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Today is either National Day of Reason or National Day of Prayer

by JerryM | May 3, 2012 at 07:08 am

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Today is the National Day of Prayer, it is also the National Day of Reason. Only one of these concepts is our nation founded upon, and no, it's not the former. Our nation is a product of the Enlightenment. Men such as Thomas Paine, James Madison, Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson believed in a deity. But, they believed in a deity based on reason. They believed any deity that exists would value reason over faith.

Reason is what built our nation, and our technology. It is what allowed us to go to the moon. It is what allowed us to cure diseases and unravel the humane genome. Reason built this computer I am typing on. Reason developed the system of rights that we have today, along with the vote. The bible of course, nor any religious text, did none of these things.

The fact is, those who want the government to endorse their religious beliefs by proclamations don't really believe in liberty. Just here in Wisconsin the religious right-wing has banned car sales on Sundays. No atheist has ever banned when a theist might shop for a car.

The religious right-wing wants to ban adult material that you watch and view, no atheist wants to ban what Christian conservatives watch or view. The religious right-wing has succeeded in banning sex toys in Alabama. Again, no non-believers care about what you do in your own bedrooms. We don't want to imprison anyone for having the supposed wrong kind of sex or to to ban contraceptives.

Many in the religious right-wing wish that the government can jail or punish gay men for their sex lives. Texas Republicans voiced support for these laws. The religious rightwing oppose a right to die. No atheist wants to mandate your time of death. I, an atheist, according to them, must die in great pain, if need be, because of their beliefs.

Now, I will concede that atheists such as I do advocate for government neutrality when it comes to religion. We even at times strongly critique the bible, but if we didn't fight back at all against the assaults by the religious right-wing, how little rights would we actually have?

The people who run this so called National Day of Prayer have discriminated against Jews and even Mormons, at their events. If this is a national day of prayer, doesn't that mean all theists, at least, are warmly welcomed? Or, does it only mean evangelical/fundamentalist Christians? Atheists and humanists such as I aren't demanding the president endorse our beliefs. (There is though an interesting event in Connecticut where humanists will exchange your bible for a book on science, today.)

But the religious right-wing want to promote religion through prayer proclamations issued by the government, along with a god mentioned in our Pledge of Allegiance and on our money. They want school prayers and bible readings. U.S. District Judge Crabb in a ruling stated that the National day of Prayer is "an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function." She is exactly right, of course. So, today, use your reason and don't go down, on bended knee to a god that just isn't there.

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"thirty-aught-six" (not verified)

at 08:57 on May 3rd, 2012

What a dumb ass. Are you really that ignorant of your own countries history or are you just too wrapped up in your own b.s. and need to lay your hate trip out in writing so we can all oooh and ahhh at how clever you think you are because you listen to bits and pieces of Hitchens or read some bits of Dawkins and became a believer. You're as biased, close minded and ignorant as you blame the "religious right"of being. The either or propositions are all extreme views and neither is right based on fact.

muggles (not verified)

at 18:27 on May 3rd, 2012

God. You can't prove or disprove. Faith in a God can not be reasoned away. The OP sounds like a extreme right wing humanist.

JerryM

at 19:10 on May 3rd, 2012

Actually, the attributes of god are so unlikely that it can be proven to be functionally impossible. All knowing and all powerful but allows great evil? Than not is all good. The fact is a god should only be believed based on evidence or it is a worthless belief. Second, a rightwing humanist is absurd. It is like like saying non-wet water. Humanism is opposed to rightwing beliefs. In fact, humanism could not get any more opposed to rightwing beliefs, if it tried, so to speak. Having ignorant thoughts, doesn't mean they go away by putting them on screen.

muggles (not verified)

at 20:40 on May 3rd, 2012

You have not proven anything except that your ignorant thoughts. Like believing the left/right theorem is a linear progression. The original signers of the first Humanist Manifesto of 1933, declared themselves to be religious humanists. Because, in their view, traditional religions were failing to meet the needs of their day, the signers of 1933 declared it a necessity to establish a religion that was a dynamic force to meet the needs of the day. The hater's only use humanism as a "moral" launch point for their attacks. There is nothing "human loving" about a hater who has to attack those who believe different than they do. Like people who declare themselves liberal so they can attack conservatives. The genuine humanist/liberal is tolerant of others opinions and beliefs and don't need to attack them to defend their own. Something maybe you should learn if you ever want to become truly a humanist.

JerryM

at 07:45 on May 4th, 2012

Sigh, being tolerant of other beliefs means supporting their right to their beliefs. It doesnt' mean not countering and debating those beliefs, especially when those beliefs have negative consequences. Biblical hatred of gays is not a good belief and should be countered.

"thirty-aught-six" (not verified)

at 09:45 on May 4th, 2012

People who believe in a power greater than themselves and have accepted the moral lessons of their faith should be allowed to express that and not be demeaned for not accepting the PC view that sodomy is a wonderful practice, and that we all must support that or face ridicule by the likes of you self-declared humanists. But that goes for all social issues. Some people just can't stand opposition to their belief, the humanist, the religious, the gays, the liberals, the conservatives, etc., etc. all opposition is met by further opposition while all parties cry for acceptance on "moral" grounds.That's the real religion of the day. Attack any and all opposition to your beliefs from an assumed moral high ground while demonizing the other. Like declaring this country was founded on enlightenment in order to attack the multitude of Religious who fled here since day one because they weren't readily accepted in their homelands by the very same people who strove to lead this country as a free and independent nation. All the while traveling abroad and writing copiously about how other countries should be doing things. To the very countries where the enlightenment and humanist movements developed. The history of that early hypocrisy is alive and well in today's society. We're still telling other people what they should believe and should be doing.