LP - Of Golden Plates and Lynchings

I actually followed a link that took me to a chat with a Mormon Missionary recently. Yeah, me! Anyway, it's quite a long conversation, so I'll provide some interesting snippets. First off, I present evidence that God violated his own laws:

Christopher: How has God violated His own laws?

Lost Boy: The supposed creation of Jesus violated two commandments.

Lost Boy: Thal shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, and thou shalt not commit adultry: Both violated.

(Mary was Joseph's "companion." In those times, the word "companion" was taken to mean, literally, spouse or betrothed. So yes, God coveted Joseph's wife, and got her preggers, which means some form of fucking was going on, AKA Adultry. And he's lucky I didn't get started on "Thou Shalt Not Kill" and the results of the supposed worldwide flood...)

Christopher: Well. There's one way you can find out for yourself, and that is to read the Book of Mormon.Wow, really?

It's all there in the Book of Mormon? Hefty claim right there! But wait, it gets even more interesting:

Christopher: I'm not sure. I'm fairly certain I'm not.

Lost Boy: See? God doesn't give you the 100% assurance!

Lost Boy: Where there is doubt, my boy, there is freedom.

Christopher: It's kind of hard to be a biggot when you're a minority race and everyone jokes about lynching you. :)

Wait, what? Look, I know people are free to choose whatever religion (or lack there-of) that they want, but a Black Mormon?!? That's like saying Jewish Muslim - you just don't normally see that at all. And he admits that they make lynching jokes about him? What's worse - he puts a smiley next to that?!? Yeah, that bus needs stopped...

After re-reading the conversation, I noticed a few extra points I wanted to touch on, found in this follow-up post:

Well, the Church started from the ground up and didn't have a lot of resources and if they did, they wouldn't have photographed the plates anyway.

His assertion that Smith and his followers started with nothing is kind of silly in its own right: Having moved out west towards Utah, they would have had to have the money for such a journey to begin with. The Oregon Trail and inflation can teach us that. What gets me here is his clam that Smith and his followers wouldn't have photographed the plates.

The conundrum of Christopher. Did I get to him? Is he in a bad situation, as a Black Mormon suddenly thinking on a secular level? Sometimes, I worry what getting away from religion can do to folks, let alone what religion itself does...

Cornerstone

We're working on getting our core membership built up so we can start getting things organized. Meanwhile, here's something for you all to get involved in!

The Census is upon us, and it's your chance to deliver some semi-anonymous information to the government so you can be properly counted. Just a formality, helps determine population and distribution of federal money based on such statistics. No, it's not the Government being intrusive or brainwashing your kids with socialist ideals, it's basically just a big head count.

Of course, there's the ever present "Religion" question. Intrusive, maybe, but it's still a valid demographic to gather information on. If you're an out Atheist, or are sitting on the fence, this is a great way to make a statement without letting anyone know and causing drama.

Why should you check Atheist? Well, honestly, we ourselves wouldn't mind knowing how many of us there are with a bit more accuracy for starters. And it also sends a message to all the other demographics that have their rabid faith practices: We're here, we're many, and we're growing in numbers.

Tell the United States government and her people that there are people who are freeing themselves from the bonds of bias and bigotry, able to let the fairy tales go and concentrate on being a good human being while they have their time here on Earth.

The larger we get, the more people take us seriously. The more people that take us seriously, the more people learn the truth about who and what we, as Atheists, really are, and they learn that what they thought about us was just absolute nonsense. The more people learn, the more people stand a chance of becoming understanding - and even accepting or tolerant.

So when the Census taker shows up, or when you get your form, answer the question proudly, and with a great big crimson capital A...

LP - Out

Just posted a new rant up on my personal blog that you all might want to read. Here's the bit that concerns us directly:

And then there's us - Atheists. While America may not an 'officially' Christian nation, it is most certainly dominated by Christianity as a whole per capita. Fully 90% or more Americans probably claim the carpenter from Nazareth as their personal savior through one denomination or another, and probably 80% of those have a tendency to look down on us. To the individual Secularist, it can seem like overwhelming odds: The community at large, members of their own family, other loved ones, all some form of Christian, and all with the desire to share it.

To say words like "I don't believe" takes more courage than they can seem to muster. Coming out as an Atheist means condemnation from those that, up until you came out, once smiled and welcomed you into their lives. It means distrust simply because you don't believe in any God, let alone theirs. It means discrimination for that same reason alone. It means dirty looks, whispers behind upheld hands, and even a measure of fear of what you are, simply because you're different.

More after you clickey! Enjoy!

SAFEty in Numbers

Greetings Clearfield County Atheists, Freethinkers, Secular Humanists and Agnostics! Yes, that's right, you are not alone. Not in the slightest. We're Clearfield County SAFE - the Secularist, Atheist and Freethought Enclave, a place for us to meet, discuss, and otherwise feel less outcast.

Here in Clearfield County, there is a deep-rooted religious tradition. Nearly all of its residents claim belief in one form of higher power or another, most of them being some form of Christianity. But as with any area, there are always those who think differently about such things. And while we may be a scattered few, we are most certainly not insignificant.

While the majority may look down on us as Godless Heathens incapable of morals and such, we know better. We're mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins - regular people who just want to live their lives like anyone else. And, for the most part (there are always a few bad apples in every group), we believe in contributing to the common good of society.

What CC SAFE exists for is simple:

1. To serve as an outlet and community hub for any and all non-theistic people in Clearfield County and surrounding areas to connect, share ideas, and hopefully feel less alone and isolated.

2. To show the larger community around us that people of non-theistic inclination are not bad people, but upstanding human beings who do indeed know right from wrong, and wish nothing more than to live happy, healthy, productive lives.

A daunting task, that second one, to be sure. But we're not without our own brand of faith: We have faith that the community around us can be educated on who we are, what we're about, and most importantly, that we're not the Devil or Boogeyman or whatever come to destroy their belief system and ruin their otherwise-happy lives.

So do join up! In the coming weeks, as we get ourselves situated, we'll be setting up links to secular resources and other such goodness! We're also looking for contributors to the blog, folks who would like to write articles and opinion pieces and such. So, if you've got the writing bug and the urge to stand on the soapbox, drop us a line!

"You've taken your first step into a larger world..." -- Obi Wan Kenobi