CFI Atheist "attack" Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels -
January 19th, 2010, 08:34 AM
The "free"-thinking organization Center For Inquiry (CFI) have recently been sending out emails and letters against Indiana governor Mitch Daniels because of remarks he said in an interview.
The supposed remarks are as follows:
Quote:
Our country was founded--this is just an historic fact; some people today may resist this notion but it is absolutely true--it was founded by people of faith. It was founded on principles of faith. The whole idea of equality of men and women [and] of the races all springs from the notion that we're all children of a just God. It is very important to at least my notion of what America's about and should be about and I hope it's reflected most of the time in the choices that we make personally.
...People who reject the idea of a God -who think that we're just accidental protoplasm- have always been with us. What bothers me is the implications -which not all such folks have thought through- because really, if we are just accidental, if this life is all there is, if there is no eternal standard of right and wrong, then all that matters is power. And atheism leads to brutality. All the horrific crimes of the last century were committed by atheists -Stalin and Hitler and Mao and so forth- because it flows very naturally from an idea that there is no judgment and there is nothing other than the brief time we spend on this Earth.
Everyone's certainly entitled in our country to equal treatment regardless of their opinion. But yes, I think that folks who believe they've come to that opinion ought to think very carefully, first of all, about how different it is from the American tradition; how it leads to a very different set of outcomes in the real world.
CFI is upset that Mitch received an award from the Anti Defamation League and now they see him engaging in "atheist bashing".
They are also upset because Mitch Daniels at a luncheon for "faith leaders" in Indiana...
Quote:
The choir from an Indianapolis Charter school (chartered by the Mayor--one teacher told me) sang religious songs.
Slogan/motto:
Of course you realize this means war! ~ Bugs Bunny
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January 19th, 2010, 11:12 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by chatmaggot
Do you think they are worthy of being considered defamatory against atheist?
Not to the level of making an issue out of it. Bottomline, I couldn't care less about some idiotic generalizations regarding Atheists or others nonbelievers made by a religious politician.
I treat it the same way I do junk mail ... it's delete it for the garbage it is.
Slogan/motto:
It's only the fairy tales they believe.
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January 19th, 2010, 02:02 PM
I think comparing atheists to Stalin, Hitler and Mao as he did is defamatory, and that the overall comments were stupid, canned, and deserve ridicule. And I think that the CFI is pretty much in the right making an issue of it.
Eternal life is an easy promise to make and a hard one to fulfill.
I think comparing atheists to Stalin, Hitler and Mao as he did is defamatory, and that the overall comments were stupid, canned, and deserve ridicule. And I think that the CFI is pretty much in the right making an issue of it.
Do you think that Stalin, Hitler, and Mao were being consistent with their beliefs (assuming that they were actually atheistic-humanistic-evolutionist as so many claim them to be)?
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Success is a journey, not a destination. So stop running.
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January 19th, 2010, 03:16 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by chatmaggot
The "free"-thinking organization Center For Inquiry (CFI) have recently been sending out emails and letters against Indiana governor Mitch Daniels because of remarks he said in an interview.
The supposed remarks are as follows:
CFI is upset that Mitch received an award from the Anti Defamation League and now they see him engaging in "atheist bashing".
They are also upset because Mitch Daniels at a luncheon for "faith leaders" in Indiana...
Slogan/motto:
You , too, can have an exciting and glamorous engineering career like me!
Reputation:
January 19th, 2010, 06:22 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gerald
No. It would be defamation to claim (for example) that atheists eat babies or don't pay their taxes.
Gerald,
Would it defame you to say that I think you are one of the most kind-hearted persons I've ever met on the Internet.
Your problem is not technology. The problem is YOU. You lack the will to change...You treat this planet as you treat each other. - Klaatu
What are you talking about? There is no such thing as the "Mafia"......it doesn't exist. Just a bunch of lies told to defame honest hardworking Italians like myself. - TomO
I will do you, let's see, goofy, wacky, and to the left side of the bell curve. -Ktoyou
I'm white. I'm not black. I can't convert to being black. It doesn't matter how much I want to become black. I could listen to rap and date fat white women all day; for all that, I'll still remain white.- Traditio
What bothers me is that it seems that whenever someone respectfully speaks his/her opinion and disagrees with another they are automatically "bashing" the other person. If Daniels (or anyone else) wanted to bash someone, I'm sure he could've used more choice words. Or they probably could've copied some of the responses I've seen here on TOL.
Let's turn the tables and pretend that he had been talking about Christians instead of atheists in his response. As a Christian, I would strongly disagree with his statement, but I would not consider him to be "bashing" my beliefs.
Daniels is a politician; and just like any other, if you don't like them, don't vote for them. Ironically, the author of the blog post says she voted for Daniels in 2008.
Slogan/motto:
It's only the fairy tales they believe.
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January 20th, 2010, 11:12 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by yokefellow
What bothers me is that it seems that whenever someone respectfully speaks his/her opinion and disagrees with another they are automatically "bashing" the other person.
You don't see it as "bashing" to compare, without basis, an entire group of people to Hitler, Stalin, and Mao? Would you feel that it was '"bashing" if a non-Christian said that all Christians are just basically KKK members?
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Originally Posted by yokefellow
If Daniels (or anyone else) wanted to bash someone, I'm sure he could've used more choice words.
Not in the company he was keeping at the moment.
Quote:
Originally Posted by yokefellow
Let's turn the tables and pretend that he had been talking about Christians instead of atheists in his response. As a Christian, I would strongly disagree with his statement, but I would not consider him to be "bashing" my beliefs.
Fine. Just take that sheet off your head and we can talk.
Quote:
Originally Posted by yokefellow
Daniels is a politician; and just like any other, if you don't like them, don't vote for them. Ironically, the author of the blog post says she voted for Daniels in 2008.
Seems like that's exactly what the CFI is trying to do.
Eternal life is an easy promise to make and a hard one to fulfill.
You don't see it as "bashing" to compare, without basis, an entire group of people to Hitler, Stalin, and Mao? Would you feel that it was '"bashing" if a non-Christian said that all Christians are just basically KKK members?
Rex, I can see that our definitions of bashing differ. I consider bashing to be name-calling, vengefulness, etc. I don't detect that in his statement. Was it unwise to allude to a connection between atheism and Hitler, Stalin, and Mao? Probably. There are a lot of so-called Christians out there that have done bad things. There are bad people in any group. I don't consider the actions of a few to represent a whole.
s. 
- TomO
-Ktoyou
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