An Oregon bakery, Sweet Cakes by Melissa, has been sued by a lesbian couple for refusing to provide a cake for their same-sex wedding. And now, some of the “tolerance-demanding-but-not-tolerance-giving” pro-homosexual citizens are dishing out heaps of intolerance against the business as well. They have been demonstrating outside of their shop, and threatening to shut down other vendors who work with Sweet Cakes by Melissa. As a result of these tactics, Sweet Cakes by Melissa saw a 50% drop in their business, and have been forced to close their shop and start working out of their home.
No, of course this won’t affect anyone. Carry on. Just remember, tolerance is a one-way street on this issue, and if you aren’t driving with the flow of traffic, prepare for the consequences.
Update: As of July 2015, the family has been fined $135,000 for causing emotional damage to the two lesbians.
Thinking to Believe 
September 5, 2013 at 12:30 pm
Let’s say that interracial marriage was the issue. The advocates say, “A black person marrying a white person won’t affect anyone.” Then, one day, a bakery denies its services to an interracial couple because they find it immoral. The advocates of interracial marriage picket, boycott, and make their voices heard. Eventually, the bakery decides to move and change its name as a result of the backlash. Would it then be appropriate to say that the advocates were wrong in saying, “A black person marrying a white person won’t affect anyone?” Or would calling that statement wrong be cynical, facetious, and disingenuous?
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September 5, 2013 at 2:06 pm
This logic is the equivalent of standing on tracks with your arms outstretched, being run over by a freight train, and then claiming that the train was a hazard to your health.
The bakery broke the law. That’s the heart of the matter. The owner of Sweet Cakes can practise her religion however she sees fit, but religion has never, not once in the history of the United States, ever been considered an excuse to break the law in any court in the history of the nation. You see, when you open a business that caters to the public, you need a business license from the government. It’s a sort of contract you sign, that guarantees that you will run your business in accordance with the law or pay the consequences. And Oregon state law clearly states that any business that discriminates against a certain class of people, including LGBT individuals, have violated the business contract they signed. Which is exactly what Sweet Cakes did.
And let’s not have any more of this ‘abiding by Christian beliefs’ rubbish. After Sweet Cakes sent away the gay couple, they agreed to make a cake for a Wiccan celebration, a divorce celebration party, a party for unwed parents, and a stem cell research party. All of these go against Christian beliefs, but Sweet Cakes didn’t have a problem with any of them. They are either the worst sort of hypocrites…or bigots just like everyone claims. They made their choice, now they deal with the consequences of bad publicity. The government didn’t step in and force their business to close down. They closed it themselves. That’s not persecution, that’s the free market.
You see, it does no good for Christians to bleat about persecution when they have deliberately broken the law. Especially since the Christian persecution of LGBT individuals in America by Christians far outstrips people refusing to shop at a bakery. You know, like murder. Torture in conversion camps. Denying civil rights, like the right to serve in the military with dignity and honour or teach in public schools. Massive protests at the funerals of people who died of AIDS back in the 80’s. Imprisonment. Throwing gay kids out of their homes. All done by Christians in America.
I look forward to a post about the deeds of your own brothers and sisters in Christ. I doubt I’ll see it though.
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September 5, 2013 at 2:37 pm
Is there any proof that after they said no to the gay couple that they made a cake for a Wiccan ,divorced party, stem cell research party, a party for unwed parents ? I have to say I am skeptical . Please post some info about this, I realize there are hypocrites, but this seems unbelievable .
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September 5, 2013 at 3:04 pm
Yes there is. Here is one of the news articles about it. A couple of individuals were curious about whether the bakery followed their Christian beliefs in all examples, or just where the gays were concerned. So they called in with a couple of orders, made it very clear what the cakes were for (the Wiccan one had a pentagram), and received confirmation in every order.
