Colorado Secular Picnic
Update 6/22/07: I won’t be there after all. I’m not feeling well.
Original Post: If you’re a freethinker in the Denver metro area, this post is for you. If you’re not, this is probably a waste of your time.
This Saturday (6/23) my wife and I will be attending the Colorado Secular Picnic at Bear Creek Lake Park in Morrison (click the link for details). It goes from 1pm – 7pm rain or shine. Come to think of it, if it rains I probably won’t be there, but the forecast looks pretty good so far. This is being organized in part by the Denver Atheists Meetup Group. I joined the group when I first moved to Colorado last year, but this will be the first event I actually attend. If you’re there and want to meet me, I’ll be the big guy with a shaven head and a tattoo on my lower left arm. I will also very likely be wearing a pair of brown Birkenstocks. If you think you’ve spotted me, the code is “The pelican flies at midnight,” to which I will reply “The chocolate mousse is not in season.” Alternatively, you can say “Hey, are you that guy?” to which I will reply “Yes.” Go with whichever one you think is more fun.
~I AM~
June 19th, 2007 at at 6:06 pm
hey- I’m staying in Colorado in July (from England!) will there be anything going on then? from 13th to 25th? in Colorado Springs and Denver
June 19th, 2007 at at 8:22 pm
Keep an eye on the meetup group website at http://atheists.meetup.com/67. Other than the monthly meeting on 7/15, I don’t know.
June 19th, 2007 at at 11:13 pm
I am I Am’s wife. Hi. I’ve never commented here before. I don’t think code phrases are required… but a secret handshake could be cool.
June 19th, 2007 at at 11:46 pm
Dang. Hopefully I’ll be able to catch a meeting, I’m in Denver at the end of July too!
June 20th, 2007 at at 6:57 pm
Hi Mr. and Mrs. I AM.
BTW, whatever happened with the teaching gig and the pledge thing that you blogged about last year?
June 20th, 2007 at at 8:34 pm
Hi Mr. and Mrs. I AM.
BTW, whatever happened with the teaching gig and the pledge thing that you blogged about last year?
Ah, yes… well, I just avoided it. By October, it had become apparent that my boss was crazy, and besides that I had a convenient out: The curriculum didn’t mandate the pledge on the level I was teaching.
Interestingly enough, this became a huge issue in December, just before our “Winter Concert.” See, apparently, though it was never, ever mentioned to me (or another teacher hired when I was), the Director wanted all the children to be taught “God Bless America.” Strangely enough, I taught in the same room as she does for a brief time earlier in the year and the children I had never learned “GBA” from me. We did “This Land is Your Land” instead. Since I’d told her I wasn’t religious, I assumed she knew WHY I did that song as opposed to the one she was doing the three days she taught the class.
Anyway, come December she goes on vacation and leaves the remainder of the staff to deal with planning and organizing the Winter concert. Part of what she leaves in her instructions is that we will open with the Pledge (not shocking) and “GBA” as a “whole school” performance. Well… that basically forced the issue. I had to “come out” and at the time, I reminded her that I’d informed her I wasn’t religious when she hired me. Since I told her that in relation to a comment she made about the staff basically praying together, you’d think she’d get that maybe “GBA” was not something I’d willing do. I told her, look, this is a public school. I realize it’s a charter school, but it’s still a public school. I feel that as such I shouldn’t be forced to teach “GBA.” I acknowledged my issues with the Pledge, but told her that I realized this was accepted in schools across the country. I still never actually said I’d teach it.
She wanted to know why I hadn’t told her… and I said, well, atheists aren’t generally well-liked. She didn’t exactly comment. What she did say was that the Pledge was something she wanted taught to the whole school, even if it wasn’t in the curriculum until the next level. Also, she told me the same thing about “GBA” and then admitted she wasn’t sure how to handle it and would need to check with her boss. The translation? I will fire you in a heartbeat, if only I won’t get in trouble for it.
Well, when it was researched, it became abundantly clear she would get in trouble for it, if I pursued legal action. A letter was sent out to all the teachers explaining the school district’s position on religious displays in the classroom and what not. But then it got even more interesting… the preschool rents space from a synagogue. The relationship between the two has been somewhat strained, but it’s a co-dependent relationship. The preschool needs the space and the synagogue needs the $$$. Anyway, the powers that be at the synagogue, for the first time in the entire time the preschool has been in that building (this was the 4th Christmas season) stated that no Christmas displays could be up. Not a tree, no artwork…etc, etc. That really pissed my boss off.
