Seriously??

[Indefinite Integral]

Ok guys, here's the deal. I just received this as a forward from one of my Utah friends:

Florida Court sets a Holy Day

Florida Court Sets Atheist Holy Day!
Gotta love this Judge!
You must read this....a proper decision by the courts...for a change.

FLORIDA COURT SETS ATHEIST HOLY DAY
In Florida, an atheist created a case against the upcoming Easter and Passover Holy days.

He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians and Jews and observances of their holy days.

The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized days.


The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring,"Case dismissed!"

The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, "Your honor, How can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays.."

The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant."

The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists.."

The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is April Fools Day. Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that, if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day. Court is adjourned."

You gotta love a Judge that knows his scripture!

This is too good not to forward
In GOD we trust!

Now, I'm pretty sure that Friend is not crazy enough to think this really happened, but does she really think it is funny, or proves a good point? I am personally appalled by what was written. I am very much a "Molly Mormon" type of girl, but there is no way I would go around telling atheists that they are complete fools. They don't believe the bible is inspired, so why tell them they're idiots because the bible says so? It's ridiculous, absurd, completely unacceptable.

I have some very intelligent atheist friends. One of them is one of the smartest, most well spoken people I know. I don't always agree with what he says, but he has a right to his opinion. I mean, this is just as bad as atheists calling Christians idiots for being "duped" into believing there is a higher power. [/rant]

Sorry, just had to get that out there. I welcome any thoughts or comments from you.

[TheAnswerIs42]

Wow. I don't have a large comment, because I think you already hit it on the head. Just . . . wow. What a self-righteous, terrible forward. I dearly, dearly hope no one believes it or even agrees with it. Awful.

[Marduk]

Personally, I think it is hilarious. It reminds me of the "proof" passed around that was supposedly said by Albert Einstein (sp?) during his school days.

And as to the idea of not being arrogant enough to call atheists fools, I have many more atheist friends than perhaps most as ensconced in the LDS church as I am. It is a constant discussion between us; some do have the audacity to call me a fool for believing in a God, and suffice it to say I think little of thier reasoning capability. I have others who are more generous in their esteem of me, to them I am equally generous.

[vorpal blade]

Just three quick things.

1. I agree with Marduk, again. (But don't worry, I'm trying to break that habit.)

2. A fool is not an idiot or unintelligent person. A fool is "a person who lacks good judgment." Some of the smartest people I know lack good judgment.

3. The Bible calls the atheist a fool, and generally speaking those that disagree with God or the Bible lack good judgment.

[FauxRaiden]

I'm with you Indefinite. I would like to note that militants on either side of the argument are idiotic and rude.

It kinda reminds me of a comment made in my American Heritage class a while back. "[Class], what do you think would be the public response if gay marriage legislation were to pass?" *Kid responds* "Well that's never gonna happen, God would burn the earth long before that would ever happen." *Facepalm

[thebigcheese]

As an email forward, it's obviously a joke. And in that context, I think it's funny.

But if this were a legit news story, hoo boy! It wouldn't be funny at all. I think the context makes a big difference.

[Indefinite Integral]

Personally, I think it is hilarious. It reminds me of the "proof" passed around that was supposedly said by Albert Einstein (sp?) during his school days.

And as to the idea of not being arrogant enough to call atheists fools, I have many more atheist friends than perhaps most as ensconced in the LDS church as I am. It is a constant discussion between us; some do have the audacity to call me a fool for believing in a God, and suffice it to say I think little of thier reasoning capability. I have others who are more generous in their esteem of me, to them I am equally generous.

1) What is this "proof" you speak of? I haven't heard of anything like that. Maybe it would help me understand your position better.

As an email forward, it's obviously a joke. And in that context, I think it's funny.

But if this were a legit news story, hoo boy! It wouldn't be funny at all. I think the context makes a big difference.

I guess part of my reaction is in relation to the source. Utah Friend is one of those who sends lots of "In God we trust" forwards praising Christianity, patriotic forwards that say how our country is based on religion, and other such forwards. In that light, it just didn't seem appropriate to me at all.

2. A fool is not an idiot or unintelligent person. A fool is "a person who lacks good judgment." Some of the smartest people I know lack good judgment.

True. However, I doubt most people reading this forward (including Utah Friend) remember to think of the word in the strict dictionary definition and often add on personal connotations. In my opinion, the original writer of this forward, whoever it might be, was probably going for those connotations.