Atheist People
Atheism, the idea believed by atheists, is essentially the belief that there are no deities or gods. It can also be defined, in much more broad terms, as the rejection of any belief of deities. While the exact definition of atheism is widely debated, there are several levels of atheism, giving different meanings to the word. By the broadest of standards, atheism refers to the absence of any belief in gods or deities. This modern definition of Atheism originated in the 18th century. The word “atheism” arose from the Greek word atheos, meaning “without gods”. This was a negative word applied to those individuals who did not believe or worship gods of any kind that the larger society as a whole believed in. The eventual rise of freethought, skepticism, and criticism of religions led to a more widespread belief in atheism.
These relatively new views about a godless society have received much criticism and attack from Christian groups, who have held a widespread belief in God and the Holy Spirit for thousands of years. People who have adopted a godless lifestyle in atheism and agnosticism are only recently in the past few years starting to become socially accepted. For hundreds of years, Christianity has maintained power over the common people about the belief in God and has murdered and prosecuted those who believe otherwise. The silent group of atheists are now starting to speak out fearlessly about their differing views.
The Billboard Controversy:
Making headlines in atheist news and religious news on February 17, 2010, a billboard located in Sacramento, California which promotes the idea of atheism was vandalized hours after it was put up. It is one of several that were placed within the city in response to Christian billboards that were placed in the city promoting Christian religious views. The billboard, which has a picture of a sky with clouds scattered about simply reads, “Are you good without God? Millions are.” The billboard was then defaced when someone spray painted in black “ALSO LOST?” on the bottom beneath “Millions are.”
The billboard was posted by atheist Rachael Harrington, member of the Coalition of Reason. She stated that the purpose of the billboard are to give atheists and agnostics in the area a peace of mind knowing that they are not alone. She claims that it proves that there is prejudice against people who do not believe in any god and it is a very real fact in America.
The Larger Picture:
While this is just a small piece of news that may be long forgotten years to come in atheist news and religious news, it is a perfect metaphor of the atheist vs. religion war that has been going on for hundreds of years. Atheists have the luxury today to be able to live among the majority of Christian believers without fear of prosecution of death. The road for their full rights though is a long battle that will continue for many years to come.