Image courtesy of American Atheists
Anyone driving through New Jersey this Thanksgiving break may have seen a billboard that depicts the birth of Jesus according to the Bible. The three wise men, the Star of Bethlehem, Mary, and Joseph; they were all there. The text, however, would probably offend anyone who featured similar images in their homes. “You KNOW it’s a Myth” the billboard reads, “This Season, celebrate REASON.”
American Atheists, an organization dedicated to protecting and promoting atheist beliefs, spent $20,000 dollars to purchase the billboard located outside the Lincoln Tunnel.
The goal of the campaign was to encourage ‘closeted’ atheists to voice their beliefs and to appeal to the logic of those who are unsure. It was also against the commercialization of Christmas and ignorance surrounding the origins of the holiday. The only way I could figure half this out was by looking at the website the billboard referred viewers to.
The group doesn’t feel bad about causing such controversy. In fact they embraced their role as the ‘Marines of atheism’ on the web page that explained the billboard. It’s obvious that they wanted some attention, and didn’t care .
In the past, the group has raised money to hold conventions, publish and collect literature, and protest government entanglement with religion. The organization’s late founder, Madalyn Murray O’Hair, won a Supreme Court case against school prayer in 1959. This is the first time they’ve purchased a billboard.
One of the sentiments express by the organization on their website was that this billboard would help to discredit Bill O’Reilly’s ‘War on Christmas.’ The opposite has proven to be true. They have drawn criticism from various religious leaders and have been featured on local news broadcasts in the tri-state area.
The American Atheists use a billboard to assert that they are right and people who believe in a religion are wrong. The language they used was designed to provoke. That attitude of there being one absolute truth is part of the reason atheists don’t like religion.
The American Atheists aren’t acting like the heroes that separated prayer from schools that they may have once been. They aren’t protecting or supporting atheists who face difficulties due to their lack of belief. They’re preaching. Preaching atheism, but preaching nonetheless.
$20,000 dollars is a lot of money to attack other people’s views. Yes, atheists have been subject to much of the same over the years, but two wrongs don’t make a right. Spend the money on atheists, not attacking the religious who have done nothing wrong.
Trevor Christian
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A former President of the United States proclaims that Atheists cannot be good Americans. Congress and the President prop up proselytizing and ignore blatant employment discrimination within their “Faith Based Initiative”, Christian groups across the spectrum work politically to diminish the teaching of science and replace it with a bronze-age worldview, whole swaths of American citizens are denied basic equal rights based on texts written by cattle-sacrificing nomads, and the average American family spends more than $1,000 in additional taxes every year to make up for the taxes not paid by churches and other religious organizations, and the writer is upset by a billboard?
In as much as all the abuses above and many more are the result of ancient myths for which there is no evidence, a small dose of reality here and there should be welcomed, not criticized.
As an atheist for at least 14 years of my life, and someone who has been a member and supporter of American Atheists, I was very disappointed to see this type of ad posted and the money wasted. People cannot be separated by their beliefs by force. There is a difference between education and bashing. I may not be a religious person, but my most of my family and friends are, and I respect them for their beliefs. Most people respect me for mine. There is no reason why people cannot be accepting of everyone and what their values are. This is irresponsible and really it only backfires. We need to be teaching tolerance. Atheists will be atheists. No one had to put up a billboard to cause the way I think and feel. This isn’t the time for hate or intolerance or force. Even without the religious connotations I still celebrate the holidays. I wish my friends Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah and I give gifts and appreciate the people I love. The meaning behind it may be a little different, but this is a time to be good to others and that should be universal.
Yeah, I agree with the article. I don’t like the bashing people for their beliefs. I don’t go around bashing atheists, why do they have to bash mine? I’m sick of atheists saying that they are smarter, the only reasonable ones, etc. I’m allowed to practice my religion and shouldn’t walk around scared that you are going to call me an idiot for believing.
Similarly, I’ve had numerous atheist friends who hated street preachers and any people who did things like that to promote their religion. Those handing out flyers about a religion–”hey , mind your own business! Let me believe what I want! ”
What do they care if someone else is an atheist or not? I can see the motivation for christians (though I’m not one, by any means) to go out and try to convert people. They think they are saving them from eternal damnation. But why in the world would an atheist care if someone else has a religion? It’s not your business.