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Challenge the Blasphemy?
Posted on: May 10, 2007 - 12:19am
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Challenge the Blasphemy?
We can get free books just by saying we believe in God and we're praying for people! I think we should all make videos and get their books, even if we've taken the Blasphemy Challenge. Here's my reply: Think I can convince them I'm sincere?
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Lee Strobel is actually a pretty sweet author if you enjoy fiction. I wouldn't mind a free copy of one of his books.
I think the Blasphemy thing is possibly one of the dumbest ideas I've come across for a while. It's not going to change anyone's mind, it'll just make them think you're a cock - and quite rightly I may add.
Freedom of religious belief is an inalienable right. Stuffing that belief down other people's throats is not.
I'm going to have to agree with The Patrician. I can't really see a point in the whole blasphemy challenge thing. It comes across as a bunch of angry adolescents trying to piss their parents off, and makes us look like jerks.
Perhaps you guys are right, though I'd tend to disagree. However, I'm just trying to get a couple of free books from these guys. This isn't teh Blasphemy Challenge, but "Challenge the Blasphemy," a Christian response.
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I think you are missing the point of the Blasphemy Challenge. It's more of a coming out of the closet for atheists then changing minds.
No, it's more a case of being a complete arsehole on internet TV. Seriously, what the hell are they trying to achieve? You can choose to be an atheist without being pointlessly offensive to people who don't share your non-beliefs.
It's stupid and childish.
Freedom of religious belief is an inalienable right. Stuffing that belief down other people's throats is not.
There have already been quite a few posts explaining the Blasphemy Challenge and its purpose.
Read some of them here.
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Click on the video (off of the "play" button) and then go to my profile, then watch my reply to the Blasphemy Challenge. Tell me where I was childish. OK, I did insult 3 of the 21 religions I denied (Spiritualism, Zoroastrianism and Scientology) but that's pretty good, I think. Yes, I was childish in my "My OWN Blasphemy Challenge" video, but that was for comedy. And I got a few laughs. Jokes can be childish, right?
I'll disagree with Arletta, there were a few that were "childish" but most of them, a vast majority, were basically "I deny the existence of the holy spirit". Some were borderline childish (such as CapnOAwesome's official blasphemy challenge, where he denied in the churches, or AngryLittleGirl's response) and a couple were childish, but most were not.
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If America's political climate was the same as Britains then it would b, but it's not.
If you admit to being an atheist here then people will shrugg.
It's a complete non-statement.
In many parts of America, particularly in the Bible Belt, it's social suicide.
Perhaps someone could make a thread compiling articles and explaining the situation that non-believers face in America? It would be informative to Europeans on what's going on over there?
Actually find him really annoying...
It's the narrative more than anything else, rammed to the gills with rhetoric and maybe a little pretentiousness... he's really not as sceptical as he makes out!
Even if you were treating it like a fiction or satire you could only cringe!
OK, perhaps the ones I looked at were bad examples. I just don't see the point of it though, what does it achieve?
Strafio - Appreciate your point about the US. I am aware of the bible belt stuff through friends who live there but have no practical experience of it. However, if it's social suicide to admit your an atheist then it's damn near real suicide to blaspheme on Internet TV!
Freedom of religious belief is an inalienable right. Stuffing that belief down other people's throats is not.
You should be cautious when dealing with absolutes especially while espousing the view that an idea is dumb. You may end up being the one to look dumb. We have had several letters and videos posted in which people stated that it was the Blasphemy Challenge that helped steer them off of religion.
She has since made her video private, but here is one that credited the Blasphemy Challenge for snapping her out of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwvC92f321o
You can see it with the thumbnail in my post on 12-28 here.
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Please stop projecting your stupidity and immaturity. Are you sure you didn't mean to call yourself, "The Projector?"
I love how you're being a complete arsheole while bitching about complete arseholes, nice touch.
Vote for Democrats to save us all from the anti-American Republican party!
Please become a Patron of Brian Sapient
You missed my last post in this topic then or were you just up for a bit of subjective criticism?
Fundamentally I think it's dumb but I'm not the world. You've had letters of praise, I'm going to bet you've also had letters or e-mails of condemnation and not just from theists either. Whatever, opinions are like arseholes - everyone has one. Well unless you've had a sphincterotomy...or advanced Crohns...or... uh, yeah. Anyway.
If it works for some people then what the heck, let those birdies fly. It'll probably cause lasting damage to the perception of atheism by moderates but what the hell, go for it. It might do more good than harm.
Psht. Onwards...
Freedom of speech is a double edged sword - if you want to say your piece then you have to let others say theirs. That's the way it works. The same goes for freedom of religious expression - if you want to be an atheist that's cool, if someone wants to be a theist then that's cool also.
Now I appreciate there are people who exploit religions and their believers for their own fundamentalist agendas. That's wrong and always will be. Of course, this also applies to fundamentalist atheists (or militant atheists or angstheists if you prefer) - whilst it's Ok to educate and inform they have absolutely no right to determine what an individual's religious beliefs should be.
Everyone is entiled to their religious or non-religious beliefs. Everyone. Let's not confuse the bastards, the fundamentalist evangelicals and the bombers with those who go to church on a Sunday and help out at the village fete otherwise we're no better than the fruitcakes with their bombs and pamphlets.
Finally, as for me being an arsehole sometimes, mea culpa. The difference between me and a lot of people though is that I know I am.
Freedom of religious belief is an inalienable right. Stuffing that belief down other people's throats is not.
I think its kind of strange how you cant even turn on a tv on a sunday and not find some kind of religous nonsense on half of the channels. But when some people put videos about the opposite on you tube then there a bunch of "arseholes"
Hmmm....
