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View Poll Results: Would you vote for an Openly Atheist President?
Yes 91 72.22%
No 35 27.78%
Voters: 126. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 06-26-2012, 12:17 PM
 
Location: Fort Worth Texas
12,481 posts, read 10,184,450 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frozenyo View Post
New poll indicates Americans ready for an atheist President | The Zingularity

I'm not only ready but hoping to be able to vote for an openly atheist Presidential candidate in my lifetime. It's going to be great when we can finally get superstision out of the White House.
If his positions were what I think would match mine, then religion Would not matter
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Old 06-26-2012, 12:22 PM
 
48,505 posts, read 96,519,768 times
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The reoality is that its still part of teh reality requiremnts if not sttaed. Obama even went to length to state his religoud beliefs .By tghe time they get to that posiiton most candidates have long since established a religous psotion of faith.
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Old 06-26-2012, 01:28 PM
 
Location: Wasilla, Alaska
17,823 posts, read 23,348,841 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Finn_Jarber View Post
Some don't, by many do, and they invest a lot of time trying to prove there is no God. The state-atheism practiced in the countries we mentioned earlier did exactly that. They put in a lot of effort to brainwash people into becoming atheists. It was much easier with kids, of course.
One cannot be brainwashed into having faith, anymore than one can be brainwashed into not having faith. Faith is inherent, it is something that you either have or do not have, it cannot be given or taken. Recognizing that fact is what distinguishes atheists from anti-theists.

I do not care what anyone believes, or does not believe, providing they keep that belief, or the lack thereof, to themselves. What someone believes, or does not believe, neither "breaks my arm nor picks my pocket" to paraphrase Thomas Jefferson.
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Old 06-26-2012, 02:27 PM
 
Location: Murika
2,526 posts, read 2,994,645 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Glitch View Post
One cannot be brainwashed into having faith, anymore than one can be brainwashed into not having faith. Faith is inherent, it is something that you either have or do not have, it cannot be given or taken. Recognizing that fact is what distinguishes atheists from anti-theists.
I actually wouldn't be so sure. There are plenty of cults which managed to bestow a sense of faith onto their followers through brainwashing techniques. Now, whether the resulting belief is actually faith or not may be another question - but is certainly seems as though those who fall for this stuff interpret their beliefs as faith.

Faith is also a highly subjective term. I am often baffled when I hear about some tragedy in the news. Person X suffers some horrible fate and the family moves heavens and earth to save person X even though they claim to be devout Christians.

If they are, then why don't they have the faith that god will see person X through his injury or illness?

Even more amazing, when person X succumbs to his/her ailment, there always seems to be a family member who expresses faith that "god has a plan." Why then, if god had a plan all along, do these people think they ought to go against god's wishes? I thought they had faith that god knows best.

In other words, faith only seems to come into play in certain circumstances.

There are also plenty of people who "lose faith" or "find Christ" - which suggests that faith is not inherent for some people. To you and I it may seem as though our lack of faith in a higher being is inherent, but the reality is that neither of us knows what the future holds...
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Old 06-26-2012, 02:33 PM
 
Location: Murika
2,526 posts, read 2,994,645 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Glitch View Post
Thank you for distinguishing the difference between an atheist and an anti-theist. Atheists have no animosity toward any of the religions, but anti-theists do.
Even the term "anti-theist" isn't too clear:

Is an "anti-theist" someone who openly opposes religion (for whatever reason)?

If so, there are plenty of "anti-theists" in the US. Most of them happen to be religious. You see, the US separates Church and State, meaning that it is opposed to religious involvement in making laws (to the extend that this is reasonable). In other words, the US Constitution could be seen as "anti-theist" to some degree. It seems that most US citizens agree that such separation of Church and State should be upheld - for they do not desire to live in a theocracy. Does that mean that they are "anti-theist?"

Or does that term only mean forceful suppression of religion?
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Old 06-26-2012, 04:55 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles
14,366 posts, read 9,739,178 times
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What Does Separation of Church and State Really Mean? - Blogcritics Politics

Having a secular, no-religion, government is to become exactly what the founders were against. This country was founded to separate/wall the government from crushing religious freedom. It has been turned around by secularists to mean religion not influencing government. Generally, these are the same people that revision history and call it fact.
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Old 06-26-2012, 05:08 PM
 
Location: Wasilla, Alaska
17,823 posts, read 23,348,841 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vamos View Post
Even the term "anti-theist" isn't too clear:

Is an "anti-theist" someone who openly opposes religion (for whatever reason)?

If so, there are plenty of "anti-theists" in the US. Most of them happen to be religious. You see, the US separates Church and State, meaning that it is opposed to religious involvement in making laws (to the extend that this is reasonable). In other words, the US Constitution could be seen as "anti-theist" to some degree. It seems that most US citizens agree that such separation of Church and State should be upheld - for they do not desire to live in a theocracy. Does that mean that they are "anti-theist?"

Or does that term only mean forceful suppression of religion?
Yes. Antitheism is someone who is actively opposed to theism. They may be religious, or not. The US Constitution is not anti-theist. The US Constitution does not actively oppose religion, neither does it endorse a particular religion.

Antitheism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Old 06-26-2012, 05:12 PM
 
4,921 posts, read 7,658,429 times
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We had a man of God, a born again christian, GW Bush. He got us into two unfunded wars in which 100,000 plus Iraqis died, 7000 Americans, and scores injured and disabled at a cost of trillions of dollars. GW Bush claimed he spoke with God and his presidency crashed the country and killed thousands. I firmly believe we could do far better anyone who had no affiliation with any religion and even no belief in a higher being.

After all the damage GW Bush did I find it hard to believe that republicans selected a mormon. If Bush had no problem killing so many people and calling himself a BAC I can only imagine what a mormon will do with the power of the presidency.
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Old 06-26-2012, 05:16 PM
 
667 posts, read 513,620 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by donsabi View Post
We had a man of God, a born again christian, GW Bush. He got us into two unfunded wars in which 100,000 plus Iraqis died, 7000 Americans, and scores injured and disabled at a cost of trillions of dollars. GW Bush claimed he spoke with God and his presidency crashed the country and killed thousands. I firmly believe we could do far better anyone who had no affiliation with any religion and even no belief in a higher being.

After all the damage GW Bush did I find it hard to believe that republicans selected a mormon. If Bush had no problem killing so many people and calling himself a BAC I can only imagine what a mormon will do with the power of the presidency.

This says more about your phobia than about GW's presidency.
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Old 06-26-2012, 05:18 PM
 
Location: Florida
76,908 posts, read 47,211,581 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Glitch View Post
Yes. Antitheism is someone who is actively opposed to theism. They may be religious, or not. The US Constitution is not anti-theist. The US Constitution does not actively oppose religion, neither does it endorse a particular religion.
LOL. Many atheists are antitheists, and actively opposed to any existence of God, while others just don't believe in gods and leave it at that.
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