Here’s the link.
http://www.thebraiser.com/anti-gay-marriage-bakeries-apparently-fine-with-making-divorce-wiccan-stem-cell-cakes/
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September 5, 2013 at 4:00 pm
I am pleased they are suffering the consequences of their religious bigotry; on the other hand, it can work both ways and often does.
Muslims in Dearborn MI filed a lawsuit against one of two McDonalds in that town when McDonalds served chicken regular mcnuggets after they ran out of “Halal” mcnuggets, just the opportunity the religionists were waiting for to suit for false advertising. OMG Can you believe it?
McDonlalds settled out of court for a mere $700,000.00 dollars of which the Muslim law firm got the lion’s share and the Muslim who brought the lawsuit received a $20,000.00 sum. All in all a good catch and a good day’s work for the religiously insane.
BY DAVID KNOWLES / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
MONDAY, JUNE 24, 2013, 7:41 PM
McDonald’s drops halal McNuggets after $700K settlement with Muslim customer
In a statement, the company said it would drop the halal items from two restaurants in Detroit suburb Dearborn in order “to focus on our national core menu.” McDonald’s didn’t mention a lawsuit by a Muslim man who had accused the eatery chain of not consistently following Muslim law to meet the halal designation. The suit was settled for $700,000.
Source:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/mcdonald-drops-halal-mcnuggets-700k-suit-article-1.1381444
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September 5, 2013 at 4:36 pm
You must also be upset about The American Family’s boycott of
From Wikipedia:
The AFA has boycotted companies for various reasons, most often relating to Christmas controversies, pornography, support of pro-choice activism, support of violence or sexual content in entertainment, and support of LGBT rights,[32][33][34] including same-sex partner employee benefits. These organizations include: 7-Eleven, Abercrombie & Fitch, American Airlines, American Girl, Blockbuster Video, Burger King, Calvin Klein, Carl’s Jr., Clorox, Comcast, Crest, Ford, Hallmark Cards, Hardee’s, Kmart, Kraft Foods, S. C. Johnson & Son, Movie Gallery, Microsoft, MTV, Mary Kay, NutriSystem, Old Navy, IKEA, Sears, Pampers, Procter & Gamble, Target, Tide, Walt Disney Company, and PepsiCo. The AFA has criticized the People’s Republic of China for its persecution of Christians
Did you speak out about these?
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September 5, 2013 at 4:50 pm
Kerry:
Religious insanity knows no ends but that their goals are dominant and prevalent and influential is every aspect of a person’s life. Unfortunately if religion was only a belief in the supernatural that would be insanity enough.
But religion; i.e. Christian values, Islamic values, Judaist values etc., is more than just a belief, religion wants to impose a universal morality which is why it has always attracted the kind of person who thinks other people’s private lives are their business. And if they can discriminate against the people with different perspectives, you know, the “infidels”.
Religion is a divisive force not a unifying force. All religions divide into cults believing only they, have the true Religion, true Church, true Prophet, true God, true Values; then, in self righteousness denigrate and slander infidels (the outsiders). Religion divides the world in the same way that humans divide the Global Ocean and Nationalism divides the people. With Religion, divided we are.
Without religion,United We Stand.
Humanity Uniting Humans,(HUH)
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September 5, 2013 at 5:48 pm
Irish A , thanks for info, would like to hear their response, reason or excuse.
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September 5, 2013 at 6:13 pm
Yea–Its funny how the Sodomites first appeal to ,then demand tolerance, but dont exercise a hint of it themselves.And their advocates dont seem to know know that multiple times religious groups or individuals were SAID to be ” breaking the law” When in fact the “law ” or regulation was in fact breaking the constitution. Meanwhile an atheist here repeatedly claims that religion is wrong for wanting to present truth & yet he is the one who must butt into every discussion & supposedly set all parties right over & over & over with HIS “truth”. Another one claims that religion divides But apparently cant grasp the fact that atheism is what divides. These are unhappy people who moan & cause division over everything. For the umpteenth time they are trying to remove “under God” from our pledge, The people dont want it removed. But that doesnt matter to them. Only their view should apparently matter.Additionally, the courts have already spoken. But of course the actual law means nothing unless it ensnares a Christian person or bakery or principle.But these people, always dividing, are never satisfied & will accuse YOU of dividing. LOL! They divided from the world into the nations of militant atheism beginning nearly 100 years ago. The atheist bigots then murdered millions because those others simply held different beliefs, (whether religious or political). They are arrogant nasty hypocrites.
