you can’t discriminate against them — or against the people you hire — on the basis of their religion,” Mr. Obama said. “Federal dollars that go directly to churches, temples and mosques can only be used on secular programs.”

That’s right, the government is not going to give churches money, and let them break anti-discrimination laws. Which is funny, since those laws are actually in place to help protect them. How dare the government hold religious institutions to the same standards as everyone else. [Every other organization that they give money too.] Doesn’t the government know that religious organizations are special? I mean look at their tax exemptions, which somewhere in there states that organizations who receive these kinds of exemptions aren’t allowed to engage in political chicanery, but I digress.

Of course, these same [CRAZY EVANGELICAL TYPES LIKE IN THE ARTICLE ABOVE – DID YOU SEE THAT PART? LOOK AGAIN.] churches/organizations tend to be run by individuals of note, like Ted Haggard, who use their closeness to divinity to preach about the horrible godless sinners and sodomites, who just like him, take meth, visit prostitutes, commit adultery, and have a dildo made of their own penis for fun times. We’ve all been there. [Note: Ted being the latest in a long series of criminals, scoundrels, and closeted self-loathers, but he’s the most recent, so his star shines just a little brighter.] [Or Pat Robertson – violation of campaign finance laws, vitamin distribution scam and diamond mine that abused charitable givings, and publicly called for an assassination, or Oral Roberts – fleecing old people of their money, or those douchebags with jumbo planes for the Lord. Rick Warren, who was complicit in encouraging the anti-condom campaign in Uganda. What a shock that right wing crazy hate filled organizations are run by people who also tend to be criminals or hypocrites.]

I guess that’s the problem with wanting to bring everyone into the camp, asking people who proclaim to follow a religion that taught its followers to love everyone, just can’t deal with having to actually love everyone, and acknowledge their contributions. To accept that people can help others without attaching strings of faith or handing out a bible before a piece of bread. So, yes, you’re right, I am warring against religion. For every time a new law gets passed curtailing my autonomy because someone’s religion is more important than my freedom, I will stand up and say, “No,” and I will fight back.

If you feel that I’m attacking your religion because I refuse to sit by while these people [look, I didn’t even mention the Westboro Church] use their opinions and their beliefs to encourage hate, spread death, steal money, and attempt to use the government as a tool of oppression, I don’t know what to say to you. For me this is the same as pointing out the issues with child abuse in the Catholic church, and if you think it’s intolerant of me to point out actual facts about these people, then go ahead and think that.

I will not stand quietly while people use religion as a weapon against society. I’m not stating all religions do this, but that a vocal minority do engage in these actions. I thought I had made it clear by pointing out the absurdity of a group twisting another group’s words into a reaffirmation against a secular group meeting with a president who has publicly stated that he wants to bring us all together. Claiming that atheists are attacking their beliefs by meeting with the fucking president, so now they have to unleash a campaign, which they stated had an end goal of controlling the government by their beliefs is wrong.

If you think this applies to you, first think, do I discriminate against people for things like being gay? Do I use religion as a weapon? Am I a member of the American Family Association? Then it applies to you. Otherwise, no, it doesn’t. Thank you.

Hedges said it better than me.

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