Freedom from religion???

On my way into work today I saw a few new billboards that disturbed me, but didn't at the same time. I don't know if anyone else has seen them but these billboards show a picture of a person with a quote about leaving religion behind and being free-thinkers and what not and they are sponsored by the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

I will be the first person to recognize our right and the importance of free speech, especially when it comes to freedom of religion. After all, I use this blog as a way to speak my mind on religion and my faith. I am also one that believes that we should not judge others based on their religion and that the most important part to me is that you have SOMETHING that you believe in, although I do lean strongly towards Christianity. I know that a lot of people would think that I am a terrible Christian for not wanting everyone to be Christian, but Jesus wasn't even Christian... for me it is just important that each person has a strong value system that they can truly believe in and base their life on.

So why do these billboards bother me so much? I mean, I don't get bothered when I see the billboards with messages from God or for Christian radio. The commercials for churches don't bother me (too much lol). So why do billboards about freedom from religion bother me?? I think a lot of it goes back to something I read in a book I got for high school graduation. "Wishful Thinking: A Seeker's ABC" by Frederick Buechner really puts it all into perspective for me when he explains that Atheists are really just full of it because they say they don't believe in a higher power, yet they believe in some way.

"To say there is no God means among other things that there are no Absolute Standards" says Buechner. He goes on to use this example- "An atheist may believe with all his heart that murder is wrong, but if he runs into somebody else who believes with all his heart that murder isn't wrong as long as you can get away with it, there is no Absolute Standard by which it can be shown that one view is better than the other, just as there is no Absolute Standard by which it can be shown that vanilla is better than chocolate." Continuing with Absolute Standards, "What is American is Right and what is un-American is Wrong. What is ethical is Right and what is unethical is Wrong. What works is Right and what doesn't work is Wrong. These all bring God back under different names: Nationalism, Ethics, Pragmatism." He goes on to use an example of finding a beaten child on the front cover a tabloid. "To be consistent with his creed, an atheist can say no more than that to beat a child to death is wrong with a small w...The atheist holds the tabloid in his hand and asks the question, Why should such things happen? Atheism can reply only, Why shouldn't such things happen? But he keeps on asking." And finally, my favorite quote from Buechner- "A true atheist does no dance on the grave of God. The laughter of faith in God is like Abraham's laughter when God says his ninety-year-old wife is in a family way..."

Atheist means to not believe in a deity, but can someone really look at something and say it just appeared and not be able to say from where? It doesn't matter where you believe it came from, the point is just that you believe. In my mind, if you believe in something than that is a form of religion. In fact, religion is defined in multiple ways all centering around "a particular set of beliefs".

So why do these billboards bother me? It isn't because people are speaking out against Christianity. That happens everyday and I really don't let it bother me but so much because I know what I believe and that is what matters to me. They bother me because they are speaking out against something that they are in fact celebrating. By placing "Atheist", "Humanist", and "Nontheist" after their name, they are claiming a religion- exactly what they are speaking out against.

At this point, I am curious what your thoughts are. Does it bother you to find these billboards popping up? Do you like the idea? Am I completely insane for having these mixed feelings about them?


Buechner, Frederick. "Wishful Thinking, A Seeker's ABC" 1993. pg. 2-5.