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September 5, 2013 at 8:48 pm
Atheism got its start when the first man of common sense, caring, charitable and compassion came out of the closet, put himself in harm’s way and took on the religious establishment by testifying over and over again about the evils of its way, the deception of its message, the pretense of their style, poison of the supernatural, paranormal venom, fear, guilt, the hoax of magic as miracles, the hatred for anyone poor, lame, sick, diseased, hungry, destitute, downtrodden and disabled. That man was Jesus!
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September 6, 2013 at 7:30 pm
He had absolutely no sympathy for those who misrepresent God, Yet not one of them were so laughably misinformed as to claim that the Self Existant One doesn’t really exist! LOL!!! Atheists are brilliant only in undermining truth, morality, nations, etc. In some cases they undermine sanity itself. But those times when they succeed in taking charge, you then see massive stupidity,failure or even mass murder, and other evils that replaces what they cleverly destroyed. Lenin and his Satanic disciples, the very antithesis of Jesus and His disciples at least had enough sense to know that his enemy from Nazareth via Heaven, was no atheist. Jesus not only constantly advocated believing in God but also made serious claims OF Godhood. As for atheist filth Marxist Mugabe, heso far has murdered at least 20 000. The atheist (FORMER Jesuit )Castro murdered 30 ooo at very very minimum. Lenin himself had at least the same number murdered . How many did Jesus murder Leo??? Atheist skum Milosevic murdered 100,000. Atheist filth Ho Chi Min murdered 200,000. Satanic Tito murdered a half million. Atheist slime Brezhnev murdered 1 million .Marxist Mengistu murdered 1.5 million. Kim Il Sung whose grandson rules a nation just right for nuts as well as God haters murdered 1.6 million. Atheist human devil Pol Pot murdered 1.7 million.Stalin, another who ONCE was a seminary student, but REJECTED Christ as Lord murdered at least 7 million. Then Mao, another atheist skum murdered at least 50 million. Atheism on display. Thei failure & misery & evil of your “forefathers” in the LACK of faith couldnt contrast any more diametrically opposite in comparison to the Christ the Son of the Living God !
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September 7, 2013 at 12:26 am
There’s this notion,that atheism is responsible for the greatest crimes in the 20th century. It is amazing how many people think the crimes of Hitler and Pol Pot and Mao were because of atheism.This a total misconstrual of those societies and of the psychological and sociological forces that allowed people to follow their dear leader over the brink.The problem with fascism and communism was not that they were too critical of religion,the problem is they’re too much LIKE religion.
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September 7, 2013 at 12:29 am
sonnybardin:
Rick Warren suggested that North Korea was a model atheistic society. The truth is North Korea is organized exactly like faith based cult. Centered on the worship of Kim Jong Il. North Koreans apparently believe that the shipments of food aid that they receive from us to keep them from starving to death are actually devotional offerings to Kim Jong Il. Is too little faith the problem with North Korea? Is too much skeptical inquiry what is wrong here?
Auschwitz, the Gulag and the Killing Fields are not the product of atheism, they are the product of other dogmas run amuck: Nationalism, political dogma. Hitler did not engineer a genocide in Europe because of atheism, in fact Hitler doesn’t even appear to have been an atheist, he regularly invoked Jesus in his speeches. But that’s beside the point. He did it on the basis of other beliefs: dogmas about Jews and the purity of German blood.
