The Christmas Spirit!

According to this story, (via cnn.com), a group of Athiests, in Olympia, Washington erected a sign alongside a Nativity scene that was later removed and thrown in a ditch. Here is a photo of the sign:













I have no problem with any group of people putting up signs, nativity scenes, menorahs or anything expressing their beliefs. This sign would not bother me... if it weren't for the last line. Simply stating the belief that there are no gods, devils, angels, heaven or hell is not offensive or antagonistic. It may directly conflict with the views of the people who assembled the Nativity scene, but it does not attack those views. The last line, however, directly and intentionally attacks those views and that is nasty, unreasonable and unnecessary. A quote from the article taken from Dan Barker, a co-founder of the group is as follows "If there can be a Nativity scene saying that we are all going to hell if we don't bow down to Jesus, we should be at the table to share our views." I would love to see this particular Nativity scene, but I have yet to encounter one with a sign stating explicitly that non-believers will go to hell.

A matter of wording?
Another advertisement, this one on buses in Washington D.C., states "Why believe in a God?" the advertisement asks. "Just be good for goodness sake."














I can and do stand behind the idea that a person should not be good simply because their religion demands it, but rather because it is just the right thing to do. In fact, it is one of my core beliefs that being a good person is inherently rewarding. Still, the line "why believe in a god" is intentionally inflammatory and to pretend otherwise is farcical. If this sign were to truly be as fair as it pretends to be it should say something more along the lines of:
God or not,
Be good for goodness' sake.


In the end, there is nothing wrong with believing in a god and there is nothing wrong with believing there is no god. A self-righteous militant Athiest is just as much of a poison on humanity as a self-righteous fundamentalist Christian. Everyone should be working on living together peacefully regardless of beliefs rather than attacking each other.

*Note- don't let the actions of a few people in this story reflect on all Atheists, Christians or humans in general.

You're an idiot, natch

If there's one thing I hate it's the bastardization of language, (imagine the sort of love/hate relationship I have with the internet). One term that raises the short hairs on my neck every time I hear it is 'natch.' Natch isn't even an intuitive shortening of 'naturally,' visually it doesn't resemble the word naturally and aurally it is simply grating.

Please, don't use crappy slang like 'natch.' This goes double if you're a professional journalist.