The stupidity behind the new "War on Easter"

By -
Last Christmas, a great deal of talk was generated about whether American society had declared war on Christmas. While conservative pundits were pointing to the way in which Christmas was slowly being removed from our school systems (e.g., most school systems used to have "Christmas vacations", now they have "winter breaks") and were able to point to really absurd examples of political correctness gone amok, many of our skeptic-Americans didn't see any war. I recall reading commentators claiming that the entire war on Christmas thing was trumped up by Fox News.

Well, now some of these skeptics have decided to fire off what I hope is a tongue-in-cheek "War on Easter", but I think they are serious because the people sponsoring this tomfoolery are the same crowd that believe the nonsense of the hopelessly deluded film which is laughingly-labelled a "documentary" entitled The God who Wasn't There. Yes, Brian Flemming's ridiculous group Beyond Belief Productions has opened up a new website called The War on Easter.org. Check out the following from the press release:

Declaring War on Easter, Beyond Belief Media has launched a preemptive attack on the Christian holiday, the company announced today. "Operation Easter Sanity" has already begun.

Using its documentary THE GOD WHO WASN'T THERE as the chief weapon, Beyond Belief Media is covertly planting DVDs of the film in churches throughout the United States. The popular movie, currently ranked #1 on Amazon.com's independent documentaries list, is critical of the irrational beliefs of Christians and asserts that Jesus Christ did not exist.

A total of 666 DVDs will be hidden like "Easter eggs" in sanctuaries, church yards and other holy areas by Beyond Belief Media's national team of volunteers. The DVDs will be slipped into hymnals and other locations where they are likely to be discovered by unsuspecting worshippers.

Some DVDs of THE GOD WHO WASN'T THERE will be planted by undercover operatives among actual Easter eggs at churches holding egg hunts on Easter Sunday.

"People go to churches to hide from the truth," explained Beyond Belief Media president Brian Flemming, a former Christian fundamentalist. "At no time is this more apparent than Easter, when Christians get together to convince each other that a man died, stayed dead three days, rose from the dead and then flew into the air above the clouds.

"Our nonviolent campaign sends the message that nowhere in the country is safe from the truth. Wherever Christian leaders are indoctrinating children with 2000-year-old fairy tales, the truth may just find its way there.

"Our 'War on Easter' is of course completely without violence of any kind. Christians believe that beating a man to a pulp and nailing him to a cross somehow solves all the world's problems. Beyond Belief Media does not."

Okay, so let me get this straight -- they are going to go to churches and hide this horrendous video in the bushes so that little children can find them and be convinced that Christianity is a fraud? Well, if they are targeting preschoolers, at least they may have found an audience with a sufficiently low IQ to actually believe their nonsense. Seriously, I actually tried to show parts of this film to one of my kids to see what reaction I received (being a prepared Christian, I felt comfortable that there was nothing in the film that she would question for which I would not have a ready response), and she just laughed at it (I'm not making that up). If The God Who Wasn't There is their chief weapon, then they are entering the fray armed with a pea-shooter.

What makes me laugh all the more is that they are saying that they will give out 666 of these DVDs as if the use of that number is going to scare Christians. It just demonstrates how absolutely unrealistic this group's view of Christians is. They view Christians as ignorant morons who practice superstitious nonsense. But, in fact, their plan shows that they are really the ignorant ones because while this stupid plot may have the chance to effect the minds of a few borderline Christians who are uncertain of their own faith and easily influenced by drivel, the vast majority of these DVDs will certainly fall into the hands of people who will happily use them as coasters -- their highest and best use. Christians are not afraid of the truth, they embrace the truth! And they are not afraid of the number 666. Let me show you: 666, 666, 666, 666. See? No problem.

But what I absolutely cannot wait to see is their "undercover operatives". Will they be sneaking around with cell-phones and dark glasses, hiding in bushes until the coast is clear? If they give out a trenchcoat and glasses as part of the job, I want to volunteer.

Hey Beyond Belief people: I want to encourage you to put out 6,666,666 of these DVDs in the same fashion. It will help to generate jobs in the plants that produce these discs, and I am sure that many a church can use them as substitute air-hockey pucks.

Am I being too harsh on these people? Well, I am just taking their advice. On their FAQ page, the question is asked, "Are you worried that the tone of your campaign will cost you your credibility?" They say they aren't worried because "ridicule is a potent weapon." Certainly, their film and their plan are deserving of ridicule. But personally, I agree that the people behind Beyond Belief Media don't have to worry about losing credibility because they have no credibility.

Comments

Layman said…
Does anyone else see the irony?

Atheists who claim they are dedicated to rationality and science ascribe to historical theories that are contradicted by all of the available evidence.

Atheists who are so convinced of their own intelligence that they think it is a wise PR move to call themselve "Brights" so as to improve their image among the public.