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September 9, 2013 at 12:14 am
The other thing that your atheist heroes in the lack of faith did/do is alter accounts of history& even of reality itself . Its actually real similar to what you do Leo.. They lived/live in a dream world like you do leo & thought /think that they themselves are the ultimate truth.Oh yes friend their vile treatment of innocent men women & children directly flowed from their atheist view that mankind is not a creation in the image of God but just a commodity to be taken by the all knowing state , led by Leos heroes, and worked to death literally, or placed in forced reindoctrination settings, or just be given a bullet to the head.
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September 9, 2013 at 5:54 pm
Sonny:
Face it, all people ever born on this planet were born as atheists; that is, without a belief in a god. Simple as that.
Then along comes religion and begins to recruits youngsters while their minds are pliable like putty and they abuse the purity of children in a draconian application of child abuse.
It’s unfortunate that many people on this planet seem to believe the very first thing they’re told and stick with it for the rest of their life. Not only does it remain unexamined but any attempt to challenge it is taken as a grievous insult.
Clearly those early few months and years of life are a very sensitive time and whatever ideas are imprinted into the soft putty of the unformed mind at that stage stays there pretty much forever and yet for some reason, here in the civilized world, it’s still perfectly legal for us to indoctrinate our children with the most hateful and divisive absurdities it’s possible to imagine. And imagined them we have.
Creating in them not young, vibrant, healthy, inquiring minds but rather stunted little freakish minds that are no use to anyone but a bloodsucking preacher.
We not only allow this abuse, we actively encourage it; we throw public money at it.
Your attempt to extract some psychopaths from history as examples to try and pin on Atheists will not work. Atheists are smarter than you, because they are not subjected to the supernatural paranormal of religion and Hollywood.
Tell this, and I have brought this example up to you before. I suppose you have a good memory, it’s just short. When David desired Bathsheba and sent her husband to the front lines of battle to be killed so he could have Uriah’s wife all to himself, was that David’s atheism acting out or his religiosity? It was neither and neither do I blame David’s religion for his human nature failings of his uncontrolled sexual desire, position of power and egomania.
You should have enough common sense not to try and denigrate the true birthright of all humans, atheism, with something less than common sense. Atheism was coined merely as a reaction to religious absurdities so of course babies are not born with any adversity against a god they would have no idea what you were talking about if left to their own growth and not abused as children by religion who wants the control and gain the upper hand of the world’s people and it doesn’t matter if you’re Christian Judaist, Muslim, a superstitious Tibetan or hand waving Buddhist, all religion is based on magic, myths, miracles, superstition, supernaturalism and the paranormal in the seat of the ancient reptile brain. It’s all a bunch of mental wishfulness; “if this, then that” And it’s nice to speculate about, like winning the lottery. OMG. The imagination can give you 72 black eyed virgins, milk and honey anything your heart can desire
Even the New Testament refers to people who claimed to talk to “familiar spirits” but scripture also says the dead know nothing.
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September 9, 2013 at 10:46 pm
However this post got to this point, Jason’s main point still remains:
People who don’t agree with the homosexual position will be negatively affected in the coming days, since it’s apparent by the news article he shared that they already are.
You can rejoice over it or bewail their fate, and go on whatever track you want about it all, but people are being affected. The idea that it’s not a big deal and it doesn’t hurt anyone just isn’t true.
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September 9, 2013 at 11:59 pm
People are affected by their own discriminatory prejudices, so they are only affected by the biases they harbor regardless if gays marry or do not marry. It’s not a big deal and it doesn’t hurt anybody because the truth of the matter is that hate hurts the hater always, but with respect to gays marrying, the hated never hurt anybody, it’s your own hate that hurts you so accept the blame where it falls, squarely on the shoulders of the haters.
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September 12, 2013 at 7:11 pm
1-No child was ever ever born an atheist. Atheists have made a conscious decision that they reject God. Obviously babies have never done any such thing. 2- It is very odd to see atheists lecture others about hate.
