This is about the greatest thing since The End of Faith. The Rational Response Squad (which also operates the War on Christmas website; I guess there really is a war on Christmas! and an “internet radio show” that’s not podcast 
sadness) has put up a Blasphemy Challenge website encouraging atheists to damn themselves to hell. For the price of your soul (although, it’s really more of a donation, since the soul in question doesn’t get kept by RRS, it goes to hell), you get a copy of their DVD, the God Who Wasn’t There, a documentary which promises to do for religion what Bowling and Supersize did for guns and fast food, respectively. Which is…get people pissed off but ultimately accomplish nothing more than becoming a footnote of cultural relevance?
It’s not quite anything you want, but they’ve 950 responses as of this writing (only 51 more will get a free DVD). This has sparked discussion or, for Fox, accusation, in various media outlets, which are totally worth a watch. Penn supported and participated (though I can’t find the YouTube link for it, I saw a clip of it in the media section), for the record.
For now, I’ll Netflix it, but it’s nice to know that atheists are starting to come out of the woodwork.
Thoughts? Submissions?
3 responses so far ↓
1 John // Feb 8, 2007 at 3:52 pm
I may try this out tonight, if there are still slots available. It is tremendously liberating to blaspheme.
I don’t want to offend our religious readers, but if we all followed what was blasphemous or taboo to every culture out there, we wouldn’t be able to say anything or even go out in public. From my heathen perspective, blasphemy is essentially about control, rather than respect or reverence.
2 Frank Walton // Feb 9, 2007 at 11:04 am
I actually wrote a blog against the challenge. Honestly, these atheists are a bunch of fascists who believe that all Christians should be put in mental hospitals. Why bother associating with these people.
3 Miko // Feb 9, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Well, Frank, I think that indoctrination of children, whether by Christians or by atheists, is immoral and horrifying. However, I don’t believe, having been one myself, that teenagers exactly qualify as “children”. I think the dialogue that RRS is encouraging (if perhaps militantly), is an important one. I don’t know all the answers. If I claimed to, I would expect institutionalization. Some Christians also admit the possibility that they are wrong or just don’t know. That’s the kind of dialogue we encourage here at Mind on Fire. If you’re interested, please stick around, we would welcome the extra voice. However, I reserve the right to moderate the kinds of name-calling and hate-speech I found on your website.
May you be loved, regardless of your beliefs & may you participate in open discussions with intelligent people.
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