Atheists who complain about a lack of respect decide to defile the places of worship of those whose respect they believe they are entitled to.

Atheists who claim they are dedicated to rigorous intellectual debate and discussion are so confident of their position that they target 5 year olds with their propaganda.
4/10/2006 05:37:00 PM
Jennifer said…
Agggghhhh!!!! 666!!!!!!! Run for your lives!!!!!!!

:D

"Professing themselves to be wise they became fools."

btw, I wrote a post today about the inerrancy of the Bible and invite anyone here to share their input.
4/11/2006 10:01:00 AM
Janell Price said…
Why don't you develop your scenario of the undercover operataives and their tactics and write a script? That would be a funny farcical movie.

They sure sell us short don't they? Whose afaid of a number? Not me 66666666666666666666666666666666666666666
4/12/2006 07:09:00 PM
John R. said…
I watched the trailer for the their movie. It is well-done and catchy--and somewhat funny.

The arguments that I saw/heard are old and worn-out. I was hoping for something that might rock my world. Maybe there's something a little more challenging in the rest of the film. But usually the "hooks" or the provocative stuff is put in the trailer. It appears that the style will have to make up for content. Will the rest of the film's content be as bland? I'll go look in the bushes or the flower beds in front of our church to find a copy.

The films goes to the far reaches of the galaxy to get some quotes from some extreme people... Blah, blah, blah.

JRush
4/13/2006 07:10:00 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How Many Children in Bethlehem Did Herod Kill?

By -
A couple of months ago, I wrote a post about the Gospel of Matthew’s account of the slaughter of the innocents. Therein, I argued that some of the skepticism about the account was unjustified. One argument I made was that the number of children killed in Bethlehem would likely have been no more than 20. Though obviously an act of great evil, the killing of 20 children would be much less likely to be noticed by historians of the time than the slaughter of thousands as later traditions speculated. In response to the post, Peter Kirby asked a few questions. He has patiently waited my response, continuously delayed by work, family, and the completion of my Acts article . Two of the questions had to do with how the amount of 20 was determined. Others with the omission of the account by Luke and the reliability of the tradition recounted by Macrobius. Peter also mentioned that there were other reasons to doubt the story's historicity beyond just the silence of other sources. I ...
Read more

The Bogus Gandhi Quote

By J. P Holding -
Image
I first made this post in 2012, and since then I've made a sort of mini-career out of tracking down bogus quotes like this one (including a video version below). It's a sort of fun microcosm of the way information is mishandled in the Information Age. ** I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ. – Mahatma Gandhi A Christian can probably expect to get this quote thrown at them at least once in their lifetime, and waved in their face many more. I had it put to me recently, but my experience with this sort of thing immediately led me to wonder -- is it real? The evidence at this point seems to be no. The first signal of a problem was that anywhere I found it, no source was given. That's often a sign that something is being passed around uncritically. Whether online sources or books, no one seemed to have a source for this quote. A second warning was that the quote has been given more than one context. As ...
Read more

Where did Jesus say "It is better to give than receive?"

By -
A visitor to the CADRE site recently sent a question about Paul's statement in Acts 20:35 which records Paul as saying, "And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is better to give than to receive'." The reader wanted to know where Jesus said this. This was my answer: You are correct in noting that this saying of Jesus quoted by Paul is not found anywhere in the four Gospels. My own study Bible says "This is a rare instance of a saying of Jesus not found in the canonical Gospels." Does the fact that it isn't stated in the Gospels mean that it isn't reliably from the lips of Jesus? I don't think so. The Apolstle John said at the end of his Gospel (John 21:25): "Jesus did many other things as well.If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." Obviously, this is exaggeration for the sake of making a point, but it means that Jesus ...
Read more

Discussing Embryonic Stem Cell Research

By -
Stand to Reason has published a list of "talking points" that can be used as a quick reference sheet for answering questions about embryonic stem cell research and why people ought to oppose this procedure. The piece, entitled "Are you against stem cell research and cloning?" give good, concise answers to some of the questions that arise concerning why Christians would oppose this procedure when it supposedly holds such great promise. For example, consider the following from the "talking points": Where do we get human embryonic stem cells? We can only derive human embryonic stem cells by killing a human embryo. Removing its stem cells leaves it with no cells from which to build the organs of its body. What is the embryo? An embryo is a living, whole, human organism (a human being) in the embryonic stage. All the embryo needs to live is a proper environment and adequate nutrition, the very same thing all infants, toddlers, adolescents, and adults need. ...
Read more

Tillich, part 2: What does it mean to say "God is Being Itself?"

