Take Your Jesus and Shove It, Billy Graham!
Billy Graham – “Atheism Is A Fad Only Fools Follow”
To Mr. Graham:
And sheep are known to follow their shepherd even if he falls off a cliff.
How’s that for foolish?
Billy Graham knows what lies beyond mortal life? What could more foolish than talking to an imaginary friend?? Atheists are finally coming out. That may seem like a fad to someone that has not been oppressed, but I can assure you we will not be fading away like the parachute pants of the 80s.
Here’s the article from kansascity.com
DEAR BILLY GRAHAM: Why does atheism seem to be growing so much in recent years? I guess there have always been people around who didn’t believe in God, but atheists seem to be in the public eye a lot more than they used to be. — M.M.
DEAR M.M.: Yes, atheism has been in the public eye more in recent years, largely because of a few atheists who’ve captured the public’s attention through their books. They aren’t large in number, but they do tend to be aggressive in promoting their ideas.
Why have they drawn so much attention? One reason, I believe, is because they know how to use the media very effectively. They also appeal to people who want to be free from God or any moral restraints. Like the philosophers of Paul’s day who were constantly looking for new ideas to debate, many people today eagerly latch on to the latest fad (see Acts 17:21). Atheism attracts their attention, at least for a while.
In reality, however, modern atheists have very little new to say. In fact, atheism has been around for thousands of years; even the Psalmist, writing hundreds of years before Christ, referred to them: “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’ ” (Psalm 14:1).
Don’t be misled by those who claim God doesn’t exist, because he does. And the ultimate reason we know it is because he came down from heaven and walked on this earth in the person of Jesus Christ. Christ was God in human flesh, and he proved it by rising from the dead.
Billy Graham claims there is a God and Jesus was a god also. Basically, he just pissed all over Judaism and Islam just as much as atheism.
Billy is no more knowledgeable of God’s existence than the common person, but he damned sure has made a lot of money selling Jesus to the public.
Popular atheist writers like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens are making money from sales of their books, documentaries and personal appearances. This cuts into the Christian market and we all know how Christianity despises competition.
Tell Billy Graham what you think of his quote. Send him a message!
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He sounds like a bigot, doesn’t he? I imagine that you are right about him seeing the godless hordes of atheism as quite a threat. Pretty sad.
Also, notice that he indicated that atheists have no moral restraints.
Yeah, that sure is a popular one.
I just added a link to contact Billy Graham at the bottom of the article.
You’re absolutely right that Christianity despises competition. That’s exactly why the cult grew in influence and power throughout the centuries, because of its intolerance and violent destruction of other cults.
Thank you!
I think atheists and christians are on par with using the media.
Atheists are coming out because christian doctrine is invading reason.
It’s easy to take in being called a fool if you know you’re right.
If you adhere to your faith in spite of being wrong, that’s just stupid.
Basically, I think the world needs more education.
Is it proper to link to ones blog in the discussion of another? I’ve just written something related to that.
That’s fine. Post your link.
Thanks, here it is: “A complicated world needs education to match” http://somestepsahead.blogspot.com/2009/07/complicated-world-needs-education-to.html
Well I know that I just can’t stop myself killing people, sleeping with my sister’s husband and eating babies. Atheism is just grand; you get to throw all of that moral crap out of the window and do whatever the fuck you want…Oh no, wait a minute, I remember; most atheists live just like everyone else but often without the bigotry and always without the unnecessary religious violence. Damn it! I backed the wrong horse.
Them there xians must be afeared. The godless are rising and bringing with them a whole bunch of sensible ideas about how to live in, frankly, a far more moral way then they’ve ever done. What’s that you say xian? You must not be too proud of your earthly achievments but it’s absolutely ok to bash a gay person over the head cos he’s a bit different from you? Oh, ok, that seems like a moral way to live. Sign me up!
I think you summed that up very well, Sukey!!
Ta. I have made up some commandments according to, well, me. I wonder if they will catch on:
1) Don’t be a twat to other people. If you do I might just smite thee.
