From: mathiega@elec.canterbury.ac.nz (G. A. Mathiega)
Subject: Re: Religion = Anything that's fun is bad.
Organization: Electrical Engineering, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 04:37:31 GMT

In article <1992Dec12.075622.16643@timesink.chi.il.us>, harry@timesink.chi.il.us (Harold Platypus) writes:
> In article <ednclark.724042511@kraken> ednclark@kraken.itc.gu.edu.au (Jeffrey Clark) writes:
> >On my way to work each morning I pass a Learn To Swim School pool. This
> >particular pool is mostly used by young children around the age of eight to
> >ten years old. One particular morning I was held up due to some roadworks,
> >so I got to study the children and people a lot more than usual. What I
> >noticed rubbed in once again the shittiness of religion and forcing it on
> >little kids.
> >
> > ... typical example of "religion = no fun" deleted ...
> >
> > ... typical example of fundamentalist barbarism deleted ...
> >
> >Though these things are extremes it does seem to show the trend in religions
> >that if anything is fun it's out. i think it's because if you force a person
> >to invest a lot of their time and enjoyment into something it makes them
> >more convinced of the rightness of doing so. I beleive religion has actively
> >used this attitude bending method (only recently identified by psychologists
> >as Dissonance Theory) for thousands of very successful years. This is yet
> >another way that being an atheist opens your mind to the things around you.
> >
> >Jeff.
> >
> 
> Being an atheist OPENS your mind? What a crock of shit!
> 
> So organized religion has perpetrated some of the most heinous crimes
> and practices ever... I don't have to be an atheist to get offended
> by the Inquisition. Just remember, not everyone who believes in a
> guiding intelligience subscribes to an organized religion. I think
> kids should be exposed to all kinds of beliefs so they can make
> their own choice. IMHO, telling kids there is NO GOD is just another
> form of indoctrinating them into a almost fanatical belief system -
> an evangelical anti-religion if you please.
> 
> Frankly, I find the majority of people ballsy enough to publicly
> declare themselves "atheists" are nothing more than troublemakers
> who finally found a mission. They stir up shit, cost the taxpayers
> money and vanish into the woodwork having done nothing constructive.
> If this is you, go soak yer head...
> - Harry


You know, this is the kind of thing I really resent. 
1) I was raised in a non-religious home.  My parents never pressed me to 
accept their position on God.  There are no such things as atheist churches, 
atheist parochial scools or atheist Sunday schools attempting to convert 
children to atheism.  Most atheist parents do not insist that there is no 
god since they do not expect their children to accept their beliefs without 
question.  
2) I do not "publicly declare" myself to be an atheist except on this newsgroup,
during discussions on religion, and when asked.  It does take some guts since
there are always twerps like you who have nothing better to do than complain 
about my beliefs.  I do not consider myself a troublemaker, however I am 
distressed by such problems as the incomplete separation of Church and State,
religious instruction in public schools, and the intolerance of atheists by 
religious extremists.  
3) It is in fact, religion, or rather, State pandering to religion that costs
the taxpayer money.  Churches are tax-exempt and collectively make millions
if not billions of dollars per year.  Atheism costs nothing.
4) I would very much like to vanish into the woodwork, however, as things are,
I am a bit tied up with issues such as the incomplete separation of Church and
State, state subsidization of religion at taxpayer expense, etc., etc., etc....
5) There is a forum for people with a belief in a "guiding intelligence"--
talk.religion.misc-- go there now.  If there's anyone here attempting to stir up
shit, it's you.  This is a forum for atheists and your obnoxious and insulting
comments are not needed.
6)  Finally, and read my lips, you are free to believe whatever you want.  So 
are we.  Now bugger off.

colleen
Newsgroups: alt.atheism