Creationist Ken Ham Blasts Atheist TV's Launch

[trotsky]

HAHAHAHAHAHA!

http://www.christianpost.com/news/creationist-ken-ham-blasts-atheist-tvs-launch-124233/

Ken Ham, founding president and CEO of Answers in Genesis, responded to the premiere of the world's first ever all-atheist TV channel last week by blasting the efforts at "not just targeting adults with a hopeless message of godlessness, but … also trying to indoctrinate children into an atheistic worldview."

"I've always found it fascinating how they think their purpose is to impose their message that there is no purpose onto people!" Ham wrote in a blog post in response to the launch of Atheist TV, an initiative of American Atheists.

"Well, this new TV channel highlights the growing intolerance toward Christianity in particular — and other religions, with the exception of their own," Ham wrote.

Looks like he might have some like-minded friends on DU!

[Manifestor_of_Light]

1. They're very sensitive about their feelings, you know.

One must not make the slightest criticism of their views or compare them to other irrational beliefs, because they get their little feelings hurt and the godless heathens among us are making fun of them and discriminating against their freedom of speech.

(Take with large box of salt)

[trotsky]

3. It just illustrates the double standard between belief and non-belief.

Open expression of belief is accepted and celebrated! You're certain god exists? Wonderful!

Open expression of non-belief is discouraged and not tolerated. You're certain the gods have been made up by humans? Tsk, tsk - what a fundie anti-theist you are! Merely by voicing your opinion you're preaching your "religion" of non-belief!

[JNelson6563]

2. Oh the oppression!1!

[Manifestor_of_Light]

4. Can't make comparisons of imaginary beings, either.

Santa Claus? Mythical.
Easter Bunny? Doesn't exist.
Tooth Fairy? Not really here.
Zeus? No way.

But Jesus, of which there is no contemporaneous historical record? Why, he's REAL. And he's in your life and in your face, you just don't know it. Another way of saying "No evidence for god, therefore you gotta believe."

Comparing him to those other mythical characters is sacrilege and insulting many times over. Certain fairy tale beliefs are socially acceptable and others are not.

[A HERETIC I AM]

8. ^^ This ^^

It has always struck me as strange that when one asks a person who considers the god of Abraham and Isaac to be real, whether or not they also consider Zeus and Apollo to be real they would say "no".

So....alllll those other gods and all their fantastic stories and supernatural workings, THEY are all false, but MY god and all HIS fantastic stories, THEY are real.

Really? No parallel at all, eh?

[skepticscott]

12. As least one poster in Religion

Has a conniption every time someone suggests that it makes as much sense to believe in Santa as it does to believe in Jesus, or that the same standards of critical thought should apply to both. And she thinks that there's no problem with being quite sure that one doesn't exist, but to express any confidence at all that the other doesn't exist is juvenile and outrageous. No justification for that stance has ever been forthcoming, however.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

13. I think I know who it is. And a couple of others I've tangled with.

They talk in circles; can't pin em down as to what they believe.
They swear you can believe ANYTHING and be a Christian. And they get flummoxed when I use the X (Greek letter chi) for Xtian.

[Lordquinton]

14. The problem with the Santa argument

is that St. Nikolaos was a real person.

[skepticscott]

17. Well, by "Santa" I mean

A guy who lives at the North Pole (or did, before global warming) and travels all over the world on Xmas eve in a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer, leaving presents for millions of people.

[Lordquinton]

19. Well, yes

That Santa is based partially on the St. who left gifts for people in need when they weren't looking (according to wiki at least) Blown out of proportion, but can be traced back to an actual person, unlike, say, Jesus.

[LostOne4Ever]

23. The stop disrespecting me with your logical argumentation card?

[trotsky]

24. Oh that's brilliant. n/t

[sakabatou]

26. +1

[Warpy]

5. Oh, dear, Ken Ham sees dollars getting away from him and he's not happy

That means we're out there doing something right.

[djean111]

6. While I feel I have no need to ridicule another's beliefs, this sentence rings a faint alarm:

"Well, this new TV channel highlights the growing intolerance toward Christianity in particular — and other religions, with the exception of their own," Ham wrote.
How long until not being Christian, or being gay, is perceived and acted against, LEGALLY, as intolerance towards Christianity.
Is it legal to not provide services to someone because they are a Christian? or do Christians figure that only goes one way. Their way. Can gay kids in school bully Christians?