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September 12, 2013 at 7:19 pm
Engels was 10 years old when he rejected God & became an atheist. He was the youngest of infamous Communists to do so. I dont think pediatricians consider even a 10 year old to be a baby. Stalin,& Castro & company were older still when they made those choices. No they were not babies either.
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September 12, 2013 at 10:07 pm
You are just being silly and obtuse. How can anyone reject God when they are not born with any knowledge, understanding, idea, concept or heaven forbid, “belief” about a God?
That is, Until religion comes along and distorts their pure unformed putty minds with a parade of nonsensical miracles, myths and magic caricatures like tooth fairies, angels, demons, Adam and Eve, talking serpents and well, you know the rest of the story.
Children trust adults to tell them the truth but all they get bombarded with is everything but the truth and you raise in your children “doubt” and that’s why religious teachings should be neutralized in school and government until children reach the age of maturity before they are allowed to be exposed to mind parasite poison without an academic filter to distinguish between the dung and the diamonds.
Thank goodness the threshold has arrived and one of the Canadian Provinces 2010 banned the teaching of all religion in daycare centres funded by the government and this year is going further. Today there is a huge debate in Quebec about the New “Charter of Values Bill” before the Legislature that prohibits the wearing overt and ostentacious religious symbols by government employees. Government must remain neutral and not allow the citizens to be stunned and exposed to religious symbols of burkas, turbans etc. that by their very nature ostracize others as inferior to themselves.
Erase anything religious so government remains neutral.
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September 12, 2013 at 10:15 pm
sonnybardin:
How old do you think Jesus was when he became an atheist rejecting the church, religion, the clergy, the supernatural by calling the leaders poisonous snakes, devourers of widows property and hypocrites?
Did he not challenge the status quo when he was 12?
Not every baby subjected to religion grows into a mindless follower of the belief system syndrome.
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September 16, 2013 at 9:54 pm
Sorry friend I proved the point that babies are not atheists . But I will wait & see if you have proof that 10 year olds are babies.
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September 16, 2013 at 10:09 pm
Wait, are you actually now asking at what age Jesus supposedly became an atheist ,—– and then even suggesting it was at 12,—— which I believe sir is 2 years OLDER than Engel was????????——- So apparently you yourself believe one is a baby at 12 !!!! Perhaps sir you should direct your numerous & long insights at Leo first .
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September 17, 2013 at 7:01 am
What you fail to grasp sonny, is the pure mind of a new born baby before its religious abuse when the mind is without any concept about your god myth; and then, after religious abuse, the older child, now able to make conscientious decisions on his own, rejects the religious bombardment of supernatural nonsense as he rejects the boogie man and santa claus etc.
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September 21, 2013 at 11:52 pm
|What you fail to grasp is that I simply took your own comments & proved you totally contradict yourself in claiming that all babies are atheists, and then claiming that Jesus BECAME an atheist at 12 ! What you additionally fail to grasp (though I already stated it in plain English), is that complete unawareness of a concept or of a person or of a food or of anything is not REJECTION of it sir !!! You cant possibly reject OR endorse something you are not at all aware of sir. You might try thinking that through before you shoot off yet another instant “answer”.
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September 22, 2013 at 2:14 pm
I understand that one cannot reject what one does not know but the simplicity is that atheism is a non belief in a God and all babies are born with a non belief in God. Belief is only put their after abusing young children; rejection comes when a child has enough smarts or opportunity to look at the proof, facts as a child who by practice have their senses trained up in the discernment of right and wrong and belief is wrong and therefore at varying ages in life people reject the nonsense of supernatural belief.
That is exactly what I have said. No belief in god before religious abuse, after religious abuse; i.e. Sunday School, some kids are actually intelligent enough to reject the belief nonsense. Obviously you have not been in that class of people able to reject the mine drilling of the mind by religious believers.
