[Vision2020] And Yet, The Saga Continues . . .

[Ted Moffett]

Absolute certainty in a belief that if someone does not believe in God,
their "eternal soul" is damned forever, renders the "Millions are Good
without God" message one that might do great harm, for someone who takes
this belief with utmost seriousness and acts accordingly.  From this point
of view, it is not "benignly worded," but suggests that not believing in God
is an acceptable option, when in fact the fate of a persons eternal soul is
in jeopardy, if they take the billboard seriously.

Those who argue that religion is not a primary source of problems in our
world seem to downplay that if someone takes certain rather incredible yet
common religious beliefs seriously, and acts upon them, vandalism, war,
bigotry, etc., become reasonable.  The aggressive tactics of missionaries
(sometimes not calling themselves "missionaries" explicitly) have been and
still are defended given the logic that if unbelievers are not converted,
their eternal souls are lost; extreme measures are reasonable given this
logic.  What is the importance of one human biological lifetime compared to
the future life of an eternal soul?

If I really believed with certainty that those who do not believe in
God would have their eternal soul damned, I might defend vandalizing a
billboard with a message suggesting that not believing in God is
acceptable, as a form of "civil disobedience," a moral duty, even if illegal
and risking penalties from the justice system of the State.

I'm not sure what Thoreau would think about a billboard vandalized due to
religious principles:

>From Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," available online in total at the
website below:

"Unjust laws exist; shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor
to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress
them at once? Men generally, under such a government as this, think that
they ought to wait until they have persuaded the majority to alter them.
They think that, if they should resist, the remedy would be worse than the
evil. But it is the fault of the government itself that the remedy *is *worse
than the evil. *It* makes it worse. Why is it not more apt to anticipate and
provide for reform? Why does it not cherish its wise minority? Why does it
cry and resist before it is hurt? Why does it not encourage its citizens to
be on the alert to point out its faults, and *do* better than it would have
them?"

*Civil Disobedience - Part 1 of 3*

http://thoreau.eserver.org/civil1.html

------------------------------------------
Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett

On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 6:35 PM, Paul Rumelhart <godshatter at yahoo.com>wrote:

> It's not the fact that it's a little vandalism that is the important
> point, at least to me.  It's the intolerance of such a benignly worded
> sign that I find astounding.
>
> Paul
>
> the lockshop wrote:
> > "...this is attention Moscow can do without."
> >
> > While I agree that it's not terribly flattering for Moscow's reputation
> as
> > the most left leaning township in Idaho, I hardly see it as anti-crime
> > priority #1. After all, what's the worst that might come of the negative
> > publicity? The American Atheist Assn. won't have it's winter solstice
> > bachanal in our bustling metropolis? Or, perhaps the ACLU spring
> fertility
> > rite and craft fair will see attendance suffer? I very much doubt it.
> >
> > If this is the most egregious crime to be reported from our sleepy little
> > burg to make the internet rounds, I'll be happy to admit that, while I
> don't
> > care for vandalism of any kind, compared to other forms of noteriety we
> > could be villified for, I'll somehow find a way to come to terms with the
> > shame.
> >
> > g
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Kenneth Marcy" <kmmos1 at verizon.net>
> > To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
> > Sent: Thursday, November 12, 2009 12:57 PM
> > Subject: Re: [Vision2020] And Yet, The Saga Continues . . .
> >
> >
> >
> >> On Thursday 12 November 2009 12:09:48 Tom Hansen wrote:
> >>
> >>> For a historical aspect of dastardly doings done dirty . . .
> >>> http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/GoodGod.htm
> >>>
> >> Following the URL www.americanhumanist.org to their web site, then
> >> entering Moscow in the site's Search box, reveals that their site is
> >> reporting the vandalism Internet-wide. Since this is attention Moscow
> >> can do without, it behooves local law enforcement personnel to do
> >> everything reasonably possible to bring closure to this matter.
> >>
> >>
> >> Ken
> >>
> >> =======================================================
> >> List services made available by First Step Internet,
> >> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
> >>               http://www.fsr.net
> >>          mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> >> =======================================================
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >
> >
> > No virus found in this incoming message.
> > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> > Version: 9.0.707 / Virus Database: 270.14.62/2499 - Release Date:
> 11/12/09
> > 06:33:00
> >
> > =======================================================
> >  List services made available by First Step Internet,
> >  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
> >                http://www.fsr.net
> >           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> > =======================================================
> >
> >
>
>
> =======================================================
>  List services made available by First Step Internet,
>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>               http://www.fsr.net
>          mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> =======================================================
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20091114/f60ad0bb/attachment-0001.html