Freethinker Sunday Sermonette: the murder of Dr. Tiller

Revere, thats pretty simplistic. You could have put a dollar bill up there with a picture of Obama on it just as easily. Each and all of us have our own Gods that we kneel before in actuality or in our own minds. You indicate religion is based in fear. Shit, I would say some of it is insurance too. I am still waiting for about two dozen miracles to be explained by science satisfactorily, rather than by its plausibility. I also want to see that walking on water thing done by someone other than Obama and Criss Angel.

I rank this one right along with the one from Amnesty International with an actor being "tortured". If it wasnt religion, then they would be fighting over _____ fill in the blank.

I believe it says somewhere that thy rod and staff comfort me too. AA would probably not be too kind to your thoughts as religion getting drunks off booze serves a purpose too. Guess they need a 250 an hour shrink on a government subsidy instead?

The shooter was a fundamentalist foaming at the mouth type. This is the reason we have laws and they were in effect when the guy gunned him down. Its mans law that was based upon Gods laws that will judge him. Premeditated murder. But thats okay, he will get off with community service and a slap on the wrist after some lefty argues he was insane. Then the anti-gun lobby would say that he shouldnt have been able to get a gun. Hey, how bout a propane tank with a 2 pound explosive charge strapped to it.

Another good and shocking video post. Keep it up. I like watching them as I have a very open mind about these things. Prove or disprove the existence of God and I'll be right in there with you...whichever way it falls. Until then I like Sundays and the rest of the week based in religion, simple as they and I may be.

So let's see...This was supposed to be on the murder of Dr. Tiller, even though he's never mentioned and the video does not make one single comment about abortion. It careens haphazardly between a senile comedian, horrific war footage, children praying and fundamentalist preachers from different religious traditions...oh, and it feebly tries to connect religion with the Iraq war...eh? Did the maker of this video have no grasp of geopolitics whatsoever? And the music...wow, so inappropriate to the subject matter. This video was jarring and disconcerting, not for what it is trying to say but for what it says about the mind of the person who made it. Are all atheists this confused and incoherent?

The creator of the video could have edited the first 6:45 minutes, which came of as a waste of time, and had nothing to do with Dr. Tiller.

The other 40 seconds seemed rather odd since Dr. Tiller was murdered in a church, where he served as a deacon. To say "Religion is a by-product of fear..." is to be disrespectful to him, and the faith that helped him keep going on, in the face of opposition.

Thanks for this Revere.

Every bit of it was appropo and served to underscore the violence and oppression that is THE essence of religious language and thought -- and the horrific impact of religious thought in action as it practices its "love" on the "other".

It is of course lost on people of "faith" (i.e., delusion -- organized and otherwise) who glory in their willful ignorance and the essential fear and violence that underlies their delusion.

After all, it is the highest aspiration of these people to be "bathed in blood."

MRK, while one cannot disprove God and I believe no one has proven god, one can easily look at the world and disprove the idea of a loving AND powerful God.

Walking on water is written about but can YOU prove that Jesus even existed, much less walked on water.

Insurance does explain a lot of belief. A friend who is atheist was told by another friend "please try to believe, it might be true". Of course the god of another religion might be true in which case she would have gotten the wrong insurance package. INSURANCE! What a really sad reason to believe. Pretty much acknowledges that most view of God are God's that are bastards who would inflict eternal punishment on anyone who didn't get it right (yet still lets unbelievers breed and produce more humans who will very likely not get it right).

K-I am not worried at all about it. I am sure that God is saving me for something really messy later on in life as I have had so many chances at being part of the first 6 and change minutes of the video. Every opportunity to die and fry as they say in the foxholes.

Vern-Thats a mis-characterization of what "those people " are I would say. Thats also where it starts... Those people..Nice definition. If it werent for religion this country wouldnt even exist or likely ever have gotten started. Nor would England.

Those people? Last time it was the Jews. Who's next-Baptists? Might not get too much of a fight out of me on that but only because they are intolerant fundamentalists. The message is clear, its up to you to accept or not. God gave us the free will to make that choice... If you believe. Wont catch me ever handing out Bibles in a combat zone either. Nor would I try to make a statement by lying down in front of a bulldozer. There is a difference between faith and just being stupid. Science is not able to answer any of the really big questions and religion isnt able to prove any of them either. Interesting concept and a dilemma that we were put into. Hey.... Anyone seen my RA doll? Shit, I cant find my Wicca beads.

But those people? Hey you could always just show up and wear a billboard in Riyadh that says "Allah Sucks". At least the Muslims show respect for their unprovable God, just as I do. I dont kill abortionists even though I could and in great numbers. They wouldnt do it out of fear by the time I got through.

But I show respect for both the law of God and man. It would be mans law in a different town that would take you down to the square on the following Saturday to be beheaded for your lack of respect of their particular God. The same for performing an abortion.

This is a disassociation from war to religion and thats not right. Its a money war and not a video about abortion and religion. But always the left tries to intermingle it, with the far left trying to ensure that all us guys down South with our Guns and Religion get marginalized. The left also tries to intimidate by suggesting that the believers are just plain stupid. Now that really gets people pissed. Its stupid and against the law to murder people and that law came from where? Judeo-Christian values. Same as Islamic law. You screw up and kill someone you will be held accountable with your body to man, your soul is still yours and you can deliver it for judgment any way you see fit.

Its up to you and I wont lift a finger to push you either way.

The video spelled out WAR: We Are Right.

But the question that always seems to be needed is: WHY?

Between opposing sides this is usually: We Hate You.

Sad..,

All in the name of religion.

The problem with this video is that it flies above the level of 'concrete thinking'. The people who most need to be affected by it struggle to grasp its message and likely give up the effort.

"Evil people who want weapons of mass destruction". Hand the speaker a mirror, I guess.

Thanks for posting this. I am so sorry for what happened to Dr Tiller.

I might take anti-abortionists seriously when they demonstrate that they give as much of a damn about saving all the babies born into poverty and starvation, as they do about a collection of cells.

Religion is intricately connected to partriarchy. All that need to control women without ever thinking of giving them their fair share of the world's resources that might make child-bearing a more suitable option. Dr Tiller was a hero. He did not try to control women.

To say "Religion is a by-product of fear..." is to be disrespectful to him, and the faith that helped him keep going on, in the face of opposition.

I tend to agree. Tiller was religious, but he obviously wasn't someone who lived in abject fear. Or if he did, the fear was of failing to be compassionate, or to live up to some other responsibility in the here and now. That's what primarily motivates most of the religious people I know, none of whom are concerned in the least with trivialities like eternal punishment or reward (though I admit I've led a sheltered life in that regard). For them, it's more a matter of being where you're needed, when you're needed.

Which is not to say that there aren't a lot of people who do seem to be motivated mainly by fear, and by the kneejerk anger and bigotry that tend to arise from it. But in the absence of religion, they'd undoubtedly glom onto some other source of absolute certainty -- the free market, for instance -- and be just as destructive and dangerous. Emotionally crippled people usually find a "God" of some kind, and perpetually angry and frightened people usually find a scapegoat.