Thursday, November 26, 2009

Nation & World

God and Country by Dan Gilgoff

Atheism Ad Campaigns Gathering Steam

January 07, 2009 05:04 PM ET | Dan Gilgoff | Permanent Link | Print

Reader Comments

A GLORIOUS REVELATION OF OUR Lord And Saviour JESUS CHRIST

IT WAS IN THE MONTH OF MAY IN THE HOLY WEEK ON A THURSDAY AFTERNOON THAT I HAD ASKED MY FIRST HUSBAND LOUIS A CARUSO IF HE COULD WATCH THE CHILDREN WE HAVE 3 BECAUSE I WAS SO TIRED THAT I NEEDED TO GET SOME REST...HE SAID YES AND WATCHED THE CHILDREN. I LAID DOWN BY THE FIREPLACE MANTLE ON THE FLOOR SAID OUR LORD'S PRAYER AND FELL ASLEEP. I AWOKE AND IT WAS DAYTIME WERE I WAS.I WAS FLOATING AND BREATHING NORMAL. I SAW TO MY LEFT A HOLY LADDER OF ANGELS.ON THE LADDER OF ANGELS WERE A MAN AND A WOMAN GOING UP THE LADDER OF HOLY ANGELS. THEY WERE CLOTHED IN WHITER THAN WHITE ROBES..THE MAN IS FACING FORWARD AND THE WOMAN IS LOOKING BACK AT ME WITH A CLOTH AROUND HER HEAD AND A WHITER THAN WHITE VEIL UNDER HER EYES AND WITH A WHITER THAN WHITE CLOTH WIPING TEARS FALLING FROM HER EYES...AND THERE IS SOMETHING ANGRY PUSHING IN BACK OF ME BUT I DID NOT LOOK BACK..I ASKED MYSELF WHY IS THAT WOMAN WEEPING,WHY IS SHE CRYING..I TURNED TO THE RIGHT I LOOK UP AND THERE ARE THESE TWO TALL TALL CHURCH DOORS..THEY DISAPPEARED IN FRONT OF MY EYES...ON THE RIGHT IS THE PRETTY LADY WITH THE HOLY ANGELS TENDING TO HER SHE IS WEARING WHITE AND BLUE HER HANDS ARE ACROSS HER CHEST AND SHE IS FLOATING..THEN I SEE A HUGE GOLD NOT OF THIS WORLD TRESSEL WITH THE BIGGEST DIAMOND I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE..THE HUGE MARBLE TABLE IS OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST SUPPER TABLE WHITE THE HOLY MEN ARE THERE. I WAS SO SCARED I DID NOT KNOW WHERE I WAS..UNTIL I LOOKED BEYOND THOSE MEN AND THERE HE IS...OR SHEPARD JESUS..I RECONIZED HIM RIGHT AWAY....HE CALMED ME WITH HIS PEACE..HIS HAIR IS DOWN TO HIS SHOULDERS AND HIS BEAUTIFUL FACE......HIS BEAUTIFUL BEARD AND MUSTACHE.....HE IS WEARING A WHITER THAN WHITE HOLY ROBE...HIS ARMS ARE AT HIS SIDE....HE IS GLORIOUS...AND JUST A TAD OFF TO THE RIGHT HAND SIDE....GOD IS THERE I DID NOT SEE GODS FACE BUT HIS GLORY IS SHINING IN HIS SON....OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST SPOKE TO ME WITH HIS MIND...AND SAID ..YOU BELONG HERE AMONGHST US THIS IS YOUR DESTINY.....I WEPT AND CRIED UNTO HIM AND ASKED BUT THE CHILDREN WHOSE GOING TO RAISE THE CHILDREN..THEN WITH SO MUCH COMPASSION ...LOVE MERCY SAID .THEN GO BUT REMEMBER YOU WILL ALWAYS COME BACK TO ME FOR THIS IS YOUR DESTINY I KNOW HIS VOICE .HE LOVES US ..GOD LOVES US...THEY DISAPPEARED..IT WAS THE FOLLOWING WEEK ON MAY 22 1985 THAT LOUIE AND WERE IN A CAR CRASH...HE WAS THE DRIVER I WAS THE PASSENGER..I HAD SEEN FROM HEAVEN THE CAR CRASH SITE BUT NO CAR WAS THERE AT THE TIME WHEN I FELL FROM HIM HEAVEN TO EARTH...IT MADE THE NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES ......KATONAH N.Y. MAN KILLED ON I 287 WESTBOUND....BEFORE WE HIT THE IMPACT OF GRASS I SAID JESUS TAKE US...I REMEMBER PEACE WHEN I AWOKE I HAD GASPED FOR THREE BREATHS OF AIR..JUST LIKE I DID WHEN I WOKE FRIDAY MORNING...IT'S SAD TO THINK THAT GOD SENT HIS ONLY SON ALONG TIME AGO FOR OUR SINS...THAT THEY LOVE US UNCONDITIONALLY AND THEY ARE ALWAYS WAITING FOR ALL OF US JUST ACCEPT OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST INTO YOUR HEARTS JUST LOVE HIM AND GOD..