So, the school still sang “GBA” at the concert, and of course did the Pledge… but I never had to sing it. The entire school rehearsed it together and I just didn’t participate. I kept myself busy with the kids, getting them to stand in the right position, not push each other and so on.
Anyway, the short answer is I never had to teach the Pledge. I wound up quitting in early January because I’d just had enough of the director’s psychosis, and the word got around that I was an atheist and the office manager (the director’s henchwoman) became extremely hostile and unfriendly to me after that (but she believes in angels, god(s?) and crystal worship, so no big loss there). To say the least, between the two, it was an exceptionally unpleasant working environment.
June 22nd, 2007 at at 4:32 pm
Feel better soon!
July 10th, 2007 at at 12:19 am
I just read a post by an atheist in Colorado Springs. That made me think of you, and I thought I’d swing by and see if anything had stirred here. Glad to see some rustling. Even if it’s infrequent.
July 17th, 2007 at at 10:15 am
As an atheis, did u regularly visiting a religious blog? Did you have many holybook from religions? I read bible and Quran, and i make my own journey for while…
July 21st, 2007 at at 10:37 am
I was not there, but let me just say “My hovercraft is full of eels.”
“Anyway, the powers that be at the synagogue, for the first time in the entire time the preschool has been in that building (this was the 4th Christmas season) stated that no Christmas displays could be up. Not a tree, no artwork…etc, etc. That really pissed my boss off.”
DANGER! DANGER! Cross-contamination of dogma might cause victims to reject programming! Besides, who wants all those pagan symbols and Jesus cooties around.
We need something better than the Flying Spaghetti Monster to address these issues (bless its noodley appendages). Same goes for the Invisible Pink Unicorn. Nothing wrong with the examples, except too many syllables! One cannot counter GBA with FSMBA. Perhaps by third or fourth grade, or soon after the Death of Santa, we could introduce some material on magical thinking. There used to be a story titled “About Bob” that might make interesting reading, but I can’t seem to find a copy on the Internet right now. “Bob Bless America?”
July 23rd, 2007 at at 9:52 am
http://atheistdelusion.cf.huffingtonpost.com/
http://deludedmailbag.cf.huffingtonpost.com/
Psalm 14:1-3 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none that does good. The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any that act wisely, that seek after God. They have all gone astray, they are all alike corrupt; there is none that does good, no, not one.
God said this about the atheist.
“The fool has said in his heart, there is no God”
Not a fool, but “the” fool. Webster’s dictionary describes a fool as “a very stupid person, one lacking judgement, common sense, wisdom, a silly person, a simpleton, an idiot, an imbecile, someone that is kept to entertain as a jester, a joke, a victim of a joke, one who is duped, a clown, a trick.” And in Jeremiah 17.9… the prophet said the “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperatley wicked, who can know it?”
Only God knows our deceitful and desperately wicked hearts.
Who wants to be a fool?
God looks to see if any of us are wise
If someone is really wise, they will seek God
How do you seek God?
Is it a long journey?
Is there some secret mystery?
Is there some great deed we must do?
Is there some valiant & heroic struggle?
Since God is already at the door, and already knocking, perhaps we should open the door?
The Bible is God’s word, it is how God speaks to us,
Perhaps we should read it and study it and think about it
Since prayer begins with God’s invitation, shouldn’t our prayers begin by listening to God?
They are all alike
There is no one that does good
All have gone astray
Sin is universal
Sin is not just inevitable, it is a great pervasive evil,
And it eats up all in its reach (you are your brothers keeper)
In the face of universal sin, the only thing to do is repent
And trust in the mercy of God
The good news is that God has mercy on penitent sinners
The good news is that there is a Savior
Jesus is our refuge, not because we deserve refuge
Jesus is our refuge because God has mercy upon us
God give his Word
God creates faith
God knocks at our door
God forgives – wisdom is opening our lives to the mercy of God
And righteousness – that too comes from God through Christ.
You see the Lord will restore the fortunes of his people,
His people are the people who live by grace through faith.
Atheists are all afraid from the truth.
First you claim there is no God and heaven, If you and the Atheists believe there is no “God” than why you hate him so much? If you and the Atheists don’t believe in heaven than why you and the Atheists think heaven is a boring place to go to. LOL. You all are hypocrite.
