Quake3World

EtUL wrote:What makes you think I've said I'm not sure? I've been quite avid in my beliefs, even pointing out as per a couple verses in Mark and Luke I believe I'm eternally damned as I deny the spirit.

EtUL wrote:The problem is that both teams on this are playing a different sport.

EtUL wrote:Odd that is, only seeking literature and answers that reinforce previously held viewpoints and not entertaining anything to the contrary.

Fender wrote:Ask your mega-church going parents to reconcile what they do with Matthew 6:5 - 7

5. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites [are]: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
7. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen [do]: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

Big Kahuna Burger wrote:

saw this in the subway a couple days ago. what gives?

CINCINNATI - The billboard stands in a prominent spot - at 12th Street and Reading Road in Over-the-Rhine, easily seen by those driving south on Interstate 71.

The simple message on it is even more attention-grabbing: "Don't believe in God? You are not alone."

The question, on a background of blue sky and white clouds and accompanied by a Web site - http://www.CinCor.org - is intended to "raise awareness about people who don't believe in God," according to a press release from the United Coalition of Reason.

The Washington D.C.-based organization is erecting what they term "Godless billboards" in Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland to let non-believers know they aren't alone and to announce the creation of local Coalition of Reason chapters where non-believers can meet like-minded people. The http://www.CinCor.org link takes users to the Cincinnati chapter's page. The chapter is actually a coalition of several groups in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky that "advocate science and reason as more reliable sources of knowledge than dogma and faith," according to the release.

The national group has run 10 prior billboard campaigns across the country. In Chicago and New Jersey billboards asked "Are you good without God? Millions are." Transit buses in Des Moines, Iowa carried the same message as the Cincinnati sign.

"Nontheists sometimes don't realize there's a community out there for them because they're inundated with religious messages at every turn," said Fred Edwords, national director of the organization in the release. "So we hope this will serve as a beacon and let them know they aren't alone."

So what exactly are "nontheists?"

The United Coalition of Reason uses the term to describe the "millions of humanists, atheists and agnostics living in the United States," according to the release. The Cincinnati branch cites a recent poll by the American Religious Identification Study indicating about 15 percent of Americans don't believe in a god and/or identify themselves as non-religious. It does not give statistics specific to Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

Edwords told the Enquirer that many nontheists "think they're alone because it's not always prudent to be out," he said.

"People tend to think they're a little isolated. Traditionally religious folk have places to go and go to them, so why not nonreligious people? We just want folks to know we do exist."

And he wants those who do espouse religious beliefs to understand and accept that not everyone shares their views.

So what kind of a "community" do nontheists have? The Cincinnati Atheists Meetup Group holds gatherings for "lively conversation." The Free Inquiry Group of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky hosts speaker presentations and potlucks. Camp Quest Ohio, hosts a summer camp for children of "Athiests, Freethinkers, Humanists, or whatever other terms might be applied to those who hold to a naturalistic, not supernatural world view," according to the Cincinnati coalition's web site.

Edwords said prior billboard campaigns have been met with only minor criticism. "Generally the response is positive," he said. Either people are glad to see the group reaching out or simply chalk it up to free speech.

The billboards cost $5,000 each, paid for by the national group through private donations. They will be up for 30 days.

CINCINNATI - A billboard that reached out to those who don’t believe in God lasted less than 48 hours before threats forced organizers to move it, they said.

Billboard company Lamar Advertising tore down the billboard at the intersection of 12th Street and Reading Road in Over-the-Rhine Thursday morning due to what the United Coalition of Reason – the billboard’s sponsor - termed “multiple, significant threats” to the property owner. Lamar re-erected the sign that same day on a billboard tower along the Sixth Street Viaduct in Queensgate. The sign faces traffic traveling west from downtown toward Delhi and Price Hill.

The billboard contains the phrase “Don’t Believe in God? You are not alone,” and lists the web site of the Cincinnati Coalition of Reason, a coalition of atheist and other “free thinking” groups in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky in which members don’t believe in any god.

This is the first time the group has moved a billboard in this year’s campaign. It’s launched 14 prior billboard campaigns in cities throughout the country including this week in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus.

“It (the threats) caught us totally by surprise,” said Fred Edwords, director of the Washington, D.C.-based national organization. He said the report of “multiple, significant” threats came from Lamar.

The situation indicates a need to continue the outreach in Cincinnati, said Shawn Jeffers of Hyde Park, co-coordinator for the local chapter.

“It proves our point, that bigotry against people who don’t believe in a god is still very real in America,” he said in a news release. “Only when we atheists, agnostics and humanists come together and go public about our views will people have a chance to learn that we too are part of the community and deserve respect.”

The billboards are among 1,400 in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky owned by Lamar Advertising. It leases the land that most of those billboards stand on, including the one on Reading Road.

The United Coalition of Reason paid Lamar $3,875 for the 30-day billboard which was visible to southbound traffic on Interstate 71. It waserected Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday afternoon, Lamar informed the group of the threats.

“(The landowner) called and said he was receiving threats and wanted it removed or he’d remove it himself,” said Tom Fahey, vice president and general manager of the company’s Cincinnati office. “We went ahead and moved it. We didn’t want him up there climbing on a ladder, trying to get it down.”

The owner didn’t specify what types of threats he had received, said Fahey.

Cincinnati police have received no complaints of threats involving that location.
The owner was unable to be reached Thursday.

Lamar does not notify property owners of billboard content, but “we comply with community standards so we usually don’t have any real issues,” said Fahey. He didn’t think this one would cause such controversy. “It’s pretty innocuous in my mind,” he said of the ad.

Lamar owns the land that the Queensgate billboard sits on so Fahey doesn’t expect any issues with the new spot.