Im a bit stumped by this one.
www.garageband.com/artist/abandonmypeace
Abandon - You seem to be confusing message and methodology.
But, whatever, do what thou will and all that.
Freedom of religious belief is an inalienable right. Stuffing that belief down other people's throats is not.
Look at my blog! It's awesome!
I'm also on this Twitter thing
I complete AGREE with the blasphemy challenge. 100%. All the way. And I'll tell you why: It's basically a variation of the time-honored black mass, specifically reciting the Lord's Prayer backwards. I'm not suggesting that a guy with a pointy tail and sulphur cologne is going to rock up but on a purely psychological perspective it REALLY shakes you up. For those who truly want to free themselves from indoctrination they received as a child I think such a process is invaluable. If however, you have no Christian background then the blasphemy challenge is more a public statement (like confirmation, baptism, marriage, etc) and still holds a certain weight.
Saying "There is no holy spirit, I deny God is fine". It's to the point and does exactly what it says on the tin.
Like this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiaHilTlpCM
Saying "I deny the holy spirit" and then following it up with a litany of abuse is stupid and infantile.
Like this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5rtlSHGRQE
That's what I mean between method and message. The message is the same, the method of delivery isn't.
We could argue this back and forth indefinitely but I don't think either of us is going to change their view so let's just agree to differ, huh?
Freedom of religious belief is an inalienable right. Stuffing that belief down other people's throats is not.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMcxLDbrHR4 that's mine. Tell me if I was childish.
I only got 2 of them. One was not that bad at all, in fact, I would not call it childish at all. Demonique was probably bad. But hey, there were 12000+ replies. You're going to find a bad one here or there. It's inevitable.
Look at my blog! It's awesome!
I'm also on this Twitter thing
You could be right. Im confused about everything.
All Im saying is that if people can get on tv a ramble on about how there IS a god. Then other people should be equally allowed to get on tv and say there is no god without it being an offensive statement.
Maybe Im just missing the point of your argument. I often do that.
www.garageband.com/artist/abandonmypeace
Actually, Ben, I liked yours very much - It was warm, humorous and sincere. If they were all like that then I would shut the hell up about the whole thing.
The problem is that the Opponents of Atheism (sounds like something that Raymond E. Feist might come up with!) aren't going to pick the good, well explained, moderate videos. They're going to cherry pick ones like Demonique's.
If all the BC videos were like yours or the other example I cited then a conversation betwwen an OoA and a moderate Christian might be:
OoA: See how he blasphemes against the holy spirit!
MC: Yes? ...And? I mean hes' not being offensive or anythinG he's just saying what he believes. Hey, it's a free country isn't it?
OoA: But he DISBELIEVES!
MC: Well, yeah. That's his right. And don't stand so close to the kids, you're making me nervous. Creep.
However, when presented with ones like Demonique's it's going to be:
OoA: See how she blasphemems against the holy spirit!
MC: GREAT SCOTT! These atheists have no respect for anything! Verily I must harden my heart to them! Take me and my family to your church post haste!
OoA: Another one hooked *cackle*
And that's my worry.
Abandon - Yeah, you're totally right. The problem you guys have in the US is that three quarters of it are Christians so you're not playing with an even deck. It's not fair but that's life, eh?
Freedom of religious belief is an inalienable right. Stuffing that belief down other people's throats is not.
Indeed.
What makes you think you'll get the free books? Since when have christians not broken promises? I remember awhile back, someone posted a link to a web site where you could get copies of CS Lewis books for free. A bunch of us made requests and they never sent them.
The whole challenge the challenge thing is a scam, just like religion in general. Why be their monkey-boy?
By the way, there's this place called the library where you can get free books too! All without panding to a bunch of idiot theists.
Thank you patrician. I completely see your point, and even though I've subscribed to Demonique (because of other videos) I think she was a bit childish and mocking, and it DOES play into their hands. But they don't use that. They use, generally, much less offensive ones to get the point that "atheists are evil, OMG!" For example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ6nW3O6oqY this video by AngryLittleGirl is, perhaps, the most played blasphemy challenge response. It's cute, it's funny, and though it is mildly mocking, it's not inflammatory in nature. I'd actually say that mine was more offensive than this one, yet I've seen her video played on various christian and anti-atheist websites as evidence of the lows we atheists will reach. In other words: They don't need to find the obviously offensive ones to call us down. They don't even need to show moderate christians the nasty replies. A young-looking girl saying "see you in hell!" is enough. Often, it isn't even the content of the message, but the voice. I'm 25, they won't care so much if I say this because I'm young, but not too young. Demonique666 is 18 but looks to be early 20s, so she may be mistaken for being that age. In other videos, AngryLittleGirl looks her age (18) but in this one she looks like a young teenager, and THAT is what gets them. Not that we disbelieve, but that young people do. That's why there was controversy over RRS advertising in TigerBeat. That's why when christians bring up the blasphemy challenge, one of the first things they bring up is that it's getting YOUNG people to "sell their souls for a DVD". That's why in this video Ergun Caner says, at about 2:30, that the RRS targets youth as if it's some sort of sin. He does say that the "unquestioning faith" that the RRS accuses religion of fostering is, in fact a bad thing, but the fact is that he's one of a very, very small number of christians willing to question. The majority see that the RRS targets youth and are angry. It's not the message, or the way it's presented, but the voice.
Plus, given that I mentioned the free books, and the rest of the videos on my channel are anti-christian, I highly doubt I'll get anything. But we'll see.
Look at my blog! It's awesome!
I'm also on this Twitter thing