2) Don’t admonish yourself and others for something that a really old and silly book says is a sin. Smitey smitey.
3) Accept people who are different to you. Variety is the spice of life should be your motto in all things
4) Don’t be a twat to other people (many people need telling twice)
5) Tell your children fairy tales and myths as they are fun. Ensure those same children are aware that they are only STORIES before they reach voting age
6) Keep your nose out of other people’s sex lives. It really isn’t any of your business. Just stop it. Unless explicitly invited.
7) Stop being a twat
8.) Evolution is the best theory that anyone has come up with to explain our existence so far. Either a) find something better; b) find the missing link or c) shut the fuck up. The world was not created in 6 days a few thousand years ago. It is very important that you do not believe this bunkum or I will smite thee.
9) If you are one of the idiots who has to believe in something they cannot see, feel, hear, sense or interact with in any way please, please make it something fun. I wanna see imagination people; make it the god of marshmallows and whipped cream or something. I want ponies and unicorns, dancing elves with pink hair, orange potatoes who control the universe via their chip-shaped children on earth. I do not want an old dude with a beard and no sense of humour
10) Don’t believe in things you can’t see, feel, hear, sense or interact with in any way. Or I’m coming to get ya!
That smiley face should be the numer eight. I’m not entirely sure what happened there. I think it must be something to do with an 8 followed by a bracket. I need to learn keyboard speak. Oh well, I kinda like it.
Ta
Bizarro! Thanks for the fix.
Shorter Sukey: please, just stop being a twat!
I vote Sukey for god! (oh, wait, that’s not how it works?)
Yes Personal Failure, shorter works for me. Unfortunately them christian folks like everything kinda wordy and open to as much mis-interpretation as suits their needs.
I suspect if I were voted in as god some of my commandments would be read as “Be as much of a twat as you like; it’s the only way you are getting in to the kingdom of Devon.” Although maybe all of my followers would be atheists which would be cool, but I think if I were elevated to the status of a god then you’d all have to stop believing in me and I’d be left with the idiots. Or would the fact that I had posted here count as real proof of my existence? Aaaaagh. I’ve made my own brain hurt. Let’s just try and get all people to stop being twats!
That was lovely Sukey, thank you for the (many) laughs.
@ brickshaft
Thank you. I’m enjoying this one. I feel I am going to be active…
Actually the “eating babies” part is correct, because of your shameless and amoral promotion and sanction of abortion. How many babies has been slaughtered since Roe vs Wade, 49 million. Abortionists and their cheerleaders are always without exception atheists, because they have no respect for the sanctity of human life.
You would rather fight for the “rights” of Islamic terrorists on a murder spree than for the most venerable in society, the unborn infant.
And wait a darn minute, you say, ” I can’t stop myself killing people”, thats right, communists are atheists, Joe Stalin, Pol Pot, Mao, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, millions upon millions slaughtered in the name of building a godless utopia.
Those ” sensible ideas ” must be building a nanny state where government controls every aspect your godless life.
I can clearly see that you are believer in Christian rhetoric. You won’t last long here.
You’re not here to “win souls for Jesus” are you?
Abortionists and their cheerleaders are always without exception atheists, because they have no respect for the sanctity of human life.
Dr. Tiller was shot in a church where he was serving as an usher. I highly doubt that he was an atheist. If you seriously think that religious believers don’t get or perform abortions, you’re way out of touch with reality.
Oh, wait – I know your answer: anyone who supports abortion is not a True Christian, and anyone who is not a True Christian is a de facto atheist because he or she is either worshiping the wrong god or no god.
As far as the sanctity of human life, I’m really impressed with how much the godly George W. Bush valued life. He approved more death sentences during his term as governor of Texas than any other governor in American history. He also got us embroiled in a senseless, illegal and immoral occupation in Iraq which has cost thousands of lives. Yeah, he values human life a lot.
Cedric, I’ve lost all patience with Christians like you who go around raving about how immoral non-Christians are. You are so wrong it’s pathetic.
