Kidding aside, this really shows the deep divide that exists in America right now, and how that divide continues to widen. Both “sides’ are fighting hard for what they believe, and I feel that the most outspoken feel that there is no room whatsoever for compromise.

You are certainly a moderate in this skirmish, and that is very much needed right now. You walk the middle ground and that’s what will bring everyone together in the end. I can’t say I envy your position, especially if you’re getting hate mail from the god fearing types. Shame on them.

My full take is pretty much the same as my short take.

The poster is not meant to promote discussion or be thought-provoking. It is meant to slam religion by associating it with a terrorist act.

That hardly seems to be a point of view open to discussion.

When people overreact and get all up in arms, they are fulfilling the wishes of the poster-putter-upper.

The best response to being baited is to ignore it.

Terri,

I for one would actually like to hear your full perspective on it.

I’m not sure it was intended to incite. It was intended to provoke thought and discussion like we are having here. Raactions like Mins is totally expected and allows for more discussion. Its genrally good to get the 900 lb gorillas off the table by talking about it.

But, apparently it doesnt matter what atheists put up to celebrate a holiday season, folks wont like it. I mean, really, is a tree with some book covers on it truly that hard to cope with?

Why do atheist feel the need to speak up? Why is it only fair when no religions are recognized, or all given equal time. That is the reason. Tax payer money is being spent wasting time like this, further alienating us from the rest of the world and inciting more conflict between those countries that are not primarilty christian and the US.

When you do shit like this, ever action you do as a nation looks like trying to use the military to spread a religion.

when will we ever learn to take religion out of government? Let people believe what they want without sponsoring one over another.

You can find it offensive, just like I find the 10 commandments in a courthouse offensive. The difference is, the sign gets to stay. More power to the atheists for not being afraid to speak up for what they believe. The universe knows that the christians haven’t been reticent, especially my buddy, Phelps

As I told Terri and Amanda on numerous occasions: until more moderate christians begin to speak up and out regarding the hypocricy and nonsense within the Christian faiths (as they both do), the “outsiders” will continue to lump all religion together, which really is a shame.

But as long as the “christians” continue to push for laws based on christianity, social and moral ultra conservatism, etc, the atheists are going to continue to push long and hard. You’re threatening THEIR freedom, and that’s not acceptable.

Berlzebub — I’m talking about the character of courts in other lands in general, not about one court case in specific. In the U.S. the crime has to be something that violates the laws, whether they effect someone else or not. I’m not following this one down the rabbit trail.

And lastly, something back on topic. The more I thought about it, I came to this understanding. The sign above is offensive to Christians and other people of religion and it’s meant to be. It’s meant to take a time of year when people are celebrating something special to them and belittle it and make fun of it.

It’s like tech and Musicguy’s favorite fundamentalist, Fred Phelps, standing outside of the funerals of dead service men and women protesting them, or the signs that people hold stating “God hates fags.” It’s insensitive, it’s in your face, and it’s offensive.

Now, while I agree that Christians shouldn’t let these things offend them, in that I think that everyone gets offended way too easily these days, I also think that we shouldn’t deny that it is offensive. And I think that atheists are hypocritical when they tell Christians that they shouldn’t talk to people in authority to try to get rid of something offensive.

It’s the same thing the atheists do when they try to remove a cross from a flag of a state, etc. Except that the Christian symbols have been around much longer and were not placed there for the purpose of offending anyone– which this sign was.