Nemo's Brother: Those intolerant black business owners are at it again.

LOL sarcasm fails. I own a business next to a black business owner. He's the more intolerant fark I've ever seen...ever. And I've been to Israel...

CruiserTwelve: "It says 'Do not believe in God.' How are we going to make it? Look at our schools, everyday. Everyday there's something going on. Kids are out here killing each other, kids are here using drugs. Who else are they going to believe in?"

Yeah, that God thing is working out really well for you, huh?

Maybe if they believed in, I don't know, themselves they'd be able to work their way out of that kind of environment. But hey, what do I know.

CruiserTwelve: "It says 'Do not believe in God.' How are we going to make it? Look at our schools, everyday. Everyday there's something going on. Kids are out here killing each other, kids are here using drugs. Who else are they going to believe in?"

Yeah, that God thing is working out really well for you, huh?

Came here to say this. I feel good that someone else said it first.

Sure, you could, I dunno, raise kids in a responsible manner, and put your efforts into educating them, ensuring there are good jobs, proper medical care ...

or you could spend that time protesting in the name of jesus, praying, and spending nonproductive hours at your place of worship, waiting for things to actually, literally be fixed with magic.

You make your own bed, you lie it.

ggecko: "I don't know the reason for putting this sign up," said Big Mama. "It says 'Do not believe in God.' How are we going to make it? Look at our schools, everyday. Everyday there's something going on. Kids are out here killing each other, kids are here using drugs. Who else are they going to believe in?"



So, is she trying to say it is only athiest kids killing each other? Afterall, those that believe in God, they wouldn't do such a thing, right?



or in other words:

Down in sunny Fla three or more Jesus bumper stickers means all the car's windows will be rolled down in July. Six or more means they will have a clip-on fan (nonworking of course) hanging off the visor.

GOD doesn't listen to your prayers unless you tithe.

GODDAMMIT! Why the hell do local news websites have so much goddamn trouble using working video embeds.

LOL @ this is a faith-based community... yeah right. Everyone merely assumes everyone around them is religious. There's no such thing as a faith based community unless you're living in a cult, peeps. you don't have a right to not be offended, so you better just shuffle on forward and get over the billboard.

ggecko: "I don't know the reason for putting this sign up," said Big Mama. "It says 'Do not believe in God.' How are we going to make it? Look at our schools, everyday. Everyday there's something going on. Kids are out here killing each other, kids are here using drugs. Who else are they going to believe in?"



So, is she trying to say it is only athiest kids killing each other? Afterall, those that believe in God, they wouldn't do such a thing, right?

Of course. You know the prisons are full of atheists. Except of course for the fact that they're not. In fact atheists make up a smaller portion of the prison population than theists. Of course when you tell theists this they'll calmly tell you that the reason for this is that atheists pretend to be theists to get out of jail early. Seriously. Had that conversation more than once.

If your god doesn't immediately send a plague of frogs against these atheist bilboardists and you don't immediately declare yourselves Jeffersonian deists, I will call shenanigans on your entire system of belief.

"There are people that come in here complaining about the sign," he said, "and that's not good for the business, and it's not good for the neighborhood."

Jesus, how is it bad for business? I could understand if it was next to a Korean salon and said "This gook salon gave me herpes." That would be inflammatory and bad for business. Lighten up morons.

Hindmost: Why would an atheist pay money for an ad? I sure as fark wouldn't bother.

What about the tooth fairy? Also not real, but sure as shiat not paying to broadcast that to the commoners. wtf?

Because just like you have theists that are insecure in thier faith and are scared that they're wrong, you have athiests who are insecure in thiers. And yes, I believe that it requires faith to believe in the existance of God... or to actively deny the existence of God. (I'm an agnostic if you can't tell; I'll leave it unsaid if I'm an athiest agnostic or a thiest agnostic) Anyways, just like the insecure thiests, insecure athiests want a group of likeminded people to associate with so that they will have a group with which they can collectively reinforce each others belief structure.

You don't care about broadcasting your faith in the lack of existance of the tooth fairy, because you have no problem maintaining that faith. The tooth fairy's nonexistance is not something that you question, so you have no need to seek outside affirmation of your belief.

