[This is not one of those fake church signs: it's the real thing, taken in Arkansas.]image
[transcript: Reason is the greatest enemy that faith has.]
184 comments
I'm sorry, but I've got call Poe on this, it may not be off a sign generator but there is such a thing as Photoshop, and the whole base timetable thing looks way too faked.
'"I refuse to prove that I exist," says God, "for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing."' - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Nope, it's the real thing. I saw a church sign with the same wording in Virginia.
Fundies: Pig-ignorant and proud of it.
I actually saw one that said "If man evolved from monkeys, why are there still monkeys?" SWEAR TO...well, I swear, I saw it. IN NEW YORK.
Rational Christian: What I observe is real. If it appears to disagree with scripture, then I've misunderstood scripture.
Nutbag Fundie: I'm a genius who has a perfect interpretation of scripture. If my interpretation disagrees with reality, then reality must be wrong, because there's no way I could be wrong.
The pastor must have reasoned thusly to himself, 'How can I effectively show opposition to reasoning, except, ahem, when I'm doing it, of course. I know, I'll put up a sign opposing reason'. He reasoned to himself that it would be reasonable to assume that the typical fundie dimwit would only laud him for his efforts, being incapable of reasoning for themselves. So, following his own reasoning, he arranged for an anti-reason sign to be erected. Sounds reasonable. Not.
We use reason and logic in simple everyday decisions.
So when it's cold and wet outside do you wrap up warm? or do you rely on faith to get you through the day?
What about when you drive a car? Do you drive on pure blind faith relying on god to control you? Or do you follow your highway code?
I have to say, if I was their god I'd be insulted by these dimwits.
(P.s. Hooray the edit button is back!)
"The anabaptists pretend that children, not as yet having reason, ought not to receive baptism. I answer: That reason in no way contributes to faith. Nay, in that children are destitute of reason, they are all the more fit and proper recipients of baptism. For reason is the greatest enemy that faith has: it never comes to the aid of spiritual things, but - more frequently than not - struggles against the Divine Word, treating with contempt all that emanates from God. If God can communicate the Holy Ghost to grown persons, he can, a fortiori, communicate it to young children. Faith comes of the Word of God, when this is heard; little children hear that Word when they receive baptism, and therewith they receive also faith." (Martin Luther, Colloquia Mensa, paragraph CCCLIII)
and:
From: http://www.faithfullyliberal.com/?p=879
Someone's been playing Dawn of War!
"An open mind is like a fortress, with it's gates unbarred and unguarded"
Well, it is a Baptist church, afterall. They tend to breed the most fucked up fundies, after Pentecostals.
Around here I have an invite to Bible-Camp on the local churches. On a fun note, the Tattoo Parlor sign reads "America, Where is God?" yeah Atheists in the bible belt have a message, while the churches are posting events.
We in the UK have Richard Dawkins. Prof. Stephen Hawking. And Tim Berners-Lee. All proponents of Reason. This is virtually an Atheist country.
Coincidence?
We Brits also had Bertrand Russell:
'Religion is something left over from the infancy of our intelligence, it will fade away as we adopt reason and science as our guidelines.'
And you wonder why Britain isn't the right-wing fundy haven America is, nor will it ever be? 'Faith' has no right to exist in peoples' minds. Because those with minds will never allow it to exist in there.
>'"I refuse to prove that I exist," says God, "for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing."' - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
'IT'S PHOTOSHOPPED!!!'
you wish.
IGNORANCE GOOD.
*snort*
*eats mammoth leg*
@mISARY wIZARD
"(Face Palm) Why the hell did I have to be born in Arkansas?"
@dingo
"(from arkansas)
hehe, beryl is such a shithole"
Take solace in the fact that Bill Clinton was born in Arkansas. Specifically Hope.
That, and the fact that the University of Georgia (along with IBM) have developed .5-1 THz processors (for use in the telecommunications industry, US Department of Defence etc), proves that there are highly educated people in the Deep South of the US, so fear ye not, good people.
The fact that professional cyclist Lance Armstrong - a Texan - makes no secret of his Atheism, proves the grip of fundie ignorance on the US is starting to weaken. Gradually, but it's happening.
That, and Obama's election means that hope - and sanity - is still alive and well in your country after all.
This is indeed a real quote from Martin Luther, and it is NOT misquoted.
I've read the original text in german (I am a german, so I should understand it correctly). Martin Luther really meant what he said. This is not misquoted out of context. Source: "Tischreden", "Nutzen der Kindstaufe". ('Table Talk', Section: 'On baptizing children')
In this essay, Luther proposed that children should be baptized and teached in religion as early as possible. Reason: When they grow up, their brains develop reason and critical thinking. Reason is the greatest enemy that faith has, and if we wait with baptizing until they became adults, there is the very real danger that they reject religion as something really silly. So we must instill faith as early as possible in the children.
This is more or less the essence from the text where this quote was taken from.
It's hard to imagine how anyone can believe things that go against their own sense of reason, but it happens. I suppose I could understand if it only happened with the dumb ones who have enough sense to know they're dumb, but intelligent people suffer from cognitive dissonance, too.
I have BEEN to this church. Granted, I went as a kid and don't remember anything about it (which is undoubtedly a very good thing), so I can't say whether this is legitimate. I would not be surprised if it is, though -- especially since it s a genuine Martin Luther quotation. The church is located in Vilonia, AR, which is about a 20-minute drive from where I currently live.
I drive by this sign all the time. A few things to note:
1. It is quite real, I see on nearly a daily basis.
2. It's the town of Villonia, Arkansas. Beryl is the name of the street.
3. It frequently has equally stupid things on it. Living in Arkansas all my life I can tell you that most radical people down here are Baptists.
The greatest failure here is in this church's not understanding that reason is good, and that this goodness is the antithesis to the evil of their faith. Apart from that, they hit the nail right on the head with this message.
This is exactly what I need after proclaiming my undying hatred for feminists. Something nice and refreshing.
Seriously, this image relaxes me.
Not as much as this though.
image
Ahhh. Perfect. People making themselves look silly and a floating Zeppelin. So relaxing.
Once again... they are actually saying you have to be stupid to believe in God.
Not necessarily correct, but, damn, does it make them look... stupid. Objective completed... I guess?
Is it bad that I imagined Faith Hill seeing this sign and saying, "Why are you dragging me into this, you pack of ninnies?!"?
*looks at Anon-e-moose's comment8
Oh wait, maybe . . . ah never mind.
Well, I WAS reasoning to go to church, but if reason is faiths greatest enemy, i guess I shouldn't go to church.
Meanwhile, in the grim darkness of the third millenium...
The feeling's mutual, Faith.
The amusement, I suspect, is not.
(Subconscious Honesty in Advertising award, anyone?!):
image
And cop for this:
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If only all other fundies could be this honest? At least Al-Qaeda are open about their intentions.
As it's no longer appearing on my original comment, and for the benefit of others wondering what Elia is talking about:
image
OVER 9000 hours in MS Paint II. X3
Augustine, Albertus Magnus, and Thomas Aquinas would beg to differ. Where is your Scholasticism, O Baptists?
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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