You know there is a God, but you want to live for the devil, Remember the devil know the bible as well as you and me.
In Psalm 14.1…..God said this about the atheist.
“The fool has said in his heart, there is no God”
Not a fool, but “the” fool. Webster’s dictionary describes a fool as “a very stupid person, one lacking judgement, common sense, wisdom, a silly person, a simpleton, an idiot, an imbecile, someone that is kept to entertain as a jester, a joke, a victim of a joke, one who is duped, a clown, a trick.” And in Jeremiah 17.9… the prophet said the “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperatley wicked, who can know it?”
Only God knows our deceitful and desperately wicked hearts.
The atheist and his atheism.
keywords: atheism, God, atheist, Jesus, agnostic, Christianity, religion, philosophy
Atheism is defined by Webster’s New World Dictionary as, “1. the belief that there is no God, or denial that God or gods exist. 2. godlessness”. An atheist, therefore, is a person who believes that there is no God. But what does the Bible say?
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.
PSALMS XIV:I
Atheism is a belief system that ardently denies the existence of God. God calls the atheist a FOOL. Many atheists spend much time and effort attempting to “disprove” that God exists. According to Romans chapter 1 they know that He exists, but they want to control their own lives and not submit to the Lord. They are actually rather tragic figures just like any other unsaved individual. It is hard to live out their atheism–if they did, they’d actually be considered crazy like O’Hair was.
The atheist’s RELIGION (which is simply a system of beliefs based on a philosophy) of atheism is simply a way to try to block out and override the truth–the ol’ ostrich-head-in-the-sand technique:
If you try to tell ‘em the truth, they say “Shut up!”
stick their heads in the ground and shout–
“There’s nobody there,
there’s nobody there,
there’s nobody there, I tell you!
See, I can’t see ‘em!”
Well, atheist reader, Somebody is there and His truth has stood from the beginning of time and will continue for all eternity. God is not dependent on you in any way. Blasphemies, wars, famines, and political appointments come and go, but when the dust settles, there’s Jesus. And there is nothing you can do about it but breathe out hot air. You will humble yourself before the Lord Jesus or you will be ground to powder.
And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
–Jesus Christ
Matthew 21:44
Most atheists have what I call the Don Quixote Syndrome. Let me explain. Cervantes wrote a book about Don Quixote a long time ago. Don Quixote would attack windmills as if they were his enemies. Of course a windmill is nobody’s enemy. If what the atheist believes is REALLY his belief, then he would leave people like me alone. After all, if God did not exist, He and His followers would be no enemy to the atheist. We’d just be deluded people. Therefore IF the atheist REALLY believes there is no God and the fool attacks a Christian, then he has the Don Quixote Syndrome because the Christian is not his enemy. Nevertheless, God is real and THAT is why atheists have all these organizations and debates to “prove” that God does not exist. Atheist reader, if you would just be true to what you purport to believe, then you wouldn’t have the Don Quixote Syndrome.
My old pastor once ministered to an old atheist who had been a card-carrying atheist for decades–but as he laid on his death bed, he wanted a pastor. I don’t know if he got saved or not. When it’s time to die, many atheists are understandably uneasy and those that aren’t should be terrified.
There is hope for the atheist. He can be saved. In fact, there are plenty of atheists that have come to Jesus Christ. I refuse to argue with them, but will answer honest questions. Unfortunately, many atheists ignorantly say hard things against the Lord Jesus Christ and His people. Don’t let fancy titles and big words shake your faith in the One who holds your eternal destiny.
Think about this: What does the atheist have to offer you? Eternal life? Spiritual comfort? Love? Kindness? Comfort in the midnight hour when no one is around? No, none of these. He has nothing to offer you but blasphemy, hell fire and the wrath of God. The atheist will tell you fabulous fairy tales like
you were spontaneously generated from a rock,
a monkey is your daddy,
a fish is your cousin,
you have no hope,
you should just live for today,
when you’re dead, you’re dead.
If you follow their ignorant advice and die without Christ, you WILL forever regret it and you will remember that someone told you the truth and you scoffed.
Atheists try their hardest to argue a fact that is firmly established–God is real. You cannot look on His creation and its ways and honestly deny it. I won’t argue that 2+2=4 and I won’t argue that God exists. An atheist once wrote and said, “2+2 is not necessarily 4″. Well, write any other number on your math test and see if you get it right.