In adulthood of course we consider atheism to be a rejection of the god myth because adult usually are intelligent enough to reject religious insanity but not everyone. In reality the definition is that an atheist is someone who does not believe in a God or Gods, Sir.
And if the religious community would not have retarded the babies with religious nonsense, they all would have continued to have a wonderful life of joy and happiness without the guilt and self loathing that you continually carry daily because of religion, Sir.
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October 1, 2013 at 6:08 pm
I was correct in knowing you would simply shoot off another “answer” rather than thinking first.——————-I knew exactly “in reality” what atheism is all along sir. Atheist are officially said to be deniers of any God /god. —-Big Wup!!!!! In actual deed it is obvious that they are God haters. As your real hero Lenin said : I shall banish God from the skies & capitalism from the earth.” He like your other forefathers were Godhaters. However your enemy & future judge, The Lord Jesus Christ however said “I proceeded forth and came from God.” He said “I HONOR my father…”. Atheists however while PROFESSING to merely disbelieve in God, are in fact obsessed in dishonoring Him, and denying His existence to all whom they can get to listen to their God hating rants. Your own rant prove the point further. No atheist can possibly know there is no God having never travelled throughout the universe & beyond. Engels was a God hater. His own words tell you he DID deep down believe in God but hated Him. Christians, being harder workers & non political were no threat to no threat to Mao, or Bulganin, or Ceaucesceu, but they were MORE THAN mere God-deniers–They were God-HATERS,.& thus like other atheist dictators targeted Christians & later Jews also. ———————————————–Babies dont deny the existence of God. And they especially dont hate God.
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October 1, 2013 at 6:10 pm
And I repeat —Engels will tell you he became an atheist at 10–So apparently he wasn’t born an atheist either. Because no one is.
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October 1, 2013 at 6:21 pm
No baby knows what the concept of being a “parent” means either. IT DOES NOT MEAN THEY DONT BELIEVE IN “PARENT”-HOOD !!! Sorry.
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October 2, 2013 at 8:15 am
sonny:
Why do you insist on being wrong everytime. Babies do not believe in God; how could they since they have not been indoctrinated by religious superstition at birth.Atheists do not deny God necessarily,; they just do not believe in a God; even yourself would be an atheist as far as Zeus is concerned would you not?
No sonny, your problem and all religionist’s problem lies in the simple fact that your supernatural Gods do not exist anywhere in “throughout the universe & beyond”. You see your problem is that you consider the supernatural (Gods) reside “throughout the universe & beyond”. The real God that Jesus loved was exactly where God does reside: “within you”.
Take this legend to heart and you may just become one with the Father as I:
According to an old Hindu legend…
..there was once a time when all human beings were gods, but they so abused their divinity that Brahma, the chief god, decided to take it away from them and hide it where it could never be found.
Where to hide their divinity was the question. So Brahma called a council of the gods to help him decide. “Let’s bury it deep in the earth,” said the gods. But Brahma answered, “No, that will not do because humans will dig into the earth and find it.” Then the gods said, “Let’s sink it in the deepest ocean.” But Brahma said, “No, not there, for they will learn to dive into the ocean and will find it.” Then the gods said, “Let’s take it to the top of the highest mountain and hide it there.” But once again Brahma replied, “No, that will not do either, because they will eventually climb every mountain and once again take up their divinity.” Then the gods gave up and said, “We do not know where to hide it, because it seems that there is no place on earth or in the sea that human beings will not eventually reach.”
Brahma thought for a long time and then said, “Here is what we will do. We will hide their divinity deep in the center of their own being, for humans will never think to look for it there.”
All the gods agreed that this was the perfect hiding place, and the deed was done. And since that time humans have been going up and down the earth, digging, diving, climbing, and exploring–searching for something already within themselves. Lk: 17:21
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October 3, 2013 at 1:45 am
Sorry friend -No baby has ever yet rejected God. No baby has ever yet hated God. Just wish with all your vast intelligence you could see that, but I know its just too simple a concept. Sorry too I wouldnt take the all wise legend to anywhere cause I didnt read it.
