'No gods' campaign ignites Christian fire

[joanne_h]

Group promises to oppose 'nutty' atheists​

Posted: December 09, 200810:25 pm EasternAtheists across America have started demanding that they be allowed to post their own promotion during the Christmas season when Nativity scenes appear among other holiday emblems on government grounds, and now an organization has announced a plan to fight back. Among the most common slogans used by atheist organizations is one that has sparked a controversy in the state of Washington, where it is displayed on a sign adjacent to a Christian Nativity. The sign states, "There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds." The sign has generated controversy that has prompted the state to re-evaluate its holiday decoration policy. But now leaders of InGodWeTrustUSA.org say their members will work with state lawmakers and others to try to prevent such attacks on religion, specifically Christianity. "We're certainly not going to give them an easy time," Bishop Council Nedd, chief of the InGodWeTrustUSA.org organization told WND today. "We're looking into how to go about this," he said. "Our 60,000 members are going to try to lobby their state legislators to do what they can in various states and in Congress to keep these signs from being posted, or whether this is even our option." Nedd's group said similar signs now are on display in Olympia, Wash.; Madison, Wis.; and Springfield, Ill. "This new attack on the faith is an insult and In God We Trust will oppose any effort to place these signs in any state capitol or in any government location in Washington, D.C.," Nedd said. "These signs having nothing in common with a menorah, a Nativity scene or a Christmas tree. The message of these ads is one of hate and division. They are yet another attempt by anti-religious bigots to denigrate faith and equate a belief in God with enslavement and to ridicule the vast majority of Americans who believe in God. "Why do these zealots have the right to post signs on public property attacking their countrymen?" Nedd added. "Would anyone stand for an equally hate-filled message being posted by the Klan on Martin Luther King's Birthday? Of course not. Yet that is exactly what these atheist bigots want. And their next step will be to demand one of these signs be posted on the National Mall in Washington, D.C." The Washington state sign was erected by the Freedom from Religion Foundation. In a recent CNN interview, organization chief Dan Barker said, "People have been celebrating the winter solstice long before Christmas. We see Christianity as the intruder, trying to steal the holiday from all of us humans." Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly reported the case. "Seattle now rivals San Francisco for secular-progressive nuttiness," O'Reilly said. "The city fathers are allowing public nakedness in city parks, nude bike riding, and in Fremont, a Seattle suburb, they actually put up a statue honoring Lenin, the father of communism." O'Reilly said Washington state is '"fairly conservative," except for Seatte, where "far-left zealots are running wild." "However, they may have overstepped on this Christmas deal," he said. "I believe that most Americans, even those living in far-left enclaves, respect uplifting traditions like Christmas where peace and love are the theme of the great day. Calling religion 'enslaving' doesn't exactly fit into the peace and love scenario, does it?" In God We Trust describes itself as a national political advocacy organization committed to providing an active voice in opposition to the special interest groups that seek to ban God, religion, and America's religious history from public display and public discourse. Nedd is a traditional Episcopal priest serving as bishop of the Chesapeake and Northeast for the Episcopal Missionary Church.