He’s out of here. I don’t put up with their bullshit.
In fact, I no longer allow right wing Christian crap here.
They can go post their rhetoric on a million other blogs or start their own.
“because of your shameless and amoral promotion and sanction of abortion”
How many of those abortions would not have been necessary had the mothers been educated about safe sex instead of just abstinence only? Fact: Students of private religious schools are more likely to have an abortion.
“Abortionists and their cheerleaders are always without exception atheists”
You are lying. Back that up with proof.
“communists are atheists, Joe Stalin, Pol Pot, Mao, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, millions upon millions slaughtered in the name of building a godless utopia”
The problem with communism was not that it was too critical of religion; the problem was that it was very similar to religions. The regimes led by those men were dogmatic to the core and gave rise to personality cults that are indistinguishable from cults of religious hero worship. Like religion, these monsters and the system they controlled were about power; power at any cost.
Both Stalin and Mao were paranoid, power hungry, nationalist, dictators.
@ Cedric,
Erm, firstly I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that I have never met a single atheist who has ever eaten a baby (I am assured, however, that human flesh is actually really like pork and I love pork so I probably wouldn’t mind it all that much!). And, whilst I’m on the subject of pork, doesn’t it say somewhere in your book of doom that you shouldn’t eat pork? I’m sure it is. And shellfish. Dost thou, dear Cedric, admonish them folks what eats pork cos the bile-bull tells you it’s wrong? Or are you more interested in sticking your nose into other people’s sex lives? What if I were to eat pork whilst getting laid? Bet you’d want to know all about it then.
The thing of it is, with abortion, it’s none of your cocking business what I or any other woman chooses to do with their body. KEEP YOUR DAMN NOSE OUT. I can asure you that, for most women, abortion isn’t undertaken lightly. The truth of it is that it is far better to remove a bunch of cells before they become a sentient being than bring an unwanted child in to an already over-populated world. Do you think that god is present and jabbing a soul into the cells right at the moment of conception? Even as a ridiculous christian you’ve gotta know that doesn’t happen. The admin would be a total nightmare. What if god forgot one day, or was stoned and then ickle babies all over the world would be born without a soul. Or maybe that’s how you think god creates atheists. I’ve probably given you a really good idea to take back to your church o’ doom there. Oh well, balls to it; I’m not deleting it now.
Do you mean the basic right everyone has (or should) in a free world to be presumed innocent until they are proven guilty? Without being tortured for shits and giggles? Hell yeah, I believe in that. You’ve got to know that, whilst there are a myriad of reasons for wars in the Middle East including oil and who’s cock is bigger, the main historic reason has been religion. Is it too bold to say there would be no wars without religion? Probably but it aint that bold. People would have to think a lot harder to come up with reasons for killing people than they do now.
Cool that you brought up a few despots who happened to profess no belief in god. Where d’you get those names? Did Pastor TIm tell you all about them from his pulpit of lies? Unfortunately you seem to be having some difficulty with the separation of communism and atheism. I can assure you, they are not the same. Please google to two terms and come back with a grown-up argument. I would be genuinely amazed to hear of one single crime being committed in the name of atheism (I’m imagining how that would even play out; funny). Not like you god botherers, it’s always in the name of allah this, yahweh that and god (couldn’t you xians come up with a better name? I might like your god better if he were called alan or something like that.).
Actually it’s the free thinkers who don’t need to be controlled by anyone. We are aware enough of what is right and wrong just by being humans and we do not need threats and promises to make us be nice to other people.
If you want to argue on here I advise you get yourself properly informed and don’t go wading in to things you don’t understand. And if any of this has confused you please read a science or history book for the answers. Do not read the bible. It is full of lies, hatred, violence and misogyny which can only corrupt your mind further.
Actually, American Christians love their pork. They tend to ignore the dietary laws that their OWN Messiah probably followed because Paul said they are not bound to them.
Funny that, eh? I bet they all wear clothes made of two different fibres as well…Bastards!
