Re: ATHEISM - A Side-Effect of Religious Stupidity

"SeppoP" <seppo_pietikainen@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
news:68ko16F2sprqqU1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Bible Bob wrote:
>> On Fri, 09 May 2008 12:11:34 -0500, Rod <icom706@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>>
>>> Bibon wrote:
>>>> TUPELO, Miss., -- A federal court of appeals has ruled in favor of an

>>>> inmate who claimed that Wisconsin prison officials violated his
rights 
>>>> under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment because they 
>>>> refused to allow him to create a study group for atheists.
>>>>
>>>> The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that prison officials erred 
>>>> because they “did not treat atheism as a ‘religion.’” The court said,

>>>> “Atheism is [the inmate’s] religion, and the group that he wanted to 
>>>> start was religious in nature even though it expressly rejects a
belief 
>>>> in a supreme being.”
>>>>
>>>> Brian Fahling, senior trial attorney for the American Family 
>>>> Association Center for Law & Policy, described the court’s ruling as
“a 
>>>> sort of Alice in Wonderland jurisprudence.”
>>>>
>>>> “Up is down, and atheism, the antithesis of religion, is religion,” 
>>>> stated Fahling.
>>>>
>>>> The Supreme Court has said that a religion need not be based on a 
>>>> belief in the existence of a supreme being. In the 1961 case of
Torcaso 
>>>> v. Watkins, the Court described “secular humanism” as a religion.
>>>>
>>>>                                 ************
>>>>
>>>> Yes, atheism is a religion and is recognized as such by Federal
Courts 
>>>> in the USA. More ammo for you to use against those who doubt your 
>>>> FAITH!
>>>>
>>>>
>>>   Atheism is not a religion..the fact that a judge and lawyers see it
as 
>>> such is just another indication of the mentality of sickness that 
>>> permeates society today. Atheism is a mode of existence, a means of 
>>> living ones life free of unjustified restraint.
>>
>> Rod,
>>
>> Atheism is a religion as indicated by the "ism" suffix.  While not all
>> atheists belong to the religious cult; many do.  Those that do promote
>> their religion and speak against other religions just like
>> fundamentalists from other religions do.  Atheism involves  self
>> wor****p, man wor****p, and systems wor****p.
>
> So, if I don't play flute, according to you I'm a musician who practices

> not playing flute?
>

Very weak analogy.  If you don't play the flute, you're not a flutist -
you 
may or may not still be a musician.

"Atheist" means "without Theism" (deity is a synonym).  It does not mean 
"without religion."  Zen is an example of a religion that is also atheist.

Atheism qualifies as religion under word's, "religion," definition:

- A set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the 
universe - atheists may or may not, but commonly, believe the universe
began 
with a "big bang,"  life arose through evolution and natural selection,
and 
so forth (and some non-atheists have similiar beliefs).  The fact that 
everyone has beliefs concerning the "cause, nature, and purpose of the 
universe," indicates that everyone has a religion.

Terrell