My Single Mom Life

While my newest blog friend Craig, is calling it an open debate, I've chosen to call it a friendly exchange of ideas.
Not all atheists are combative. *wink*

Craig and I came up with this idea from a thread on a forum we are both part of. While the thread itself did not start off as a religious one, it turned into one.
The thread was about personalized children's books and cds, and how a majority of them were religious in nature.
When I asked the forum owner if I would need to select one of those items, or if I could select a secular item, the conversation changed to religion. One simple question took the thread completely off track.
But the other forum members enjoyed our lively discussion, and asked if we would continue it on our blogs.
Up sprung this idea.

Our first debate or exchange of ideas, is on one of Sam Harris' most recent essays, Science must destroy religion.
Craig has posted his thoughts, his opening post, and now here on my blog, I will respond.
I don't really have much of an opening post other than to say, I am not a militant atheist, my views will not always match up with the larger atheist community, and perhaps it's that way because I was raised a Christian.
But let's get right to the meat of it shall we?

Harris says that we (atheists) have been far too polite, that we as rational thinkers must start fighting back with all the information we have at our disposal, and vanquish religion from the planet.
I would have to agree.
Religion has caused more wars, sent more people to death, and been more of a hindrance to the human population than it has helped.
Craig asks; "Since when have atheists been holding back anything?"
A lot Craig, a lot.
Perhaps because your life is faith centered, you are completely unaware of the constant bombardment of religion that we non-believers face every single day.
It's on our news with faith segments, our Sunday morning tv programs are live church broadcasts, our children are taught religious themed songs during the holiday season at school, and people come to our homes bright and early on Saturday mornings to try and save our souls because God told them to do it.
There's many other things too, but those are off the top of my head at this late hour.

Craig discusses the ACLU's battle to get the ten commandments out of courthouses (they should not be there) no prayer in schools, (absolutely no sanctioned by the school prayer. If kids want to hold hands outside the building before the bell, or say a silent prayer before they eat, fine by me) and two of my favorite history lessons, in god we trust on our money, and under god from the pledge.
Let's dig into those shall we?

It's a national lie that In God We Trust has always been on our money.
In 1782, Jefferson coined the phrase, a wall of separation of church and state, and E Pluribus Unum was added to our money, our coins in 1798, and in 1837, it became law that it was on all monies.
The motto stood for nearly a century until 1861, a of letter was written from Rev. M. R. Watkinson, urging for God to be recognized on our coins.
This letter set off a chain of events which caused a law to be passed in 1864, allowing the "In God We Trust" motto to be placed on one, two and three cent coins.
Congress caved in without any regard to the constitutional aspects.
Watkinson wasn't just after the money, he went after the preamble too, suggesting amending it to say "We, the people of the United States, humbly acknowledging Almighty God as the source of all authority and power in civil government, the Lord Jesus Christ as the Ruler among the nations, His revealed will as the supreme law of the land, in order to constitute a Christian government..."

Lucky for us, that one didn't fly.
But Watkinson was so successful in his bid for the motto In God We Trust to be not only added to our coins, but it became mandatory in 1908.
One Reverend was responsible for the motto, not our founding fathers, one guy.

In 1955, separation of church and state fell victim to the cold war and all those godless communists.
President Eisenhower signed Public Law 140, making it mandatory that all coins and paper money reflect an unconstitutional Christian state.
In 1956, E Pluribus Unum was pushed aside for the new Christian motto, and in the same year, under god was added to the pledge making it illegal for non-Christians to swear allegiance to their country under oath.
This program was also responsible for adding so help me god to the oath administered by judges.
For the more detailed history of under god and our pledge, I suggest you read this.
But as you can see, it was NOT our founding fathers who set this god stuff in motion for our country, but a few people.
It's been a national lie for centuries now to say that all our founding fathers were Christian, and this is a Christian based nation.
It's an outright lie.
So if you think atheists are attempting to remove things that our founding fathers established for us, you'd be very wrong.
We simply want to put it back the way it was, freedom of religion, to have our government respect the first amendment.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
It doesn't say we must all be Christian, it says they shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion, that means no one religion for this country, and giving people the right to choose any religion they want, or none at all.

In order to gain mutual respect of the believers and the non-believers, we must right these wrongs, we must give everyone the right to choose if they want to believe, and what they want to believe, with our government not siding with any particular one.
Our government has caused a great divide amongst us, they have chosen that we are a religious nation, a Christian nation, when in fact, we are not.
We are a melting pot of many, and our government must set this right.

As far as Harris saying we (atheists) are too docile and polite, and Craig saying we (atheists) are in fact very activist in our behavior, not all of us are, but if we are, it is because of the unjust proclamation that we are all Christians in this nation, it is a lie perpetuated for centuries, and we are fighting to set it right, like it once was, not just for us, but for you, and our future generations who will hopefully someday, not say stupid things in time of war like "God is on our side", causing an even further divide between the peoples of this nation who worship many different gods, or none at all.

Tag, you're it.