Hitchens' Death Will be Closely Watched

So atheists should just shut up and accept it if the law says they can't run for office?

 

Do you really believe that Texas has a law against atheists getting elected to sheriff?

Really???

 

Apparently a number of places in the US have a religious test for office.

 

Please show one, so that I can study it and learn how it is implemented within that/those states.

 

You did not offer an opinion, but rather an inaccurate conclusion presented as a factual summation -- and a rather laughable one considering your pedantic tendencies. I believe Neutral would post a picture of a pot calling a kettle black at this point.

Trust me, it was no compliment. Pedants are an irksome, humorless lot -- your dogmatic linearity becomes tiresome fairly quickly and avoids actually discussing the topic, instead becoming embroiled in semantics and irrelevant minutiae.

 

You lose again. Why? Because you did ask for an opinion:

Then you wanted to get snide by saying that you did not ask for an opinion. If you were not seeking an opinion, then why use a question mark?

Whether your consider it a compliment or not, I am going by what the scripture says, and if you see me as being pedantic, then that shows that I am fulfilling the Lords expectation of me. Thank you anyway.

 

Well if there are any "religious tests" for public office they would definitely be unconstitutional. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Religious_Test_Clause

I Googled it though and didn't find any alleged religious tests that are given.

 

I kinda figured that would be the end result of that false claim made by Panzerkampfwagen; but I don't know the laws of every state, so I thought I would ask. Too bad it is not true.

 

Funny, it just took me 4 seconds to find some.

 

So where are they?

 

Yet another reason to avoid Christianity.

 

I'd like to see them -- can you please post a citation? Thank you.

 

Can you post the sources then please?

 

I think the sentiment that drives Blackrook's engagement in this is that it "would be a devasting blow to the atheist movement."

Though I can't figure out this potential chain of events: I'm an atheist -> Christoffer Hitchens becomes a theist -> I'm still an atheist. Wouldn't that be a blow to theism?

 

Im not happy when a proud atheist dies. Its sad to me. He will learn the truth on the other side of his last breath. It will be too late then. He will enter a realm of suffering that he couldnt have imagined. His pain will know no end. He will beg for mercy from the same Jesus he mocked and rejected. He will sadly receive none. This is true for all atheists.

It doesnt make me happy at all. I dont celebrate the death and eternal torment of a lost soul. Jesus is saddened by it as well. 10,000 years of torment is just a blip on the screen of the agony he and others face.

The really sad part is the chance to escape it has been presented to him 1000 times. Truly sad.

 

And how do you expect us to know which religion is the ONE TRUE religion out of the thousands presented to us? Can you really blame people for rejecting religion altogether when all claim to be the true one?

I rejected religion a long time ago so I imagine you believe I will suffer in your Hell for all eternity after I die even though I believe I have been a good person to the best of my abilities. Although I have made my fair share of mistakes like any other human.

I am not atheist, although I fall under agnosticism and I hold personal spiritual beliefs. My beliefs are more in the realm of reincarnation to be honest, certainly not to the letter that Hindu's believe. But I believe that even after we die our life energy or 'soul' returns to the Earth and is reborn again. I have always leaned more towards and found more comfort in this belief than any of the other one's presented to me.

And if their is an omniscient and omnipotent deity I don't believe he or she is as evil as the Bible makes him or her out to be. I don't believe he or she would punish perfectly good human beings simply for not finding that exact and true religion. I believe he or she is far more understanding to each individual human being than humans describe him or her as. I think that unlike humans, who often choose one side of the fence and only see things from their own viewpoint, a deity has the ability to see things from each individual human's perspective and wholly and completely understand why that person made the choices they did in life and believed what they did.

I don't believe there is a Hell though or any other underworld where human souls are tortured and punished for their Earthly 'sins'. I believe each person is given the opportunity to return to the Earth to live a new life, experience a new perspective and become a better person. I do believe once our soul has achieved the best it can that it will ascend to a 'heavenly' place to live peacefully thereafter. I do not have any proof of this belief. I do not have a holy book that says this belief is true. But this is my personal take on what happens in the life after death and I find personal comfort in it and it makes me happy.

So what makes your religion more true than my personal spiritual beliefs?

 

I'm surprised his death is not being televised. I will not watch but i'm sure there's a ghoulish element of society that would.

 

Im not going to argue with you. Nothing I say will change your mind. If I am right then on the other side of you last heartbeat you will enter a torment that you cant even imagine. If I am wrong and you are right then I come back as a fish.

 

Wow, you're very condescending with that little retort. When did I ever say humans would be reincarnated into fish or other animals? I said, "I believe each person is given the opportunity to return to the Earth to live a new life, experience a new perspective and become a better person."

Pretty sure animals aren't people.

All I really want to know though is how do you expect people to know which religion is the ONE TRUE religion or even DENOMINATION when there are literally thousands to choose from? It would take a life time to study them all and finally pick one.

 

No. The only importance we give to Darwin's death in that regard is to dispel the false claims by theists that he converted. Other than that, we don't care what his personal beliefs were when he died.

This subject is only of importance to theists.

 

And to atheists and other non-theists. Otherwise it would be illogical for you and those others to be wasting your time on such a subject.

 

LOL, oh the irony.

I bet you can't even see why your statement above is ironic.

I posted only to correct misinformation.

 

You will accuse us anyway. So what difference does it make?

 

That's one possibility.

Another is that the author of that web page thinks it's very important to demonstrate what hypocritical liars some Christians are.

He certainly does not speak for all atheists, just as the hypocritical lying Christians he identifies do not speak for all Christians.

 

No. They haven't.