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I want to extend my congratulations to the Atheist Agenda students The University of Texas at San Antonio.  They put themselves on the line in public to raise awareness. Much like the Blasphemy Challenge they have found a way to be controversial thereby grabbing attention and literally forcing theists to think.  I should bring you up to speed if you're not familiar.  Over the last few days Atheist Agenda students have gathered on campus with magazines and books of various types of pornography and offered to swap any holy book for some porn.  The campaign is called smut for smut.  

Typically the reactionary over-emotional irrational thinking of theists hinders them from contemplating why a group would compare the bible to porn.  The irony is unique here in that theists are taught by their religious leaders to avoid pornography, yet pornography is one of the most successful businesses on the planet and made so largely by religious people.  The gut reaction of a theist when seeing someone turn in their bible for porn is to be disgusted or upset.  This reaction happens in part as a defense mechanism due to years of brainwashing.  Their defense is to avoid thinking about the bible in such a negative light.  One can only hope the campaign forces contemplation among the more sane theists out there, and from my years of experience watching them I believe it does.  For what it's worth the students have stated that this isn't about being for porn, it's about being anti-bible.  

I could go on and on but I don't want to lose you.  The main reason I'm writing this is to implore you to spread the word of this campaign.  It's already received national attention in several news pieces and it's the type of story that will force people to think about the vile disgusting nature of a book they call Holy.  

Here is how you can help...

Follow the Atheist Agenda on twitter and spread the word on twitter to follow them: http://twitter.com/AtheistAgenda

Check out their blog: http://atheistagendautsa.blogspot.com/

Engage in a discussion with anyone commenting on the project in the many national pieces currently running online. 

Here is a thread originally started by Brian37 on this site: http://www.rationalresponders.com/forum/19843

Here are two news stories on youtube from national news about the campaign: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1P44h0XoGk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU_7j5Ctuo4

Here is one more story from Chris Deluna on smut for smut.

Last weeks atheist hero has got to be Angie the Anti Theist who smashed taboos about abortion by tweeting all the way through an at home abortion by pill procedure and engaging anyone who had a problem with it.  Add her on twitter as well!  http://twitter.com/AntitheistAngie

We've heard the terrible news about the coup d'etat at the RichardDawkins.net Forums (RDF)!

We sympathize deeply with the plight of all the members of that whole vibrant community, who have been so rudely uprooted and tossed out. We've heard that even long time moderators have had their entire accounts deleted, including thousands of posts and years of community building effort. (Here's a detailed account from a former forum admin.)

If you feel like a refugee , we extend an invitation to find support here at the Rational Response Squad forums. We're one of the oldest and largest forums for the atheist activists, and we treat our contributors as valuable members of a community. Our rules are quite straightforward, and our moderator team is measured and fair. We welcome anyone who wants to engage in free-thinking discussion and rational debate, and that includes theists of all flavors as well.

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Welcome, and ...

Stay rational!

 I was having a conversation with my girlfriend (atheist), and i made the statement that i consider atheism the most important cause that i support.

She is a vegan and she supports ethical treatment of animals. I agree with her, but i don't feel like making that big of a sacrifice to support it if such a large majority of Americans believe in the bible which says they are superior to animals.

Similarly, I don't pay too much attention to politics when so many people are voting Republican for the simple fact that they are against abortion.

I tend to focus entirely on atheism because theism prevents many other causes i would support.

I was just wondering what you thought of my view and also...

Why is atheism so important to you?

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I must've heard the words "an atheist can do no good" hundreds of times in the last few years.  It must be so hard to imagine how atheists can do good without the upstanding moral code imparted to us in the Bible or the Quran.  Sure I wouldn't sell my daughter into slavery, or kill a man simply for being gay, but I can do other good things instead. 

I'm proud to donate clothes to Goodwill and give money to charity.  But I take a bigger sense of pride in atheist volunteers which was created to unite and showcase acts of goodness by the men in black who apparently can do no good.  Well the door to that argument is being shut more and more everyday as atheists aren't as scared as they once were to show their face (we have religion to thank for our original fear).  We used to do acts of kindness simply because we liked doing acts of kindness.  But after being accused so often of being no-do-gooders some of us decided to show off what we've been doing all our lives while letting others know we don't believe in a god.  We believe good deeds are the work of men.  If good deeds are the works of god, well certainly bad deeds are as well.

I think EVERYONE here should rightfully condemn these acts. Some sicko is burning down churches of all classes and denominations in Texas. I hope this person gets caught, and I hope this is merely the act of a demented person.

THERE IS NO EXCUSE EVER for destruction of property or advocating violence!

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-02-10-church-fires-texas_N.htm

Muslim or atheist, or nutcase, whatever. Catch this/these sickos!

Hi Folks

I am new here; you guys seem like you might be able to help counter the distribution of misleading, harmful anti-gay propaganda in maryland's public schools. (I'm from the UK by the way, but it incenses me that such bigotry is possible.) 

In the Washington Post, on Friday a report described how public schools in Montgomery County, Maryland, are legally forced to give out leaflets from an extremist religious group that tells students gay people can become straight. The fliers, distributed to students in the county's schools  on Thursday, claim that 'Change Is Possible' and that thousands of homosexuals leavign the lifestyle is proof.

PFOX is allowed to do this because the message is not deemed to be 'hate speech'. The organization behind this initiative is Parents And Friends of Gays and Exgays (www.pfox.org).

This should be opposed because the this kind of therapy is completely ineffective, it has caused great harm to those who end up on the programs and it promotes the message that being gay is just a choice - possibly encouraging prejudice towards vulnerable young gay people, at a time when gay peopel are at their most insecure, and unsure of themselves.

My state never ceases to amaze me for the crazies we have. I've personally seen a similar event from a man who tried to rip the doors off several retail stores including mine. He succeeded in ripping one off at a video store while yelling, "Let God into your life". My clerk held on to our door and she got bruises so he was charged with assault.

In the case of this Merritt Island woman, she thought she was God's messenger and attempted to shoot her neighbors.

See: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/os-gods-messenger-shooting-20100214,0,5735096.story