Comments on debate.: Public Response To News

Oh,I forgot to mention this; you also said, Mr. Sm...

2010-07-03T15:56:15.588-05:00

Oh,I forgot to mention this; you also said, Mr. Smalley, that you tried to register for an account to respond to the story. I assume you mean at Newsbusters. It takes a while, sometimes about a week or more, to have an account approved with NB so don't take it personally or read anything into it. If it was flat out rejected, that's one thing, but to have no response for quite some time

You're right. My words do not guarantee the tr...

2010-07-03T13:20:15.420-05:00

You're right. My words do not guarantee the truth.

But it's a lot more reasonable explanation than "A magic god did it."

"Humans can't mentally deal with the fact...

2010-07-03T12:05:55.511-05:00

"Humans can't mentally deal with the fact we are it--the end--the ultimate authority, all alone in this world adn responsible for our own protection"

I don't see why they couldn't deal with that. I think we could.
But that is just your perception of reality. Doesn't mean it is the truth.

I was raised Baptist as well, and we were not taug...

2010-07-03T12:00:42.221-05:00

I was raised Baptist as well, and we were not taught that. So I dont't really understand your story as it doesn't seem in line with Baptist beliefs. But then again your personal perception of what happened back then was your reality. Others may have had a different perception.

Pete, That which we 'feel' is not god. It...

2010-07-03T11:58:06.075-05:00

Pete,

That which we 'feel' is not god. It is the evolutionary and biological instinct to be drawn to something greater than ourselves for protection and guidance.

We see it in the wild the moment a young deer is born. It instinctively knows who Mommy is and stays close for protection.

Humans can't mentally deal with the fact we are it--the end--the

Pete, I wasn't raised in a particular denomin...

2010-07-03T11:52:07.556-05:00

Pete,

I wasn't raised in a particular denomination. I started going to a Baptist church with a friend around the age of 14 and was baptized at 16.

I attended an Episcopalian church with some of my family members--but always ended up back at the Baptist church where it all started.

The camps I went to were Baptist.

You're right about the &

"Then as a skeptic, I come along and say &quo...

2010-07-03T11:51:07.247-05:00

"Then as a skeptic, I come along and say "sometimes the doctor IS wrong, and sometimes the wrong procedure IS performed, and sometimes he hurts you...are you sure there's really a doctor back there? Because that really doesn't fit your description of what you think that doctor is."

Then a believer would respond..."I'm sorry you had that experience. But

Julie, I've enjoyed your posts. We're rea...

2010-07-03T11:45:42.400-05:00

Julie,

I've enjoyed your posts. We're really getting somewhere.

You've made an excellent point, with one major adjustment.

Atheists do not "believe there is no god." Atheism is not a faith opposite of Christianity, projecting to know the truth.

Atheism simply claims that all religions and beliefs are without sufficient proof. We

David, What denomination were you raised? Becaus...

2010-07-03T10:38:13.001-05:00

David,

What denomination were you raised?

Because most christians do not believe works or confessing of sins will get you to heaven.

Thats why they can sin and get away with it...lol. God forgives.

Salvation or baptism depending on the denomination is what keeps you out of hell. So that story of your camp experiences sound odd to me, as I went to them

Mr. Smalley, I assure you I did read your blogs an...

2010-07-03T09:40:46.285-05:00

Mr. Smalley, I assure you I did read your blogs and comments for quite some time. I do not 'scan read' as you assume, I was quite thorough. Some of my statements were not intended to be direct quotes, rather paraphrases of your statements to show how they are coming across to others. Your words: "Here's what I actually said "...child abuse: inducing psychosis with

As a young Christian, I visited several camps and ...

2010-07-03T09:24:12.945-05:00

As a young Christian, I visited several camps and youth group sessions. In fact, I typically played the drums for such gatherings.

There were some fun times, there was camaraderie, there was a sense of belonging--but that is also available in society through group psychology.

We can experience the same things on a secular football team, or camping with friends. The

Excellent post, Pete! You've brought up some r...

2010-07-03T09:23:27.967-05:00

Excellent post, Pete! You've brought up some really good points.

I too, was raised Christian. In fact, into my twenties, although I didn't quite believe anymore, I was playing drums for local churches because of the group feelings I had toward the congregations, and the hope I had that 'God' did exist.

Your analogy about the doctor is very powerful, and

You said yourself many times atheism doesn't a...

2010-07-03T07:20:26.470-05:00

You said yourself many times atheism doesn't actually mean anything.

There are no moral rules to follow, no doctrine or code to live by. Atheism doesn't mean anything.

Atheism is something different for every individual who calls themselves such. Atheism in and of itself is an empty word. It is simply the absence of belief.

Because they claim no set of

It's also interesting that I registered for an...

2010-07-02T21:30:51.408-05:00

It's also interesting that I registered for an account to respond on that news site, and my account was not approved.

I am just sitting--unable to defend myself as Christians throw the nastiest insults they can at me without knowing the first thing about me, or researching a single thing about what Atheism actually means, or if my comments are warranted from a child and adolescent

Julie, I don't think you've read my posts...

2010-07-02T21:22:19.233-05:00

Julie,

I don't think you've read my posts. I'm just being honest. You've called my views narrow, yet you obviously do not understand them.

You said "Not ALL religiously funded/Christian run child care facilities hold a view of everpresent demons waiting to pounce."

I began this very post by saying "I do not feel that all Christian

I appreciate the comments. I'm glad we can hav...

2010-07-02T21:07:30.938-05:00

I appreciate the comments. I'm glad we can have this open discussion.

Anonymous accused me of only pointing out a problem and never offering a solution, but I did say this in my original post: "Please use a lot of consideration when choosing your child care facility...Give your kids a fighting chance; let them choose their religion once they understand it from a logical

There really was nothing clarified here. I read t...

2010-07-02T15:43:20.218-05:00

There really was nothing clarified here. I read the original post, most of the comments that followed, and this 'clarification' entry...Fact remains, Mr. Smalley's very narrow scope of 'religious' teachings via daycare is just that; narrow. Not ALL religiously funded/Christian run child care facilities hold (as a fundamental belief, whether or not its taught to the children)

Mr. Smalley, I agree that the attention needs to f...

2010-07-02T15:36:09.564-05:00

Mr. Smalley,
I agree that the attention needs to focus on the issue at hand. What do you suggest that we do about people sending their children to Christian-based day care? I think your readers would like to hear about what you DO stand for as opposed to what you DON'T stand for. What type of child rearing would be acceptable in your eyes as a responsible citizen? Where should moral

I want the attention to be on the issue. Not me. I...

2010-07-01T22:42:33.281-05:00

I want the attention to be on the issue. Not me. It needs to be addressed.

Do you enjoy this new attention, despite its negat...

2010-07-01T22:24:06.238-05:00

Do you enjoy this new attention, despite its negativity, or would you prefer not to have it?

If you’re interested in reading my full original s...

2010-07-01T18:29:54.906-05:00

If you’re interested in reading my full original statement as opposed to just reading the quote-mining on the news, please visit here: http://www.dogmadebate.com/2010/06/church-day-care.html#comments

The news story with more comments can be found here: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/nathan-burchfiel/2010/06/30/american-atheist-editor-christian-daycare-child-abuse