So Don't Worry?

Let us assume for the sake of argument (not to mention simplicity) that there are only atheists and Christians in the world. This gives every person a fifty-fifty shot at being correct. If a Christian is correct, he/she will spend eternity with God who will reward him/her for his/her deeds and perserverance. If a Christian is wrong, then he/she ceases to exist and that's that. After all, atheism doesn't really allow an ethical code, so we can not say that the Christian who was wrong lived a good life. If an atheist is correct, then he/she ceases to exist and that's that. He/she can't enjoy what they did on earth, he/she just simply cease to exist and his/her life was pointless. If an atheist is wrong, then he/she spends an eternity in hell as punishment for his/her sins and unwillingness to accept Jesus as his/her Lord and Savior. Now taking into consideration both sides, atheism has the most to lose while Christianity has most to gain. Is this the reason atheists have to get out of bed? If anything, atheists have more to worry about than Christians.

Dan Gilgoff Responds

An anonymous reader writes:

"This is the dumbest thing I ever heard of being put on the side of a bus. Provacative, useless, argumentative and most likely to rally Republicans if done in America. And FOR WHAT? Most people who see buses already have their mind made up about God."

Then what's the point of any evangelism--for God or against?

Faith

The entire point of Faith is that you don't have to worry. It is a pointless message, guaranteed to rile people. And a huge waste of money in the middle of economic crisis.

good on them!

(anonymous?) abuve wrote: "Most people who see buses already have their mind made up about God."

True enough. But then why is every major highway and byway in the country littered with religious billboards, adverts for churches, etc.? Indeed, why should there be any advertising on buses, magazines, television, or elsewhere? Just as religious folk like to see their faith promoted, it is about time for those without faith to know they are also not the only ones who think as they do, that there are plenty of others, and that it's completely okay to ignore the religious appeals.

to Sarah (above)... the "worry" part of the message is that religious appeal is made to "what will happen when you die?" or "will God approve of what I'm doing?" or some such thing -- i.e., worrying about the afterlife and what a god or gods might do to you. Far too much undeserved guilt and worry in religion. The message of the ads is that BECAUSE there's probably no God, it's okay to stop worrying about the afterlife, stop worrying if what you do even in this life upsets a God that doesn't exist. Stop worrying and go have a good time.

I am curious about why having a belief in God would make anyone worry and have a less enjoyable life. Are Atheists happier than Christians or Jews or Muslims? Do people of faith worry more? The premise of this statement seems a little flawed to me.

People short of something to do

This is the dumbest thing I ever heard of being put on the side of a bus. Provacative, useless, argumentative and most likely to rally Republicans if done in America. And FOR WHAT?

Most people who see buses already have their mind made up about God.

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Dan Gilgoff covers religion for U.S. News & World Report. He is the author of The Jesus Machine: How James Dobson, Focus on the Family, and Evangelical America are Winning the Culture War, and is a former politics editor at beliefnet. E-mail Dan at godandcountry@usnews.com.

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