W. T. Fark: First sensible thing I've ever heard you say.

So a post is only sensible if you agree with it. I see how that works now.

Farkers are so confused....they hate religion but they love black people no matter what. What are they to do? This thread is full of torn emotions. I love it

The Madd Man: CruiserTwelve:
Yeah, that God thing is working out really well for you, huh?


Not really. Things went downhill after he was kicked out of public schools.

letrole: Atheism is a Religion.

Calling 'Atheism' a religion is like calling 'Bald' a hair color.

Mordant: G2V: That being said, I hate when atheists call themselves "Free thinkers," as an implicit differentiation between themselves and the religious. Yeah, that'll win people over.

win them over to what ?

To not facepalmingly immediate alarmist hate. Not that I ever really expect otherwise in the current atmosphere, mind you.

South Florida is becoming pretty nicely divided between born again Christians (from Calvary Chapel and Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church) and atheists/agnostics.

"Being a good person doesn't require God" could also apply to Buddhists. Is this a backlash of sorts against the black "God" billboards that are ubiquitous here?

bushbot111: Farkers are so confused....they hate religion but they love black people no matter what. What are they to do? This thread is full of torn emotions. I love it

Speak for yourself. I hate everybody equally.

letrole: Atheism is a Religion.
Uncle Tractor: Letrole is letrole.

My surname is Le Trôle.

genner: Not really. Things went downhill after he was kicked out of public schools.

As long as there are pop quizzes, there will be prayer in public schools.

Vampirococcus rocks: GOD doesn't listen to your prayers unless you tithe.

And even then he never does anything about it.

/more or less mandatory

because reaching out to people in good will is not what religion is about....ok. got it.

/its funny that their complaint is about lost revenue as opposed to humanitarian values

m2313: And even then he never does anything about it.

"Well, you know, when you want something really bad and you close your eyes and you wish for it? God's the guy that ignores you. " ~ Steve Buscemi, The Island

CruiserTwelve: sensible

Well if you look up the definition of sensible and the fact it was used objectively I don't really see what you're trying to say.

bushbot111: Farkers are so confused....they hate religion but they love black people no matter what. What are they to do? This thread is full of torn emotions. I love it

You must be new...

safety-math: I think religious billboards are silly in general. An atheism one, maybe even more so, because some god-fearing motorist isn't going to see it and suddenly have a revelation..."Wait! You don't have to believe in God to be a good person?!" Realizing that, when one has been brought up Christian, takes a lot more effort. In most cases, anyways.

The target audience isn't god-fearing motorists. It's non-religious people who claim to be religious in public out of fear of being ostracized.

Farkshower1972: genner: Not really. Things went downhill after he was kicked out of public schools.

As long as there are pop quizzes, there will be prayer in public schools.

How long before the courts outlaw pop quizzes to seperate church and state?

Farkshower1972: Calling 'Atheism' a religion is like calling 'Bald' a hair color.

Not really. I've never heard of fanatics leaping up to argue the the point about hair colour.

agoratrader: Hindmost: Why would an atheist pay money for an ad? I sure as fark wouldn't bother.


To generate traffic to its site and cause and hopefully recover the costs through donations. Come on man, this is America - get with the program.

Hold on, I think you've just hit on a nice little business plan...

1) Set up website for rational arguments on atheism. Secure sponsorship of Christian paraphenalia companies and associated prayer scams.
2) Install billboard with mildly inflammatory statement re: God
3) Traffic to website and sponsors is driven by the religious, who come to condemn the heretics and vent their displeasure, and end up buying products representing the visitors POV
4) Profit

Alternately, set up the first website as a red herring. The big bucks could come from a second anti-billboard reactionary site. Ooh, the astroturfing potential...

agoratrader: objectively

Yeah I screwed that up. fark it.

Because just like you have theists that are insecure in thier faith and are scared that they're wrong, you have athiests who are insecure in thiers. And yes, I believe that it requires faith to believe in the existance of God... or to actively deny the existence of God.

and where in your grand theory does the absence of faith fall?

These are the same kind of people who think it is totally cool to cast out the 'gay demon' from a 16 year old boy.

What the fark is wrong with people? I mean, in all the world, there is nothing else that bothers them more than a billboard? Really?