By -
 In this essay, which is a chapter from the new book I'm now working on, I'm moving toward defining what I think Tillich means exactly by being itself. It's a long journey but an important one. What does Tillich actually mean by “being itself?” Does he mean the same things as other theologians who use the phrase? It’s a mysterious sounding phrase and Tillich never actually comes out and says what he means by it. As I will show there is a reason for this, and I will show what I think that reason in is. In the mean time the task of this chapter is to deduce exactly what Tillich actually means by this phrase. There are three basic possibilities: Three alternatives as to meaning (1) The basic fact that things exist is all that the concept of “God” amounts to. (2) There is a special quality to being, an impersonal aspect” ground of being” or “being itself” and that quality constitutes ‘the divine.’ This possibility excludes God as “king of the universe.” (3) God is b...
Read more

Revamping and New Articles at the CADRE Site

By -
We have changed the Christian History page at the CADRE site from the old design to the new one. The focus of the revamped page has expanded, with many new articles: This page provides links to websites and articles relating to Christian history, including theological development, notable figures, contributions of Christianity to society and culture, and the archaeological evidence for the facts of the Bible. We have also added four new articles by Darin Wood, PhD: John Chrysostum: His Life, Legacy, and Influence Dr. Wood provides an informative sketch of Chrysostum's life, as well as an exploration into his writings and impact on church evangelism. The Righteousness of God in the Pauline Corpus Dr. Wood examines the crucial role that righteousness plays in understanding Paul's perspectives on justification, propitiation, expiation, and covenant. The Structure of the Apocalypse Dr. Wood provides an in-depth analysis of the structure (or structures) behind the Book o...
Read more

The Folded Napkin Legend

By J. P Holding -
I wrote about t his "urban legend" a few years ago, but it's typical of the silly urban legends we hear about now and then, such as the idea that the head of Proctor and Gamble went on Oprah to pledge his allegiance to Satanism. Christians are no less gullible for this sort of nonsense than anyone else, and frankly, some seem more gullible to believe anything that they consider "edifying". It's no wonder we're mesmerized by self-comfort tunes like "I Can Only Imagine" that contain about as much useful theology as a thimble. ** The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes. The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed at the head of that stony coffin.... In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The fol...
Read more

A Botched Abortion Shows the Lies of Pro-Choice Proponents

By -
One of the classes I teach at the university is a course on Ethics, and I am using a book by Ralph Dolgoff, Donna Harrington and Frank M. Lowenberg entitled " Ethical Decisions for Social Work Practice " as the text. Overall, I think that it is a good Ethics textbook largely because it provides a balanced viewpoint on the need for values in social work. For example, the book makes the argument (without committing to it) that those engaged in social work cannot avoid making value judgments in ethical decisions because trying to do what is right necessarily involves making an value choice. Also, I book notes that some (including me) think it is ethically wrong for a social worker to cover-up her own values when counseling another person because it creates a false (and ultimately unproductive) relationship with the person being counseled. Still, one of the exemplars in the book gave me pause – not because I thought it raised a deep ethical quandary, but because I wondered how ...
Read more

Do you say this of your own accord? (John 18:34, ESV)

By -
Image
One of the most well-known events in Scriptures is Jesus' exchange with Pontius Pilate at his trial as described in John 18. In verse 38 of that chapter, Pilate asks the question that may be the most ironic in the history of the world, "What is truth?" A less known but equally intriguing saying of Jesus from an apologetics viewpoint can be found in Jesus' response to an earlier question in the same trial. It is a question that is not often quoted, but on those rare occasions when it is quoted, Jesus' response is often overlooked as not particularly important or relevant to today's world. However, it is my experience (as well as the experience of many people who have truly spent time studying the Scriptures) that little, if any, of what Jesus said in the Bible lacks significance across time. To best understand the response, it's important to see the response in context. The situation is this: Jesus has been arrested following His betrayal by Judas I...
Read more

A Non-Biblical Historian Accepts the Key "Minimum Facts" Supporting Jesus' Resurrection

By -
In their book, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus , Gary R. Habermas and Michael R. Licona argue for the historical reality of Jesus' bodily resurrection using the "minimum facts" approach. Rather than get bogged down in inerrancy and other debates, they focus on the key facts demonstrating Jesus' resurrection. For them, the key facts are: *Jesus' death by crucifixion. *Disciples' Beliefs that Jesus Appeared. *Conversion of Paul. *Conversion of James. *Empty Tomb. William L. Craig, another significant apologist for the historical bodily resurrection of Jesus likewise focuses, in his accessible The Son Rises , on the empty tomb and Jesus' resurrection appearance. Craig gives special emphasis to Jesus' honorable burial by Joseph of Arimathea and Jesus' appearances to James and Paul and their subsequent commitment to the Christian cause. Craig, Licona, and Habermas argue that these basic facts are generally supported by most of the relevant sc...
Read more