Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Novowels · 08-31-2002, 11:00 PM

Quote:

It's been nearly a year since the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and still the questions linger-including perhaps the ultimate question: Where was God on September 11th?

This seems like it will be a decent program. It looks like it will honestly give both sides of the story equal time, at least according to the quotes on the website. There are no atheist quotes-- only agnostic ones-- on the site but I hope there will be some hard hitting atheist points in the actual program. (it seems to be dealing with people believing in God mostly) Unfortunately, some of the people that "lost faith" after Sept. 11th seem tailor made for the stereotype of "god-hating atheists" and everyone's favorite the "they're just rebelling" excuse. I imagine that's pretty understandable in this case. At least it'll get people thinking.

Of course, since it seems fairly impartial I'm sure the Christians will decry the program as having a "liberal slant" or somesuch nonsense. Anyways, I thought I'd mention this program since I just found it through happenstance and hadn't seen it anywhere else, it seems like it would be of interest to people around here.

Some really good quotes:

Quote:

"From the first moment I looked into that horror on September 11th, into that fireball, into that explosion of horror, I knew it," says Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete. "I recognized an old companion. I recognized religion."

and:

Quote:

"To me it [two people that jumped from a tower hand-in-hand] was just the bleakest possible image of the whole thing," author Ian McEwan says. "What I saw was utter desperation... I found no hope in that at all. If there is a God, he's a very indifferent God."

It definately isn't a pro-atheist program (those are only a couple of the quotes from agnostics), but so far it's giving nonbelief more of a fair shake than I thought it would get in America right now.

I don't like most Sept. 11th TV programs, but I'm definately going to be setting the VCR for this one.

[edit to fix UBB and edit grammar]

[ September 01, 2002: Message edited by: Novowels ]</p>

08-31-2002, 11:12 PM

I have GOT to see this one. It'll be fun to see all the pathetic excuses the religionists make for their god(s).

lpetrich · 09-01-2002, 10:33 AM

It would be fun to ask about converting to Islam, since Allah is clearly a more powerful god.

Autonemesis · 09-01-2002, 10:53 AM

Quote:

"At this stage, I have not questioned Him," says Bernie Heeran, a retired firefighter whose son Charlie worked at Cantor Fitzgerald and was killed on September 11th. "He had nothing to do with this. There were a lot more people who could have been killed. He was fighting evil that day like He does every day."

"He had nothing to do with this", and yet "He was fighting evil that day"? Was there some greater evil that I failed to notice, but which held God's undivided attention and prevented Him from taking action in NY? I will never understand how people can be ignorant of such cognitive dissonance when it is right there in front of their nose, screaming "CONTRADICTION!! CONTRADICTION!!"

Novowels · 09-01-2002, 11:48 PM

I kind of hope they play that whole "Billy Graham blames everyone he personally hates for 9/11" soundbite. Truly religious hypocrisy at its finest.

Doug · 09-02-2002, 03:49 PM

Kind Bud,

I'm sure there were some evil homosexuals to deal with or people having sex out of wedlock somewhere in the world at that moment.

Skid · 09-03-2002, 09:29 AM

Attention fans of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod:

Quote:

From the August 31, 2002 issue of TV Guide:
[Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero] will air on 09/03 and will include a contribution from Lutheran Rev. David Benke, who led a prayer at the Yankee Stadium memorial, tells of getting hate mail afterward and being accused of heresy for sharing the stage with those of other religions. "Is religion really a part of a lust for power and control in peoples' lives?" he asks.

I'm looking forward to hearing Benke comment on this issue. Yes, it's true, there's a whole bunch of Lutherans who are *really pissed* at him for "violating the LCMS constitution", which renounces unionism (church-fellowship with the adherents of false doctrine),and syncretism (worship with non-Christians).

As a former Lutheran, this fascinates me -- it's such a glaring example of the arrogance of a group that thinks it has a monopoly on the truth.

bluefugue · 09-03-2002, 10:40 AM

"He was fighting evil that day" sounds like it characterizes God as a superhero.

"I'm not normally a praying man, but if you're up there, help me, Superman!"

missus_gumby · 09-03-2002, 01:13 PM

Quote:

"From the first moment I looked into that horror on September 11th, into that fireball, into that explosion of horror, I knew it," says Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete. "I recognized an old companion. I recognized religion."

That's almost what I thought at the time...

...in the UK it was lunchtime. I was taking a few minutes off work and surfing the web, and as usual I went to the UK Yahoo site to see if there were any noteworthy news items. I suppose the picture of the first building to be hit must have been posted on Yahoo within a minute or two of it happening. I called the other guys in the office over to my screen to take a look. As we were looking at the picture, I said but one word:

"Religion."

No one disagreed.

Martin

Starboy · 09-03-2002, 06:20 PM

What happened on 9-11 was horrible, no one could ever condone such a thing. What has me perplexed is why do people wonder where god is only when bad things happen to our side? Why don't people wonder where god is when we rain death and destruction on our enemies?

Starboy

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

08-31-2002, 11:12 PM	#2
atheist_in_foxhole Guest Posts: n/a	I have GOT to see this one. It'll be fun to see all the pathetic excuses the religionists make for their god(s).

09-01-2002, 10:33 AM	#3
lpetrich Contributor Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Lebanon, OR, USA Posts: 16,829	It would be fun to ask about converting to Islam, since Allah is clearly a more powerful god.

09-01-2002, 11:48 PM	#5
Novowels Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Sydney Posts: 1,658	I kind of hope they play that whole "Billy Graham blames everyone he personally hates for 9/11" soundbite. Truly religious hypocrisy at its finest.

09-02-2002, 03:49 PM	#6
Doug Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: New York, NY Posts: 629	Kind Bud, I'm sure there were some evil homosexuals to deal with or people having sex out of wedlock somewhere in the world at that moment.

09-03-2002, 10:40 AM	#8
bluefugue Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 1,427	"He was fighting evil that day" sounds like it characterizes God as a superhero. "I'm not normally a praying man, but if you're up there, help me, Superman!"

09-03-2002, 06:20 PM	#10
Starboy Banned Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Tallahassee, FL Reality Adventurer Posts: 5,276	What happened on 9-11 was horrible, no one could ever condone such a thing. What has me perplexed is why do people wonder where god is only when bad things happen to our side? Why don't people wonder where god is when we rain death and destruction on our enemies? Starboy

Freethought & Rationalism Archive

The archives are read only.