Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Defiant Heretic · 10-28-2002, 12:55 AM

I recently located a petition at <a href="http://www.e-thepeople.org/" target="_blank">e.thePeople</a> named "What happened to freedom of religion?"
I sent the admins of this site the following eMail, which elaborates on the issue, so I won't bother explaining first.

Quote:

I am writing to inform you that the petition "What happened to freedom of religion?" (<a href="http://www.e-thepeople.org/a-national/petition/3540/view" target="_blank">http://www.e-thepeople.org/a-national/petition/3540/view</a>) contains inaccurate and misleading information.

It states that "These Atheist movements also demand that the Federal Communications Commision (sic) prohibit any form of Christian �worship� services, or Christian television programming."
This is a rumor that has been circulating for several years. The true story behind this can be found here: <a href="http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/fcc1.htm" target="_blank">http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/fcc1.htm</a>

The petition also states that a television show, Touched by an Angel, "was cancelled for using the word �God� in its episodes." Although I do not claim to know why this show was cancelled, I am aware of many other shows that have used this word. They have not been cancelled, nor has anyone attempted to do so.

As it stands, the petition attempts to portray atheists as people who seek to forbid others from practicing religion. This could not be further from the truth. We merely do not wish to be forced to practice religion, nor have religious organizations supported by our tax money. Both of these are forbidden by the Constitution, the former by the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, the second by the interpretation of this clause in the Lemon v. Kurtzman Supreme Court ruling.

I respectfully request that this information be corrected and that the petition be either removed, or restarted containing only information that is accurate (in which case those who have already signed it should be notified, so they can sign it again if they wish). I thank you for your time.

Anyway, I just felt like informing the people here of the situation.

[ October 28, 2002: Message edited by: Defiant Heretic ]</p>

dangin · 10-28-2002, 05:06 AM

touched by an angel was canceled because it sucked.

theyeti · 10-28-2002, 06:00 AM

Quote:

Lately there has been movements by some to pass legislature which would ban the use of any reference to Christian themes and motifs in our schools, as well as the study of Gospel (biblical) readings.

Uh, which legislation would that be? I think we've got an oh-for-three here.

theyeti

Defiant Heretic · 10-28-2002, 10:06 AM

I received this message in response from the administration of the site.

Quote:

Hi,
I respect your oppinion and acknowledge that you would like to have your
oppinion heard. I believe that the most valuable route to informing our
users would be for you to begin a conversation expressing your point of view
in reference to the petition "What happened to freedom of religion?"
I hope that you understand that I cannot in any way alter or censor the
content on this site.
Best,
Anthony

I followed his advice and started a conversation about this issue. You can find it <a href="http://www.e-thepeople.org/a-national/article/12748/view" target="_blank">here</a>.

Buffman · 10-28-2002, 07:55 PM

Excellent work. A personal thanks.

<a href="http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/petition/fcc.htm" target="_blank">http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/petition/fcc.htm</a>

Defiant Heretic · 10-28-2002, 09:33 PM

Conversations at this site seem to disappear fairly quickly if nobody comments on them, so when you read it, write a comment or click on the encourage button (or discourage button, if you are so inclined), so it won't be buried under a few dozen other conversations.

If nobody reads the correction, it won't do much good.

Arrowman · 10-29-2002, 05:55 PM

Heretic, I'm there with you - I have commented on "steveandcarol"'s stupid post, and I've "encouraged" yours.

I note that your post has now been read 200 times and has a popularity of 8.0! I wonder where those people came from....

Dark Jedi · 10-29-2002, 11:51 PM

I was in a guerrelous mood, so I ripped in to steveandcarol too....

Pray as you will
posted 10/30, by Dark Jedi (viewed : 1)
Popularity 5.0 (0 encourage, 0 discourage)

The original mesage does not refer to prayer at all.
If you have information pertaining, please restrain your knee from jerking wildly and post it.

To your demented assertation that prayer is prohibited: That is false. I suggest you wean yourself from the teat of Pat Robertson and research what the actual rulings were, and who brought them to court.

Here's a hint: The vast majority were brought by the religious, mostly Christians who resented having to pray the way a different, majority group was trying to force them to.

Writer@Large · 10-30-2002, 03:41 AM

Um ... newsflasth to all parties: <a href="http://www.cbs.com/primetime/touched_by_an_angel/" target="_blank">Touched by an Angel hasn't been cancelled at all</a>.

--W@L

galiel · 10-30-2002, 05:10 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Writer@Large:
<strong>Um ... newsflasth to all parties: <a href="http://www.cbs.com/primetime/touched_by_an_angel/" target="_blank">Touched by an Angel hasn't been cancelled at all</a>.

--W@L</strong>

I've always loved the title of that show, since I consider all devout Christians to be quite "touched".

It is also a good name for a support group of defrocked pedophile priests

[ October 30, 2002: Message edited by: galiel ]</p>

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

10-28-2002, 05:06 AM	#2
dangin Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: The Middle, Kansas Posts: 2,637	touched by an angel was canceled because it sucked.

10-28-2002, 07:55 PM	#5
Buffman Beloved Deceased Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: central Florida Posts: 3,546	Excellent work. A personal thanks. <a href="http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/petition/fcc.htm" target="_blank">http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/petition/fcc.htm</a>

10-28-2002, 09:33 PM	#6
Defiant Heretic Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 1,288	Conversations at this site seem to disappear fairly quickly if nobody comments on them, so when you read it, write a comment or click on the encourage button (or discourage button, if you are so inclined), so it won't be buried under a few dozen other conversations. If nobody reads the correction, it won't do much good.

10-29-2002, 05:55 PM	#7
Arrowman Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Adelaide, South Australia Posts: 1,358	Heretic, I'm there with you - I have commented on "steveandcarol"'s stupid post, and I've "encouraged" yours. I note that your post has now been read 200 times and has a popularity of 8.0! I wonder where those people came from....

10-29-2002, 11:51 PM	#8
Dark Jedi Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Afghanistan Posts: 4,666	I was in a guerrelous mood, so I ripped in to steveandcarol too.... Pray as you will posted 10/30, by Dark Jedi (viewed : 1) Popularity 5.0 (0 encourage, 0 discourage) The original mesage does not refer to prayer at all. If you have information pertaining, please restrain your knee from jerking wildly and post it. To your demented assertation that prayer is prohibited: That is false. I suggest you wean yourself from the teat of Pat Robertson and research what the actual rulings were, and who brought them to court. Here's a hint: The vast majority were brought by the religious, mostly Christians who resented having to pray the way a different, majority group was trying to force them to.

10-30-2002, 03:41 AM	#9
Writer@Large Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2000 Posts: 7,198	Um ... newsflasth to all parties: <a href="http://www.cbs.com/primetime/touched_by_an_angel/" target="_blank">Touched by an Angel hasn't been cancelled at all</a>. --W@L

Freethought & Rationalism Archive

The archives are read only.