Glad to see you also made it over to mcoville’s blog. Gruesome, wasn’t it? Reminds me of the blog equivalent of a sad, lonely toxic waste site that’s been long since abandoned. I almost feel sorry for mcoville; obviously he hasn’t gotten any major right-wing funding and so he’s left there to flounder all alone in extreme self-denial, unaware of how little the few people who’ve posted there think of him.
While I strongly urge others to flee that moribund place, me myself, I kinda feel like staying, with my copy of “The Origin of Species” by my side, and quoting from THAT good book until I drive him crazy. Just to see if such a thing is even possible. I assume it’s a him; only a dude could have his head that far up his own ass.
@ zunedita373
Yeah, what a nightmare over there. I like your analogy. People just think he’s a complete tool, in the main, don’t they?
I have said I’m not going back but I might not be able to resist. I’m gonna keep checking for nonsense and will comment when he really makes a fool of himself. I won’t be waiting too long will I?
No, you won’t have long to wait. I just love how many of the people posting to his blog realize how full of shit he is. That doesn’t faze him at all, of course. He’s already responded to you: “Where did I call you names?” He’s probably still scratching his head over why he’s banned from here.
Hee hee hee. I’ve just seen it. Am popping back to play. It’s too much fun.
Hi Mark, nice blog, I got to it from the dashboard on my wordpress blog.
I really like the comment system you have here, could you tell me the name of the plugin please?
Thanks!
IPH
This is a wordpress.com blog which is hosted by wordpress. I have no control over the plugins.
You might consult wordpress.org for the plugin.
A quote from Jesus…….
~ Matt. 5:22
Niiiiice. Sounds like a sweet guy. I’m convinced that christianity is the place you need to be if you wanna dump the morals; not the moralising though – that’s the fun bit!
Billy Graham is a good Christian man. What gives you the right to criticize him?
He’s right! Athiests are fools.
The right to criticize a fellow man is a human right in any free society.
Your post leaves only disturbing interpretations:
a) you think he’s not a man but a saint
b) you think our society shouldn’t be free
c) you think christians shouldn’t be criticized
All of them and other, less likely possibilities, are really worrying.
You’re right JesusBoy. BG is a good Christian man. He’s an anti-Semitic, gay-hating, misogynistic theocrat. What’s not to love?
“What gives you the right to criticize him?”
The same First Amendment that gives Billy Graham the right to worship an evil, monstrous creature from a work of fiction written in the bronze age.
Why do you ask?
BG is self-contradictory. First he says atheism is just a fad. In the very next paragraph, he says it’s been around for thousand of years. Maybe it’s a habit acquired from reading too much bible, which is also full of contradictions.
In fact, it’s more accurate to term Christianity as a fad than atheism. Atheism existed before Christianity ever did, as attested to by Psalms.
Billy Graham is a fad that fools follow. Poor guy, he thinks he’s the Pope, but at this point in his life he’s just a Benny Hinn wannabe. Or Benny Hill, one or the other. But at least he lived long enough to NOT see Jesus come back.
Why are atheists so angry all the time? Could it be that your lives are meaningless and hopeless because of your ungodly nature.
You have resigned yourselves to an existence of futility which breeds only misery and damnation. Atheism is fatalism covered with a garment of pride and vanity.
Atheism is the antithesis of sound moral doctrines, hope, and love, it is a belief that reduces man to a wild beast operating on instincts. Practitioners of atheism occupy Civilization only to destroy it. The tenets of atheism is the destruction of civilization, the breaking of man’s spiritual strength, faith, and divine law.
All men must be ruled by law to be free and happy.This is fact which was also echoed by the the ancient Greek and Roman philosophizers. But you must understand what freedom truly means. Freedom means following divine laws that leads to life and happiness. Freedom does not mean breaking free from moral restraints, which your belief demands.
Law is the order and code of a righteous life, and atheism is in a constant state of rebellion to that order and code. Contrary your beliefs and opinions, man cannot properly function without that law, and so cannot reach his potential and divine purpose.
