Tag: Atheist

Atheist Driver’s Attack on Magdeburg Christmas Market Leaves Christians Mourning

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A devastating incident unfolded at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany on 20 December, where a vehicle driven by Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, 50, struck a crowd, resulting in five deaths, including a nine-year-old child, and injuring over 200 others. The attack has raised questions about safety, community unity, and the risks posed by extremism.

Abdulmohsen, a Saudi national and refugee, was previously associated with far-right movements and anti-Muslim rhetoric. He had publicly declared himself an atheist and advocated for Middle Eastern non-believers to migrate to Germany. He spoke of this in a July 2019 BBC documentary. Reports from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and The Guardian corroborated his background, noting his atheism and open opposition to Islam.

Concerns about Abdulmohsen’s behaviour had been raised long before this tragedy. German publication Der Spiegel reported that the Saudi secret service had warned Germany’s intelligence agency, the BND, about threats he posted online. In one instance, he warned Germany would “pay a price” for its treatment of Saudi refugees.

Abdulmohsen’s history included other troubling incidents. In 2013, a court in Rostock fined him for “disturbing the public peace by threatening to commit crimes.” More recently, in Berlin, he was investigated for “misuse of emergency calls” following a heated exchange with police officers. He had been on medical leave from his job at an addiction clinic near Magdeburg since October. The day before the attack, he missed a court appearance for charges related to the Berlin incident.

The attack deeply impacted Christians celebrating the Advent season. Christmas markets in Germany are cherished traditions, symbolizing hope and togetherness. The violence disrupted the spirit of the season, leaving the Christian community mourning those lost and praying for the injured.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited the scene of the attack, accompanied by national and regional leaders, where they laid flowers near Magdeburg’s main church. A memorial service was held at Johanneskirche, providing a space for reflection and grief.

The incident has led to calls for increased vigilance, especially during public events. For Christians, it serves as a reminder of the importance of standing together in faith and compassion during challenging times.

A misleading and unfair question

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It’s not uncommon for someone opposed to our faith to ask: How could you believe in God given some of the things science has proven? It’s a misleading and unfair question for several reasons.  It’s usually directed at someone who is not an astrophysicist or even someone who holds some advanced degree. It’s easy to imply that advanced science has proven there is no God when talking to someone who is not a scientist. It’s an unfair advantage that some exploit. One can claim that science has proven anything when talking to someone without such an education.  But doing so speaks more to the intentions of the one making the claim. Science has not proven there is no God.  It’s either a claim intended to deceive, one made from ignorance, or it’s an expression atheist faith.

It’s important to note that the Bible wasn’t written to teach us about the processes by which God created the universe. Its books were written to explain in words we can understand, the nature of God and our need for salvation. The processes by which God created the universe may or may not be something that men and women can understand. When one considers how little of the universe is even visible to us, we would have to make a lot of assumptions to claim we understand it.

Researchers have learned things about the physical world that that appear to be gibberish to common understanding.  I’m talking about things such as subatomic particles that exist in two places at the same time and the universe being made up of mostly dark matter that we can’t see or detect other than its gravitational pull. Something existing in two places at the same time? That doesn’t make sense.  It sounds like gibberish to say most of the universe is invisible, but they’ve demonstrated that as well. Reality is not what we think, and it’s certainly not what our senses tell us.

Researchers and our finest scientific minds have never come up with something that “proves” there is no God.  If anything, they’ve demonstrated we’re going in the wrong direction if our goal is to confirm that our understanding of reality in this universe reveals that the idea of God is hard to believable.  But there are some people who work very hard to try to convince us that science has eliminated God.  Let me restate this.  As top scientists find things that go against our common sense, they find that making sense of God’s creation isn’t as simple as we’d like it to be.  Fallacious arguments such as the “celestial teapot” lose their bite when used to say the idea of God is false because it seems absurd. In fact, Bertrand Russell who devised the argument was intentionally being absurd to demonstrate that the burden of proof lies with the person making a claim, not to “prove” there is no God.  How something seems or feels does not tell us anything about its reality.  As science advances, the  arguments of those calling the concept of God absurd recedes, and the idea that science has eliminated God is revealed as little more than anti-theist faith.

I believe God created the universe, and us, and loves us enough to offer His son’s blood to cover our shortcomings.

What do you believe?

 

 

Atheist group appeals ruling that its ads have same restrictions as religious organizations

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A Pennsylvania atheist organization is appealing a judge’s ruling that the Lackawanna County transit system did not violate the group’s First Amendment right to free speech when it declined ads that, “promote the existence or non-existence of a supreme deity, deities, being or beings,” on buses.”

U.S. District Judge Malachy Mannion in July found the County of Lackawanna Transit System, COLTS,  has a legitimate reason to reject ads submitted by the Northeastern Pennsylvania Freethought Society.  The judge’s ruling says COLTS’ treatment of the organization follows COLTS’ advertising policy and is no different than any other group seeking to buy advertisement.

The American Civil Liberties Union represents the society in the case.  The ACLU filed the appeal with the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. A news release issued by the ACLU says, “The trial court’s ruling in this case does not diminish our belief that COLTS is suppressing our clients’ right to free speech. As a government agency, COLTS is significantly limited in its ability to censor speech. It can’t censor speech in order to keep people from debating important public issues, which is exactly what COLTS has tried to do here.”

Federal judge: Transit system that bans religious ads can ban atheist posters too

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A United States federal judge this week ruled the County of Lackawanna Transit System (COLTS), of Pennsylvania, did not violate an atheist group’s right to free speech by rejecting its ads.  COLTS cited a policy it enacted in 2011. The policy states COLTS will not accept advertising that, “…promote the existence or non-existence of a supreme deity, deities, being or beings.”

The Northeastern Pennsylvania Freethought Society filed a federal lawsuit alleging the transit system allowed several churches to advertise before the atheist group tried to place an ad in 2012, according to an Associated Press report printed in the Seattle Times. The AP report does not mention that COLT’s ban on such advertisement was already in place when the atheist group applied to place its ad.

US District Judge Malachy E. Mannion’s ruling concludes, “The legal issues presented in this case are particularly fact specific. By way of this decision, the court in no way diminishes the importance of free speech in our society. In fact, in today’s society, free speech is more important than ever. That being said, the law dictates that, under the facts of this case alone, that COLTS’ advertising space is a limited forum  and  that COLTS did  not violate Freethought’s First Amendment right to  free speech by refusing  to place  its advertisement on COLTS’  buses. For the foregoing reasons, judgment will be entered in favor of COLTS and against Freethought. An appropriate order will issue.

Leader of Houston atheist group resigns amid sexual harassment claims

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A Houston, Texas secularist group this week announced its leader has resigned following an incident of sexual harassment.

A statement posted to the website of Houston Oasis states, “Mike Aus submitted his resignation as Executive Director of Houston Oasis. The Board of Directors has accepted his resignation. On Saturday June 9th, the Board of Directors became aware of an incident of sexual harassment by Mike Aus from a member of the Houston Oasis community.” You can read the entire statement here.

The group’s website says Houston Oasis is a community that meets weekly to enjoy fascinating talks, live music, and friendship among non-religious people in the greater Houston area.

EDITOR’S NOTE:

It is not the position of Texas Gospel that incidents such as this are evidence of a moral flaw among atheists.  To claim this would be to make the same hasty generalization often made by non-believers about Christians.  Every person has free will.  Unfortunately, some individuals choose to use their free will for acts such as is alleged in this case.