The bottom line is that atheism is a false belief system composed of fools–it’s not new–the Bible told us about atheism thousands of years ago. Is there a real atheist? No. The closest thing to it is someone who has told themselves a lie so many times that they begin to believe it’s true.
I think that atheists say there is no God so they won’t have to repent; I think it is a cop-out. This is my view that men seek an out from reality. Some take drugs, drink, there are many ways to “escape” reality. But reality says we need a Saviour. Oh how we need a Savior.
No atheist has any proof that there is no God. He says……. but in reality he has no proof.
Arriving Late
Eddie, an outspoken atheist, spent his entire life of 50 years denying the existence of God. Then he contracted a debilitating disease, and his health slowly deteriorated. As he lay in a hospice house awaiting death, Eddie was visited almost every day by some Christian friends he had known in high school. They told him again of Christ’s love. But the closer Eddie came to dying, the more it appeared he was not interested in God.
One Sunday, a pastor stopped by to visit. To everyone’s surprise, Eddie prayed with him and asked Jesus for forgiveness and salvation. A few weeks later, he died.
Eddie denied Christ for 50 years and spent just 2 weeks loving and trusting Him. But because of his faith, he will experience forever God’s presence, glory, love, majesty, and perfection. Some may argue that this isn’t fair. But according to Jesus’ parable in Matthew 20, it’s not about fairness. It’s about God’s goodness and grace (vv.11-15).
Have you waited such a long time to trust Jesus for salvation that you think it might be too late? Consider the thief on the cross, who put his faith in Jesus just before he died (Luke 23:39-43). Trust Jesus now, and receive His gift of eternal life. It’s not too late!
If God is calling you today,
Then trust in Christ without delay;
Tomorrow it will be too late
If death occurs and seals your fate. —
It is a dangerous presumption to say, “Tomorrow,” when God says, “Today!”
An Atheist’s Point Of View
Three young men who say they are atheists decided to “sample” and report on several churches in their city. One of these men said, “There is something other than teaching that is appealing to people. We didn’t see a lot of doctrine. . . . The appeal was mostly the community. The content in most churches isn’t nearly as important as the packaging.” The three atheists offered this explanation for why thousands of people in their area attend church each Sunday: The attraction stems more from a person’s Christian identity than from what the religion teaches.
Their experience agrees with the observation of author A. W. Tozer, who said, “Increasing numbers of [Christians] are becoming ashamed to be found unequivocally on the side of truth. They say they believe, but their beliefs have been so diluted as to be impossible of clear definition.”
The apostle Paul knew whom he believed, and he instructed Timothy to “hold fast” to the truth he had been taught (2 Timothy 1:12-13). We too need to hold tightly to our beliefs based on the unfailing, God-inspired Bible. What we believe about God is more crucial than any feeling we get by being in church. Tozer calls us to stand “firm on the Word of God that lives and abides forever.”
Since by faith I have clear vision,
Your blest Word is rich and new;
Men with eyes by sin distorted
Cannot all its treasures view.
Don’t be a Christian in name only.
Profitable Reading
READ: 2 Timothy 3:10-17
You have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. —2 Timothy 3:15
Bible scholar William Barclay recalls the experience of a group of British soldiers during World War I. For a long time the men were in a relatively quiet standoff with the enemy. Among them was an atheist who, trying to fill up the empty days, went to the chaplain to ask if any books were available. The only book the chaplain had was the Bible.
The atheist refused the Bible at first, but then he took it and began to read the Old Testament at random. He came across the story of Esther and was so engrossed by it that he decided to read the whole Bible. As he did, he realized that what he was reading was true, and he received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.
The apostle Paul stated in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “all Scripture . . . is profitable.” It gives people the wisdom that leads to “salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (v.15). Even passages that may seem boring and lacking in spiritual value have the power to transform people’s lives.
If in our own reading we come across passages that we find uninspiring at first, let’s trust the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts and change our lives. Remember, when it comes to the Bible, all of it—from Genesis to Revelation—is inspired and profitable (v.16).
The Bible has power to arrest and convict,
To reveal God’s truth to our soul;
For in it we find the good news of the One
Who alone can cleanse and make whole. —Fitzhugh
Many books can inform you; only the Bible can transform you
September 3rd, 2007 at at 2:30 am
istruzioni roulette…
snappy:expediency area quadrennial …