Man lives in an ordered and structured universe, and so man must follow the laws of the universe which he occupies to be successful morally and materially.
Science is the handmaiden of Christianity.Science has called out the glory and boundless wisdom of the Creator.Western civilization has been so successful, prosperous and free because of its Christian heritage.Through Christianity, Western civilization has given us great and timeless literature, scientific invention. Individual rights and human dignity is the precious gifts of Christian values.
Atheism creates nothing, because it is based on the premise of futility, that man is on a forlorn quest, and forever wandering in darkness without any possibility of salvation. Christianity is the hope of mankind and ultimately the harbinger of eternal life. Christianity sets eternal principles and divine laws which must be adhered throughout the generations. Atheisms is in a constant flux. It offers no security or wisdom because of its innate hopeless nature.
So the fool resigns to wander the darkness, and in that very darkness is rendered blind to faith.
You mean “Fiction is the handmaiden of Christianity”.
You mean “futility is the handmaiden of atheism”.
Nope – I’m pretty sure it’s: ‘Ignorance is the handmaiden of Christianity.’
I don’t know that the average godless atheist is any more angry than the average Christian wackadoodle. I myself am pretty laid back most of the time. But if it makes you feel good to think of me as angry and immoral and wandering lost in the universe be my guest.
Atheism doesn’t break moral constrains. We have morals. Common sense morals: “Don’t be a jerk, don’t steal, don’t kill, don’t do something that would piss off people…” and a long etcetera.
We aren’t anarchists. Societies are structured and need a law so we can all live in peace and as happier as possible. Freedom is not doing whatever you want. Freedom is rights. Common rights. Freedom is all my rights with the constrains of the same rights applied to the rest of the people. We don’t destroy civilization, we BUILD it. The problem is on believers, who corrupt that freedom and rights. If something has to be destroyed in civilization, is all the problems that beliefs were, are and will be creating. We aren’t against law.
If there’s something freedom isn’t, anyway, it’s “following divine laws”. The laws of men must come from men. Even if there were a god, it’d be up to us to decide as a society what’s the better way to rule our lives.
“Western civilization has been so successful, prosperous and free because of its Christian heritage.Through Christianity, Western civilization has given us great and timeless literature.”
Unless you mean the fiction the bible is… During the middle age, Christians DIDN’T EVEN WANT TO LEARN TO READ. It was the muslim dudes who kept writing and inventing stuff, and doing literature and research and all that. There may be a lot of extremist assholes among the muslims (as well as among Christians), but we owe them the fact that we’re not illiterate. You like Greek Philosofers so much? Well, thank the muslims for the translations because Christians had forgotten even how to read Ancient Greek.
We’re only blind for the things that can’t be seen because they don’t exist. That is reality. We’re awake and you’re sleeping. Sleeping and dreaming. And when you dream you see a lot of things but they’re actually not happening.
Wake up!
“Why are atheists so angry all the time? Could it be that your lives are meaningless and hopeless because of your ungodly nature.”
No, but good try.
The reason we are so angry is that we are tired of being insulted and discriminated against by religious bigots. We are tired of the fact that fundamentalists keep trying to write Christian religious doctrine into secular law. We are outraged by the fact that fundamentalists keep trying to have creationism taught to our children in the place of science.
That’s just for starters, but I’m not writing a book here.
“Atheism is the antithesis of sound moral doctrines, hope, and love, it is a belief that reduces man to a wild beast operating on instincts.”
No. Atheism is the recognition that we were not created by supernatural beings.
“Practitioners of atheism occupy Civilization only to destroy it. ”
You are lying. Back that up with proof.
“Freedom means following divine laws that leads to life and happiness. Freedom does not mean breaking free from moral restraints, which your belief demands.”
Morality does not come from religion. If a person does not already understand that cruelty is wrong, he won’t discover it by reading the bible. In fact, the bible would teach him to be more cruel. The bible overflows with cruelty, genocide, rape, infanticide and warfare.
