🚀 go-pugleaf

I walked about Cornell the other day and saw a poster entitled 'GOD IS
DEAD!' After reading it, and feeling disgusted, I thought it equally
"tasteful" (be warned that this theme plays a role throughout this
letter) to reply on the evolution listserv. After all, one name at the
bottom is a student in the class (as am I).

 The name of the organization that put up the posters is called the
'Society for Unbelief.'  A catchy name almost like Dead Poets' Society,
but without the ability to express themselves effectively like the poetry
which the Dead Poets recite in the cave.

The title 'God is dead!' makes one ask the question, "Well, who shot
him?"  The rest of the poster, which I will quote parts of below, gives
the impression that this 'society' has the belief of unbelief -- that God
has *never* existed.  A strange first line to say that someone is now
dead  who they claim has never existed in the first place. But it was eye
catching, I will give them that.

The poster says,

          We seek to open an equal, reasonable debate on the
          existence of "God".

Before that they say,

          The Theistic position is intellectually bankrupt!
          Those who defend the existence of "God" do so
          with no proof, with invalid and unsound arguments,
          and with no moral justification.

It surely made me wonder how such a group could possibly have an open OR
reasonable debate on anything, especially the existence of "God." 
They!ve just declared "the believers" out there guilty of believing in
something that is completely wrong and that they need not bother waste
their breath because anything that they might say would either be
defenseless, unsound, false or just plain stupid. 

The poster goes on to say,

           The reason this [debate] has not been done is that
           the theists fear for the validity of their position!

It seems to me that if a theist even so much as stepped into Goldwin
Swith 134 on Thursday at 6:00, they would be damned to some proverbial
"hell."  This unbelieving society claims to wish for a reasonable and
open debate but will probably end up with a room full of "God"-bashing
atheists instead of a room filled with people who want and *could give*
an intellectual conversation.

The poster then concludes,

           Only through your actions can we bring about a true
           liberation of the mind of man!

Liberation -- WHAT? Do we have here some evangelistic (or fundamentalist)
atheist group trying to "save" us?  (with sarcasm) Oh, please help me! 
And based on the attacking statements above, I wondered (really I am
afraid) if this 'liberation' takes the form of a club that is going to be
used to bash open the 'intellectually bankrupt' minds of 'the believers.'
So, instead of, to quote the poster, "leaving their brain at the church
house door!" this society can splatter it all over Goldwin Smith. Of
course, you can!t help but notice that only "man" can liberate his mind. 
The sexist author of this poster forgot to mention that women can also
liberate their minds.

-Matt
Some final notes and conclusions
------------------------------
(1) The poster is sophomoric!  It is important for atheists to discuss
their opinions, but the method of communicating that opinion should be
well thought out, especially if a group intends to seek to open an equal,
reasonable debate.  This poster was not thought out AT ALL!
(2) The last thing we need is some Jerry Falwell of atheism.
(3) I am not a religious person. I wrote this because I was disturbed by
the way in which this organization was communicating its message.