Atheist Ireland AGM
Blasphemy and bible reading: Atheist Ireland AGM 2009.
Senator Ivana Bacik will open the first Atheist Ireland AGM at 2 pm tomorrow, Saturday 11 July, in Wynns Hotel in Abbey Street Dublin. Members of the public are welcome to attend.
The meeting will discuss a blasphemous statement to be published in response to the new blasphemy law passed yesterday in the Oireachtas. See opinion piece about this in today’s Irish Times: here
The meeting will also plan a long-term campaign to have the blasphemy law repealed, and to remove references to blasphemy and gods from the Irish Constitution.
Atheist Ireland is an advocacy group that campaigns for an ethical and secular Ireland, where the State does not support or fund or give special treatment to any religion. As well as a secular Constitution, we want to see a secular education system.
We are also launching a campaign encouraging people to read the Bible and other sacred books. Objectively reading the Bible is one of the strongest arguments for rejecting the idea of gods as intervening creators or moral guides.
22 Comments
Well done! this kind of open and honest thinking is long overdue.
We’ve already entered a dark age in economic terms thanks to our Christian-right political circus of a party. Do we really want push ourselves further down the dark well with the reinstatement of archaic laws like this one.
Responding to this very dangerous blasphemy law quick-smart will be the most important thing, in my opinion, that Atheist Ireland will do this year.
And if it happens that written word is deemed blasphemous, will the probably-God-believing person/s determining this infraction on this specially protected belief system be independently verified by a secular person? I doubt it. So again, this will be a very dangerous, tip of the iceberg, thin end of the wedge, one sided law, if we don’t act.
Bravo Atheist Ireland! You have my support.
Just saw the Bruno movie last night with a black baby Jesus on the cross. Can sacha baron Cohen be prosecuted? It’s a good movie but I don’t think u could defend it as art.
See you all there.
Smoking the bible pages is highly recommended. That is what the blanket men in the H-Blocks of the 1970s did when they had no access to cigarette papers.
Good luck with the AGM. You’re right about the Bible. Reading that book is probably the best way to convince people of the lunacy of the religion.
Right, so please tell us… and quickly! What happened? How soon will the transcript/video be posted online?
Congratulations. Sorry i didn’t know the AGM was on. it’s a great idea to hold it on or near 12th July, the annual sectarian bigotry festival of the north’s premier self-proclaimed christians.
i think “Secular Ireland” might have been a better name, as there are some religious believers who are secularists and don’t want a church-dominated State. It might be useful to have them on-board too but I doubt they would back “Atheist Ireland”.
Good luck! Adh Mor!
Irish Times writeup:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0713/1224250543694.html
Hi there, apologies I couldnt make it. Will the minutes be posted?
Thanks
Dez
So what’s happening next? How can we fight the god-bothers who run this state?
heres firsthand report
http://www.atheist.ie/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2492
Given that the new law imposes a fine for anyone who offends “a substantial number of the adherents of a religion”, have you considered starting your own religion (perhaps a branch of FSMism), and charging someone you don’t like (the promoter of this new law) according to this new law?
DO NOT ISSUE A BLASPHEMOUS STATEMENT!! FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE COURT THAT YOU CONSIDER CHRISTIAN DOGMA BLASPHEMOUS TO ATHEISTS! And that you consider their superstitious ravings offensive and outrageous to people of the atheist faith! Take the fight directly to them in such a way they (The Religious) will be screaming at the top of their lungs for the repeal of this law!! File against Muslims, Judaism, Buddhism whatever. Just hit them first! Make THEM be the ones agitating to have the law overthrown! It’ll be more effective to have 80% of the electorate rioting in the streets about this law than the 15 to 20% of the populace ( That has rudimentary intelligence at least) logically arguing against it, to no avail.
Oh, and loudly thank the Upper Class Twits of the Year who shoved this law through for making it possible to finally silence the ravings of the religious. Thank them by name, loudly, publicly and often. Hopefully this will cost at least some of them their office.
I confess! Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It’s been, oh, about forever since my last confession. I have blasphemed. Over and over again, and no doubt I will continue to blaspheme. I’m incorrigible. I’m shameless. Please notify the Guards. Have me arrested. But Father, I haven’t got €25,000. Give us a hand there, will you?
Mark your calendars–Blasphemy Day is September 29.
Finally, some cause for hope…
How do you save a priest from drowning?Put your hand out and ask him to take it.If you ask him for his hand ,he’ll drown rather than give you anything.
Under Rumsfeld, Pentagon published Bible verses on top-secret intel reports.
Under Rumsfeld, Pentagon published Bible verses on top-secret intel reports.
In a lengthy article on Donald Rumsfeld’s rocky tenure as Defense Secretary, GQ published never-before-seen cover sheets from top-secret intelligence briefings produced by Rumsfeld’s Pentagon. Starting in the days surrounding the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the cover sheets featured inspirational Bible verses printed over military images, […]
The translated Bibles appear to be the New Testament. According to Al Jazeera, US soldiers “had them specially printed and shipped to Afghanistan.” On the tape, one soldier describes how his church in the US helped raise money for the bibles. Al Jazeera reports that “What these soldiers have been doing may well be in direct violation of the US Constitution, their professional codes and the regulations in place for all forces in Afghanistan.” The US military officially forbids “proselytising of any religion, faith or practice.” But, as Al Jazeera reports:
Geeze Guys,
Everytime you organise a meeting in Dublin I’m out of the country.
I want to join and help with your campaigns.
There is currently a petition online which calls for the repeal of the blasphemy law through constitutional amendment at the next workable referendum (Lisbon II or immediately following).
This petition has has a fairly poor response so far, perhaps because poorly worded or perhaps because progressives, unlike conservatives have a difficult time organising. Please read this petition, if you agree with it sign it. And just as importantly, if you agree with it, email all the citizens you can so they might make the same choice.
I applaud the senator and atheist Ireland in their efforts.
Yours,
Gavin Foley
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?blmy2009