The bible condones slavery, a practice understood by every civilized society on Earth to be an abomination. Women and children are considered to be nothing more than war loot and men are encouraged to rape captured women and force them into marriage.
Tell me, are these the things you believe are right and moral? If so, you belong on the terrorist watch list.
“Western civilization has been so successful, prosperous and free because of its Christian heritage.Through Christianity, Western civilization has given us great and timeless literature, scientific invention. Individual rights and human dignity is the precious gifts of Christian values.”
Western civilization has been successful in spite of Christianity, not because of it. The literature and scientific inventions you point out are a result of the Age of Enlightenment, which held that reason, not religious dogma, was the primary source and legitimacy for authority.
As for individual rights and human dignity, much progress for those have been made over the last few centuries and religion fought against it at every turn. We ended slavery, despite resistance from the religious. Woman gained the right to vote, despite resistance from the religious.
“Atheism creates nothing, because it is based on the premise of futility… blah blah blah”
No. Atheism is based on the premise that all-powerful supernatural creatures do not exist. We accept existence at face value rather than fabricating a fairy tale to make us feel better about our place in it.
VERY well put, Rooker. I’m not just saying that because I agree, but your comment is superbly crafted.
Cedric, cedric, cedric. You jesus freak asshat. Let’s take another minute to repeat the obvious. next time, at least try to post something intelligent.
Atheists are not angry, we just won’t tolerate your bullshit and let you know it. Atheist lives are unique and based on an infinite set of variables, made better by not holding Iron Age superstitious beliefs as the foundation for their lives. Atheism = Reality. Theism = Fantasy.
Atheism is based on truth. Misery and damnation are the realm of the deluded religionists. Atheism is simply “without a deity belief”. Nothing more, nothing less. It has nothing to do with the subject of morality. On the other hand, religionists can’t be moral if they act based on their cult’s teachings. You and your ilk are coerced, and are incapable of morality.
You are attributing traits and characteristics to Atheism it does not possess. It has nothing to do with morals, doctrines, hope, and love. More importantly, Atheism does not have beliefs or tenets. You are making that shit up.
Only religion breaks the human spirit. Freedom means not having to listen to the crap you are spewing. Your miserable fairy tales and fables are horrific, the worst thing human kind has devised.
Science is diametrically opposed to religion. They have nothing in common. There is no creator. Western civilization owes its success to freethought, the Enlightenment which broke free from the bonds of religion. All progress and success was made despite belief in invisible sky-pixies.
Atheism creates nothing, because it does not attempt to do so. It demands evidence for your extraordinary claims. Christianity is crap, based on lies. Atheism is not in flux, does not attempt to offer security or wisdom and does not have a hopeless nature at all. You just don’t get it. Your straw man arguments are just stupid. How old are you?
Cedric,
I started writing a full response to your comment but there I just can’t be bothered. There seems to be something very wrong with your mind and I just can’t be bothered engaging with you. Try to get a little bit of education soon. Please.
I did not mean “there I just can’t be bothered” obviously.
Love the blog! I think it’s funny that Graham says that atheists, “tend to be aggressive in promoting their ideas.” I can’t think of another religion/philosophy/ism that has been as aggressive as Christianity in trying to shove their beliefs down peoples’ throats; the Crusades, European witch trials, missionaries, etc. Come on Billy, gives us a break!
Atheism isn’t their problem. It’s their hypocrisy and the lack of evidence.
Jesus said…”you must be born again”. If you are reading this, than there is still hope for youby God’s grace.
Sorry, I’m not into worshiping zombies.
I hope you know that your all acting like idiots. Just because he insults you doesn’t mean you have to rant about it. Your actually just proving his point by acting foolish. If you want to prove him wrong about atheism, then act civil about it and stop your bickering! Otherwise shut up, you’re giving atheism a bad name. “It is better to keep your mouth closed and be assumed a fool than to open it and confirm the notion.” Billy Graham has assumed you for fools, now do shut up and stop confirming the notion.
Billy Graham has assumed the role for he worships…money.