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October 3, 2013 at 1:47 am
Please make you next instant response longer than the last one.
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October 3, 2013 at 6:34 pm
Babies have nothing to do with rejecting God nor do atheists, both babies, all babies born, and atheists alike simply DO NOT BELIEVE in God. The former are born that way, the latter after rejecting religious indoctrination when they are old enough to think for themselves. Who can hate a non entity? It’s a meaningless comment.
Pity the babies who are abused by religion, abuse must come but woe to those through whom they come to harm the pure minds of innocent children.
Believing in God is a deliberate suspension of disbelief the indoctrinated succumb to.
Too bad you don’t know the real Father of Jesus as the Legion of Brahma describes.
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October 3, 2013 at 8:03 pm
Thanks for FINALLY agreeing that atheists reject God & babies do not, Which is what I have been saying all along.. :”The latter after REJECTING religious indoctrination”. —Be sure though to make your next instant reply really really long.
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October 4, 2013 at 10:18 am
Here’s the short answer you crave. A sonnybardin = obtuse. lolable
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November 8, 2013 at 2:06 pm
[…] on a florist who was sued for not providing flowers for a same-sex wedding, a baker who was sued for not providing a cake for a same-sex wedding, and a wedding photographer who lost a case in New […]
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February 9, 2014 at 7:10 am
BREAKING NEWS: New York (AFP) – US Attorney General Eric Holder will expand government recognition of same-sex marriages in all federal courtrooms and prisons Monday, and ensure they receive the same benefits as heterosexual ones.
The move, which Holder announced Saturday at a gay rights dinner gala in New York, marks a major gain for advocates of same-sex couples after the Supreme Court issued two rulings expanding gay marriage rights last year.
Under the new policy, same-sex couples will enjoy the privileges even in states that do not recognize their marriages, so long as they legally wed in another state.
Among the key benefits the Justice Department will now ensure are extended to same-sex couples are the compensation fund for the September 11, 2001 attacks, as well as death and educational benefits for the surviving spouses of police officers and firefighters injured or killed in the line of duty.
“In every courthouse, in every proceeding, and in every place where a member of the Department of Justice stands on behalf of the United States, they will strive to ensure that same-sex marriages receive the same privileges, protections and rights as opposite-sex marriages under federal law,” Holder said.
Same-sex couples would also be held to the same legal standard as their heterosexual counterparts on matters such as how debts are handled in federal bankruptcy proceedings and visitation policies at federal prisons, as well as compassionate release or sentence reductions in certain cases of crisis involving their spouse.
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US Attorney General Eric Holder pictured at a gay rights dinner gala in New York on February 8, 2014 …
Advocates of gay rights immediately hailed the decision.
“This landmark announcement will change the lives of countless committed gay and lesbian couples for the better. While the immediate effect of these policy decisions is that all married gay couples will be treated equally under the law, the long-term effects are more profound,” said Chad Griffin, president of Human Rights Campaign, whose gala was the site of Holder’s speech.
“Today, our nation moves closer toward its ideals of equality and fairness for all.”
But conservatives blasted the decision, suggesting President Barack Obama’s administration had chosen a liberal interpretation of the Supreme Court rulings.
“The news that the Justice Department will extend sweeping recognition to ‘marriages’ of same-sex couples, even in states that do not recognize such unions, is yet another illustration of the lawlessness of this administration,” Family Research Council president Tony Perkins said in a statement.
The policy memorandum will “formally instruct all (Justice) Department employees to give lawful same-sex marriages full and equal recognition, to the greatest extent possible under the law,” Holder said.
The first African American attorney general also stressed that his predecessors played a key role in the civil rights movement half a century ago.
“As all-important as the fight against racial discrimination was then, and remains today, know this: my commitment to confronting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity runs just as deep,” Holder said.
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