Channel: The Atheist Voice

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Tags: hemant mehtachristian apologeticsatheismatheistschristianityatheistreligiondebatewhy do atheists fight over small things?friendly atheistreligious debategodfight

Description: Why Do Atheists Fight Over Small Things? Hemant Mehta (friendlyatheist.com, patreon.com/Hemant , facebook.com/friendlyatheist) Someone asked me recently why atheists so often pick petty fights. They'll sue cities over things like Christian prayers at city council meetings or a Nativity scene outside a courthouse in December. Maybe, to you, those don't seem like five alarm fires. Even the Daily Show once made fun of the Freedom From Religion Foundation because they wrote a warning letter to the owner of a small diner who was giving customers a 15% discount if they openly prayed before a meal. Those things may be illegal, by the letter of the law, but c'mon. Do these things really bother atheists? Can't we just let these little things go? No. We shouldn't. I think we need to go after every single violation of church/state separation. Here's the simple reason why: Whenever we let these things slide, Christians begin doing it more often. If we don't speak up about the Nativity scene, the city will think that promoting Christianity is okay. They'll put Bible verses on government documents. They'll begin official events with Christian prayers. And eventually, this stuff becomes tradition -- making it even harder to stop in the future. It's like the Broken Windows theory of policing. If you take small acts of vandalism seriously, and people know you're going to come after them for even minor problems, it'll stop more serious crimes from taking place. Think back to the 1950s, when "In God We Trust" became our official motto. Atheists didn't raise a big fight back then -- we couldn't. We were unpopular, we were already associated with those "godless Communists," and the motto was adopted. And now? That phrase is in city halls, on police cars, and there's no legal way for atheists to fight against it because it's considered ceremonial. Same thing with the phrase "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. It's been there so long that the courts say it's not an establishment of religion. They say it's not about promoting Christianity... even though it's totally about promoting Christianity. That's why church/state separation groups go after every infraction they think they have a valid case against. Better to stop these things now because later may not be an option. That's why I encourage all of you to speak up if you can if your teacher is proselytizing in the classroom or your coach is encouraging prayers before a game. It's not okay, but it won't stop unless someone has the courage to call them out on it. And the funny thing about this is that the people who tend to complain about atheists fighting these battles, are the very people who would freak out if a Muslim did anything like it. When they do it, it's Sharia Law. But when Christians do it, it's just tradition. Join the conversation. Leave your questions and comments below and we'll try to address them in future videos. Don't forget to subscribe for more! Also, follow us at ... twitter.com/atheistvoices facebook.com/TheAtheistVoices plus.google.com/u/0/b/106662137332631352312/106662137332631352312/posts/p/pub theatheistvoice.tumblr.com theatheistvoice.com The Atheist Voice provides a platform for discussion for atheist leaders, authors, bloggers, activists, and everybody else who is passionate about atheism, and secularism. Join the discussion by commenting under the videos or submitting video responses. If you'd like to collaborate on this channel or if you'd like to appear in our videos please visit our website TheAtheistVoice.com