"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
If we break this down the first thing theists need to notice is that this sentence is broken down into several parts by the use of semicolons. Right after the part about laws respecting religious establishments and the exercise of those religions we come to our first semicolon. This second part is the part that is relevant to this post and will answer your question. Congress will not abridge the freedom of speech or of the press.
What do they mean by abridging the freedom of speech? Well according to Encarta via Bing search there are three meanings to this word, but I am only interested in one: "restrict somebody's rights: to deprive somebody of rights or privileges"
As you can see that by the very same 1st Amendment right that you declare your right to practice, preach, and proselytize your beliefs I too have the right to not believe, oppose, and and expose it. That's right! The 1 Amendment wasn't just made for Christians alone this right is for everyone in these here United States. That includes the Buddhist, Mormons, Christian Scientist, Satanist, etc.
It's not wrong to ask why should I when faith does not suffice. Not everyone can simply accept a worldview or new belief sets based on faith without requiring evidence. When I first accepted that I was an atheist I was afraid to make my stance on religion known. I would let theist corner me on the streets and subways and listen to their endless drivel, and thought that by doing so I was respecting their beliefs. The reality was that I was depriving myself of my right to reject their beliefs openly in the name of unearned respect.
On one particular day I was walking down the street and a theist approached me ready to bombard me with Jesus. Something in my head snapped and I came to the realization that if they want my respect they should respect my views as well. As soon as he opened his mouth I blurted out that I was an atheist and was not interested in what he had to say. The next question that usually follows always baffles me. It's the old why or how could you not believe in God. If I am in the mood I go for it, but if I am not I feel that it's none of their business why I don't believe in God.
If you think about it we don't go around asking theists probing questions as to why they believe in God without evidence. Online in a debate is an entirely different situation since theists and atheists alike are both willing to engage in discussing their beliefs or non-beliefs. Imagine if atheists went door to door proselytizing! Imagine that when we encountered believers that we would drill them on why they believed. I've had this happen to me in person with the Jehovah's Witnesses and street proselytizers many times. As if I owe them an explanation for not believing in God! Just like their claims of absolute knowledge their arrogance disgusts. me.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Pablo. I´m chilean, living in Spain and im an atheist too. I just want to leave a friendly message to you. I been reading your blog (i saw a link to it in Google+) and it´s been really rewarding. Keep up the good work. Congrats, my friend, for speaking your mind.
Thank you Pablo for your support and I am glad that you enjoy my blog. Keep coming back I'm sure I can keep producing quality posts with great insights.
DeleteNice, timely post. My most recent experience with evangelists was when our doorbell rang while I was in the middle of a demanding task, and when I put down what I was doing, corralled our two overly friendly German shorthair pointers, and finally opened the door to find two semi-elderly ladies smiling sweetly with bibles in hand--and their intent very obvious. As quickly as possible, I explained that ours was an atheist household and that if they persisted they would be wasting not only my precious time, but theirs as well. Then I closed the door.
ReplyDeleteTwo very perplexed but well-meaning bible thumpers stood there looking at each other for a long moment; one reached toward the doorbell button, but--fortunately, for their tender ears--the other put her hand on the other's arm and stopped her from trying again. Having already had my productivity disrupted, I watched as they sadly returned to their car, where they sat for another quarter hour, heads bowed, very likely offering their prayers in my behalf. Of course, nothing changed: god didn't smite me, jesus didn't "talk" to me, and I went on feeling perfectly happy with my non-belief, and eventually got the dogs settled and myself back to work.
That's funny paul, I go easy on the elderly women. Sometimes I pity them and I have nothing better to do I let them talk a bit. When I'm cranky though a simple I am an atheist and am not interested in what you have to say will suffice.
DeleteChatpilot; what changed? Why did u stop being a xtian? Just curious.
ReplyDeleteIt's a long story but in a nut shell I read the bible. Towards the end I was having doubts about some of the experiences I witnessed in church. I first began doubting the charismatic aspects of Pentecostalism. I bought a book called 'Charismatic Chaos' and the book was written by a minister who basically confirmed most of my doubts.
DeleteI read the bible in its entirety from cover to cover and the more I read the more I despised God. Under the law I did not agree with how he meted out his so called from of "justice." Murdering thousands of people for a minor infraction did not sit well with me. When I read the bible everything I thought I knew about God was shown to be wrong. I could no longer worship such a being who at the time I dared to compare to Hitler. I ended up reading the bible three more times and each time I read it I noticed other things I did not like about God.