living in jeebusland

[Jobar]

I'd really love to see a US President that was a skeptic, before I die. But I'm afraid there isn't much hope of that...

[Jackrabbit]

Yeah. The trend of young people dumping religion and religious geezers dying means that there will be less and less of it as time goes on. I would love to see the vanishing point, or at least the end of the significance.

But as a geezer myself, I'll never see it.

[sohy]

That's true. I have discovered by outing myself, only when appropriate, it helps change the image of atheists. People begin to realize that perfectly decent people, including older nurses who care for those suffering from dementia aren't much different than anyone else.

[Jackrabbit]

[quote=""Hermit""]In Australia we don't out ourselves as atheists. We just say what we are when the occasion arises. In a country where one of our Prime Ministers made no bones about being an atheist there is obviously no stigma attached as there seems to be in very much of the USA.[/quote]
The stigma is deliberately manufactured by the biblebangers. "Atheists can't be trusted." "Atheists have no morals". And so on.

This as they demonstrate their own lack of morality or trustworthiness by interfering with other peoples' lives in the name of their cartoon god, causing actual harm in some cases. Or at least hardship.

[Hermit]

[quote=""Jackrabbit""]

In Australia we don't out ourselves as atheists. We just say what we are when the occasion arises. In a country where one of our Prime Ministers made no bones about being an atheist there is obviously no stigma attached as there seems to be in very much of the USA.

The stigma is deliberately manufactured by the biblebangers.[/QUOTE]
Somehow they can't make it stick in Australia, New Zealand and quite a few European nations. My guess they get more traction in the USA because the Caucasian invasion began chiefly with people who were so convinced of their religious beliefs that they'd rather endure the hardships of migrating to lands where they had to start from scratch than knuckle under whatever their rulers in the old countries required them to believe in. The Puritans were not the only dissenters to risk their lives and welfare for the sake of their religious convictions.

[DMB]

[quote=""Hermit""]

In Australia we don't out ourselves as atheists. We just say what we are when the occasion arises. In a country where one of our Prime Ministers made no bones about being an atheist there is obviously no stigma attached as there seems to be in very much of the USA.

The stigma is deliberately manufactured by the biblebangers.

Somehow they can't make it stick in Australia, New Zealand and quite a few European nations. My guess they get more traction in the USA because the Caucasian invasion began chiefly with people who were so convinced of their religious beliefs that they'd rather endure the hardships of migrating to lands where they had to start from scratch than knuckle under whatever their rulers in the old countries required them to believe in. The Puritans were not the only dissenters to risk their lives and welfare for the sake of their religious convictions.[/QUOTE]

They also wanted the freedom to impose their views on others. They weren't fighting for freedom of religion or belief for everyone, but for the freedom to believe what they did, which was evidently the correct belief.

[Jackrabbit]

Yeah, that was why freedom of religion was explicitly in the constitution, to prevent one religion from oppressing another. Too bad they didn't explicitly add freedom from religion. It sure would have made life easier for us atheists.

[DMB]

There was a considerable gulf in thinking between the Pilgrim Fathers and the Founding Fathers. I sometimes wonder whether the average modern American is aware of the distinction.

[Jackrabbit]

I think most people know that there was a significant period of time between the start of the colonial era and the creation of the Constitution (successful English settlement on the eastern coast of North America began with the Virginia Colony in 1607 at Jamestown and the Pilgrims' Plymouth Colony in 1620, according to wikipedia).

I sure hope most of them know that, anyway. It's certainly easy to look up.

[Jackrabbit]

[quote=""Jackrabbit""]

though I do like your 'Force be with you' reply.

I used it again today. The girl at Whataburger was too startled to respond the first time, but today she said "It is, thanks."

Much more fun when we are simply exchanging different forms of silliness.[/QUOTE]
On the most recent visit, she said she hoped that the Force would be with me. No mention of blessed anything. Better and better.

[plebian]

What would you do, if you lived in jesusland, if the left and right coasts successfully seceded?

[Jackrabbit]

Uh, a good portion of the right coast also qualifies as jeebusland. For instance, the North Carolina gubner and his obsession with bathrooms, and everything south of that.

[plebian]

[quote=""Jackrabbit""]Uh, a good portion of the right coast also qualifies as jeebusland. For instance, the North Carolina gubner and his obsession with bathrooms, and everything south of that.[/quote]

My point is, what if you were ironically "left behind"?

[Jobar]

Not a realistic worry. Not in our lifetimes, anyway.

[sohy]

There are plenty of Jesus lovers on both coasts. They just tend to be less obvious about it. I've been around these folks for so long, I'd probably miss them if they all disappeared. I like mixed nuts.