Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Marcus Harman on December 3, 2008 at 7:11am

Hmmmm!
Etymology of the word "Church" =
"church Look up church at Dictionary.com
O.E. cirice "church," from W.Gmc. *kirika, from Gk. kyriake (oikia) "Lord's (house)," from kyrios "ruler, lord." For vowel evolution, see bury. Gk. kyriakon (adj.) "of the Lord" was used of houses of Christian worship since c.300, especially in the East, though it was less common in this sense than ekklesia or basilike. An example of the direct Gk.-to-Gmc. progress of many Christian words, via the Goths; it was probably used by W.Gmc. people in their pre-Christian period. Also picked up by Slavic, via Gmc. (cf. O.Slav. criky, Rus. cerkov). Romance and Celtic languages use variants of L. ecclesia. Slang church key for "can or bottle opener" is from 1950s. Church-mouse, proverbial in many languages for its poverty, is 1731 in Eng."


Lots of "Lord's houses" and "of the ruler " and "of the Lord" in there, so Church of Atheists? No definately not.

It is probably best to smile politely to the churchist who asks you to which do you belong and reply in as broad a Kansas accent as you can muster "Why Mary Sue, I have a rational belief system" and then run for the border.

PS Do not do this in Alabama!

Permalink Reply by Jason Carlos on February 2, 2009 at 8:57pm

Are there no limits to their idiocy?.... Oh wait I forgot. Most of their curricullum is religion in school. So no, for them the sky is the limit, and they watch the sun revolve around us too!

Permalink Reply by D. E. Hall on February 10, 2009 at 11:43pm

If you REALLY wanted to get this particular I could point out that heathens would lead down the same path. But I won't because I did.

'Atheist Churches' are there to help people who are giving up church go to get that same sense of community. It's not for prayer. It's for discussion of recent events and critical thinking. Though church may be misleading semantically speaking, morphicly speaking it makes perfect sense.

Permalink Reply by animus on July 29, 2009 at 10:13pm

Yes I agree and it is somewhat of an oxymoron. This is the website: http://firstchurchofatheism.com/ It is there for us and I gave my dad his wish, I am now an ordained minster! What I administer is the truth, reason, logic, a transitional outlet for those who want services. See what it is about here:http://firstchurchofatheism.com/index.php/about/

Permalink Reply by Jay A Small on February 14, 2009 at 3:52pm

Churches are good about creating micro communities. I was priveliged to experienct the St Louis Ethical Society, which is a group of nontheistic thinkers who ask all the life questions that religion pretends to answer. They do not dwell on their inherent nontheism. Imagine a time in the distant future when denying life's evolutionary beginings would be as rediculous as asserting a flat Earth. Imagine religion widely displaced by everyone still asking how to create meaning in our lives (because it is up to each one of us to do so). This is what the Ethical Society is about. Refreshing. Truly refreshing.

Permalink Reply by Marcelo A. on March 5, 2009 at 12:33am

Church literally no. But to develop a sense of community and to be able to present a more united frot against religious legislation I would suggest to create something that resembles book clubs. This taking in account that we are a minority. Eventually a “church” meaning a building to gather together could be bought buy a community that has grown in number and has a use for it. The building could be paid by the community although I think itwould create problems with the other churches and taxes would be a problem to solve too. An atheist “church” does not place a contradiction, rather it should be taken seriously buy growing groups of atheist because it is useful to have a place where to debate ethics, philosophy, and have a community that agrees with you if you are in need of some special help. Persecution buy religious people, signatures for a petition, protest against a religious legislation and also to be use as to be taken seriously as not to be thought as a disperse minority but as a growing community. Or at least that my opinion

(Non Serviam)

Permalink Reply by Brian C. Newbold on March 6, 2009 at 11:45pm

I would not participate in a church type setting, it's everything I'm against, well not everything but for the most part. I would on the other hand love to join an organization that backs up the rights and concerns of Atheists/Agnostics, and others who fit the bill. I believe we have a voice that not only should be heard, but needs to be heard. We cannot be taken seriously as Atheists who go to church, it's an oxymoron.

Permalink Reply by Brian C. Newbold on April 8, 2009 at 2:12pm

Nice, I'm gonna steal that quote!

Permalink Reply by Carol Forsberg on July 26, 2009 at 1:00pm

Hello Brian. There is an organization you can join (not for profit) and it is call the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Ironically, their headquarters are located in a building that once hosted a church. Unbelievable! They are listed on the web at http://ffrf.org or now you can find them on Facebook. I hope this helps.

Permalink Reply by Mindcore on March 8, 2009 at 6:33am

I actually live where there is an Atheist Church. Its called the Church of Freethought, there are two. One in Dallas/Fort Worth and one in Houston. Both in Texas. It has its own wikipedia article and everything.

I support the Church of Freethought as someone who wants to promote atheism and critical thinking in the area, but I also believe calling an atheist group a church automatically turns a lot of awesome atheists off.

Is kind of a bad PR move, and I am basing this on my own attempts to try to get more people to participate in an "Atheist Church."

I think a bigger issue at hand is how to get atheist to work together and meet on a regular basis in the real world, not just online.

This has been tricky for all who attempt it.

Permalink Reply by Brian C. Newbold on April 8, 2009 at 2:28pm

Spot on sir! We do need more 'real world' interaction. My goal is to get more atheists off the fence. I don't really care what others believe, you have to find your own way. The more we are seen in public, the more people will be comfortable speaking up.

I would also like to make a suggestion as to an alternative for the word church. Atheist Church is an oxymoron, and would make it harder for us to be taken seriously. I like 'Atheist Sanctuary' I think it shows unity, and separates from any religion. Thoughts?

Permalink Reply by Charles Cusumano on March 16, 2009 at 7:05am

Have you visited Landover Baptist Church? It’s what you’ve been waiting for :-).

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