"with the exception of their own (religion)" - so many theists still do not understand that atheism is not a religion, in the sense that Christianity is a religion.

[mr blur]

10. Be fair now, it's not just that atheism is not a religion that Ken doesn't understand -

he doesn't understand anything!

Science? No.
History? No.
Geology? No.
Logic? No.
Biology? Uh-uh.
Building a massive boat that won't break up using only wood?......etc. etc.

[onager]

7. "...a hopeless message of godlessness..."

I have observed, indeed, generally, that while in Protestant countries the defections from the Platonic Christianity of the priests is to Deism, in Catholic countries they are to Atheism. Diderot, D'Alembert, D’Holbach, Condorcet, are known to have been among the most virtuous of men. Their virtue, then, must have had some other foundation than the love of God. ― Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Thomas Law

For those who believe in God, most of the big questions are answered. But for those of us who can't readily accept the God formula, the big answers don't remain stone-written. We adjust to new conditions and discoveries. We are pliable. Love need not be a command nor faith a dictum. I am my own god. We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and our educational system. We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.” ― Charles Bukowski

Now though the state of the believers in the Atonement may thus be the happier, it is most certainly not more desirable from the point of view of the community. The fact that a believer is happier than a sceptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality of happiness, and by no means a necessity of life. Whether Socrates got as much happiness out of life as Wesley is an unanswerable question; but a nation of Socrateses would be much safer and happier than a nation of Wesleys... - George Bernard Shaw, "Androcles and the Lion"

There is something infantile in the presumption that somebody else has a responsibility to give your life meaning and point… The truly adult view, by contrast, is that our life is as meaningful, as full and as wonderful as we choose to make it.” ― Richard Dawkins, "The God Delusion"

(Well, I had to have a quote from our Pope, after all...)

[Manifestor_of_Light]

9. "Your god is too small" -- Giordano Bruno.

We give our lives meaning by giving our lives attention.
That's too subtle for some people.

The wonders of astronomy and astrophysics are far more amazing than the dull story of creation in six days.
We are made of starstuff. Carl Sagan said this in COSMOS and so did Neil deGrasse Tyson in the new COSMOS.
If that's not wonderful, I don't know what is.

But then if you are an astrophysicist you are cool per se. In and of itself. Those people actually understand relativity and black holes, and such, and if they don't they are coming up with new theories to explain things that make them scratch their heads.

Here's to scientific discovery!

[haikugal]

27. Too true!!

I actually said that to my fundy father-in-law during one of our 'discussions' and made him cry! I felt sorry for the guy but he was a really pushy 'believer' and, of course, he never stopped!

[skepticscott]

11. Oh the irony!

And yes..he's as blind to religious privilege as many of the usual suspects over in Religion.

[Heather MC]

15. Ken HAM fitting name H.A.M. Hot Ass Mess

[Blue Owl]

16. Hambone's connected to the...

Ass bone...

[Manifestor_of_Light]

18. You could always call them a gluteus maximus. That'll baffle 'em.

Gluteus maximus is the ass muscle.

[Lordquinton]

20. Even better

call them a gluteus minimus. Also an ass muscle, but the small one.

[AlbertCat]

21. The concept of a "purpose"

.... like the concept of "justice".... is a man made thing. We made it up. It does not exist unless you impose it onto something (just like justice). Nature and all that's in it simply are. It's not nefarious or helpful, but completely indifferent.

[Curmudgeoness]

22. What's good for the goose, is good for the gander.

"I've always found it fascinating how they think their purpose is to impose their message ....... onto people!"

So it is fine to impose YOUR message, but other messages are off limits. Sure, that makes sense to me.

And as to "indoctrinating children", the new Atheist channel will have to start making cartoons for kids before there will be a large number of children watching it...at least from what I saw of the trailer.

[nil desperandum]

25. Ham

also trying to indoctrinate children into an atheistic worldview.


As opposed to indoctrinating them with a world view that makes people like Ham the all important messengers of a magical mystery sky man who has nothing to do but determine who wins the Friday night football in Austin, Texas?

A life of questioning the supposed ruling powers and conventional wisdom will result in far more interesting advances than a life of blind obedience to illusion magic performed by Ham and his cohorts.