Farkshower1972 2009-07-05 06:03:46 PM
letrole: Atheism is a Religion.

Calling 'Atheism' a religion is like calling 'Bald' a hair color.


Err, you did read his Fark name...right?

cheshirecatsmileyface: As a black person and a Christian, that doesn't bother me in the least. You don't have to believe in God to be a good person. But maybe that's because my faith isn't contingent on everybody else believing the same thing. Or maybe I just know how to mind my own damn business. *finger snap*headshake*

I like you!!

vertiaset:
One of my main problems with atheists is that all too often in abandoning their faith they also abandon any sense of morality. Many, certainly not all, become moral relativists or, even worse, amoral.

One of my main problems with religious people is that many, certainly not all, churches require you to kill someone and bathe in their blood in order to be baptised. Also, they are commanded by god to kill one unbeliever per week or, even worse, to commit drive by strafings of churches of different belief systems.

I'm always a little uneasy around religious people who think that fear of punishment from god is the only thing keeping humans moral.

It's as if the only thing standing between some of these people and a psychopathic killing spree ending in an massacre at a Unitarian Church is the fear of eternal damnation. (By their loving, benevolent god who only wants the best for you, of course.)

Cyber_Junk:Err, you did read his Fark name...right?

My surname is Le Trôle.

The billboard messages from god show up all the time in my town. I've always thought that money could be better spent in some community program rather than renting advertising space. Although if it was me and I had the money I'd have someone post lolcats up on one or two of those billboards.

This kind of hate speech wouldn't be tolerated if the roles were reversed. The ACLU would already be suing to have it covered over with the Muslim crescent. It just goes to show the double standard between atheist speech and religious speech.

vertiaset: After all, if man is the measure of all things and there is no right or wrong, just "things people do", then there is no evil and, conversely, no good.

LOL. Nice faulty syllogism. Here's a better one: if there's no Big Man up there to make sure I act nice, maybe I'd have to take the responsibility on myself, which means I am actually more moral than theists.

"There are people that come in here complaining about the sign," he said, "and that's not good for the business, and it's not good for the neighborhood."

The people complaining about an effort to foster support and community among atheists are demonstrating precisely why these efforts are still needed.

"Who else are they going to believe in?"

I guess "each other" just isn't grandiose enough for her.

If your religion and your god are so awesome, how is it that a simple billboard can threaten you so?

"I saw a sign that told me not to believe in God, and it came true!"

/boo hoo
//buy your own farking sign
///cut me some slack

vertiaset: I personally like this billboard. It is less a advertisement for atheism than an appeal to atheists to adhere to a moral system. I think this is a good idea.

One of my main problems with atheists is that all too often in abandoning their faith they also abandon any sense of morality. Many, certainly not all, become moral relativists or, even worse, amoral. After all, if man is the measure of all things and there is no right or wrong, just "things people do", then there is no evil and, conversely, no good.

What a strange ... and dangerous ... world view.

One of my main problems with religious people is that they use their faith as an excuse to do almost anything they want. And since most people of faith create god in their image they assume that he agrees with what they think, thereby giving them free reign to do whatever they want. This includes repressing women, children and minorities. It includes killing those that disagree with them. It also includes torture and sometimes rape. Now I know that this is an overly broad generalization just as I hope that you recognize this about your comment.

vertiaset: Many, certainly not all, become moral relativists or, even worse, amoral.

Most of the nihilists are in a fundamentalist church. You can tell when you hear phrases like "There's nothing in this world for me but Jesus's love", "A world without god is meaningless", and "I look forward to the new world above in Heaven".

FTA:<i>"It says 'Do not believe in God.' How are we going to make it? Look at our schools, everyday. Everyday there's something going on. Kids are out here killing each other, kids are here using drugs. Who else are they going to believe in?"</i>

Ummm...how about THEMSELVES for a start?

Seth'n'Spectrum: /more or less mandatory

No arguing with that sign.

Replace Muslim with fundamentalist Christian, line these up leading to South Carolina

/sign I can agree with.

/its funny that their complaint is about lost revenue as opposed to humanitarian values

Funny, sad, wince-inducing -- same shiat, different initial reaction.

/and why do I hear some old guy repeating "all of this has happened before, and will happen again" over and over?