New atheist billboard echoes the Treaty of Tripoli

[cleanhippie]

Undeterred by an embarrassing misquote of Thomas Jefferson on a billboard in October, the Orange County California group, Backyard Skeptics, is still out there trumpeting the cause of reason and separation of church and state. They're on firmer ground with their latest effort, a billboard that paraphrases a key article from the 1797 Treaty of Tripoli. It was unveiled at 1526 Newport Blvd (at the northeast corner of Industrial Way) in Costa Mesa on December 9th. It reads:


AMERICA IS NOT, IN ANY SENSE, FOUNDED ON THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION.
The Treaty of Tripoli, 1797 - Signed Unanimously by Congress

--snip--

Undeterred by an embarrassing misquote of Thomas Jefferson on a billboard in October, the Orange County California group, Backyard Skeptics, is still out there trumpeting the cause of reason and separation of church and state. They're on firmer ground with their latest effort, a billboard that paraphrases a key article from the 1797 Treaty of Tripoli. It was unveiled at 1526 Newport Blvd (at the northeast corner of Industrial Way) in Costa Mesa on December 9th. It reads:


AMERICA IS NOT, IN ANY SENSE, FOUNDED ON THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION.
The Treaty of Tripoli, 1797 - Signed Unanimously by Congress


--snip--


The treaty was ratified unanimously by Congress and signed by then President John Adams.

The reason the billboard features the Treaty of Tripoli is that it demonstrates that the founding fathers understood and endorsed the governing principle of separation of church which, as Backyard Skeptics spokesman Bruce Gleason wrote in an email announcing the billboard, "is one of the fundamental concepts our constitutional authors had when penning the Constitution: 'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.'" The treaty is, in fact, direct and compelling evidence that the United States was not "in any sense" founded as a Christian nation.

http://www.examiner.com/atheism-in-los-angeles/new-atheist-billboard-echoes-the-treaty-of-tripoli

[PatrynXX]

1. and they are still a religion..

zzz now agnostics. they are a don't know. no religion. don't believe in anything... atheists are about as bad as Christians. trying to force their beliefs on others..

[trotsky]

2. Putting up a billboard reminding the right-wing Christians about secularism...

is " (forcing) their beliefs on others?" I don't think that means what you think it means.

[cleanhippie]

3. Its obvious that you have no idea what you are talking about.

And therefore, your post is irrelevant.

[Angry Dragon]

7. When was the last time someone walked

up to you and told you had to give up your religion??

[darkstar3]

8. There really is no better response for such posts than this:

http://xkcd.com/774/

[MarkCharles]

4. So, lots of Americans are pretty under-educated about American history.

Kudo's to that fifth session of Congress and or second President, John Adams!

Today's Congress members would NEVER sign something like that, not after just voting (again)on "In God We Trust" a few weeks ago.

[AlbertCat]

5. BTW.... there was no "misquote"

There is an urban legend Jefferson said "I do not find in Christianity one redeeming feature. It is founded on fables and mythology." (sounds like him) but no one can actually find the quote. Jefferson did edit a New Testament, getting rid of all miracles and supernatural elements. In 1804 he came out with "The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth".

And of course there are many other indications (like the Treaty of Tripoli) that this was not founded and a Christian, or any other religious nation.

[DonCoquixote]

6. remember how in Texas

They edited out Thomas Jefferson and insisted that John Calvin was actually a founder of American thought, (despite the fact Calvin never saw the Americas.) The Pharisees (it is an insult to call them Christians) have no problem warping the past to fit their needs.