Atheist gives invocation at Cobb meeting

By MARCUS K. GARNER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

9:11 a.m. Thursday, July 30, 2009

No need to bow your heads, folks.

That’s what Smyrna atheist Edward Buckner told people before leading the invocation Tuesday night at the Cobb County Board of Commissioners meeting.

“It’s actually a protest against invocations,” the president of American Atheists said Wednesday night. “My goal is to get them to stop doing invocations.”

County board of commissioners chairman Sam Olens, reached by phone Wednesday night, said he was offended by Buckner’s actions.

“Did I find his comments repugnant and insulting? Yes,” Olens said. “He abused the process by giving an opinion … rather than providing inspiration.”

What Buckner did was thumb his nose at what he believed was an unconstitutional cross-section of religion and government, he admitted in his words Tuesday night.

Rather than any form of deity, he invoked “the 700,000 people who live in this county — especially the majority (yes, over half) of those 700,000 who are not members of any church, mosque, temple, or other religious organization,” he said.

“I speak as well for those political leaders who despair that success in politics cannot be achieved without hypocritical piety from politicians and who would prefer to run for office and to govern based on competence and political philosophy rather than on beliefs, real or pretended, in any supernatural beings.”

Olens, a candidate for state Attorney General, said he was surprised by Buckner’s tirade.

“I expected that it would be in the context of inspiration,” Olens said.

Buckner said he was disappointed that Olens made a “disclaimer” before he spoke, saying that federal law requires the county to let anyone who signs up make an invocation.

“This county is pro-religion and they act like anybody who isn’t is a second class citizen,” Buckner said.

Buckner is no stranger to protesting religion in government.

In 2005, he was one of seven Cobb residents who with the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit to halt the practice of invocations before board of commissioners’ and planning commission’s meetings.

But last year, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed in a 2-1 ruling with a lawsuit’s contention that the Constitution permits only nonsectarian prayers.

And earlier this month, Buckner spoke out during public comment against the commissioners’ approval of a plan by the county’s development authority to issue up to $14 million in bonds to lend to North Cobb Christian School for renovations.

Olens said the county received an E-mail from Buckner requesting to do an invocation, and allowed it because of First Amendment laws.

“Had I stopped him before he started, he then would’ve had a federal action against the county,” Olens said. “That’s the price you pay for being American.”

Buckner had this to say for those he may have offended.

“Join me in asking Cobb County to stop having invocations,” he said.

Full video of the event here with a backup link here. Thank you to the Cobb County Commission for being respectful and polite during the proceedings. It’s just too bad that Olens is so chagrined by his fellow citizens exercising their rights that he had to go on record after the fact as being offended.  The price you pay…?  What an asshole…

Loved the smattering of applause at the end.  I only wish I knew what Ed said in place of “under God” during the pledge…  it obviously was not “under God”.  Cheers, Ed.

Enjoy.

Dear Friend,

If you live in America, the chances are good that your next door neighbours believe the following: the Inventor of the laws of physics and the Programmer of the DNA code decided to enter the uterus of a Jewish virgin, got himself born, then deliberately had himself tortured and executed because he couldn’t think of a better way to forgive the theft of an apple, committed at the instigation of a talking snake. As Creator of the majestically expanding universe, he not only understands relativistic gravity and quantum mechanics but actually designed them. Yet what he really cares about is “sin”, abortion, how often you go to church, and whether gay people should marry. Statistically, the chances are that your neighbours believe all that – and they can vote.

In other parts of the world, there is a good chance that your neighbours believe you should be beheaded if you draw a cartoon of a desert warlord who copulated with a child and flew into the sky on a winged horse. In other places, there’s a good chance that your neighbors think their wishes will be granted if they pray to a human figure with an elephant’s trunk.

Even if your neighbours don’t hold any of those mutually contradictory beliefs, they probably take it for granted that we should unquestioningly respect those who do. And a huge majority of American and British newspapers and periodicals go along with this abject kow-towing to what their educated editorial staff must know, in their heart of hearts, is nonsense.

In all this darkness we discern occasional pinpoints of light, beacons of evidence-based intelligence. There are just a few publications that serve as light-houses in a dark, foggy ocean, and of these my favourite in all the English-speaking free world is Free Inquiry. In keeping with my pessimistic opening, its circulation is not large, but it is growing. Free Inquiry’s list of regular columnists is as star-studded as any in America. Free Inquiry is committed to piercing the darkness, rolling back the fog, and restoring the Enlightenment values that inspired the founders of this great Republic.

I think it is clear that we are gaining ground, and I believe our pace is accelerating. Free Inquiry is in the vanguard of this exhilarating adventure in critical thinking. Please subscribe to, and join me in celebrating, a magazine that believes all ideas are open to rational debate and critical examination, a magazine that is not afraid to speak out in language that flashes as clear as a light-house on a dark night.

Richard Dawkins

Richard Dawkins is a world-renowned evolutionary biologist and the author of bestselling books including The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, and The God Delusion. His writing frequently appears in Free Inquiry.

See the entire video here: Clash Between Faith and Reason

What is Pangea Day?

Pangea Day is a global event bringing the world together through film. On May 10, 2008, live events in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro will be linked by satellite to produce a program of powerful films, live music and visionary speakers. The program will be broadcast live to millions of people worldwide through the internet, television, and mobile phones.

Who started Pangea Day?

Pangea Day was created by award-winning documentary filmmaker Jehane Noujaim in collaboration with the TED Conference after she won the prestigious TED Prize, which granted her a wish to change the world. Together, Jehane, TED, and the Pangea Day team — led by Executive Director Delia Cohen — have created Pangea Day to harness the power of film to enhance empathy, compassion, and peace.

And if you aren’t familiar with TED, check it out.  I watch and listen to the free podcasts all the time.

What is TED?

TED stands for “Technology, Entertainment, Design.” It started out in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from those worlds. Since then, its scope has become even broader. This annual conference brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers and challenges them to give the talk of their lives. Talks from the conference are now made available online, for free, and have been watched more than 35 million times worldwide.

What is the TED prize?

The TED Prize was created as a way of taking the inspiration, ideas, and resources that are generated at TED and using them to make a difference in the world. The prize was introduced in 2005 and recognizes three individuals annually with the talent to change the world. It’s unlike any other award, and here’s why: Although the winners receive $100,000 — that’s the least of what they get — the real prize is that they are granted a wish. A wish to change the world. The TED Community then comes together to make that wish come true.

How amazing is that?

To get an idea of how moving and clever this will be, take a look at the world through someone else’s eyes for a minute… Tank Driver:

Very well done.  We should all take time to reflect on our common human experience.  We are all in this together.

I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute–where no Catholic prelate would tell the President (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote–where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference–and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the President who might appoint him or the people who might elect him.

How could we have strayed so far off course in such a short time.  When can we get back to the real United States of America?  The one without ‘God’ all over our money and tacked on to our pledge.  I guess those were simpler times, but here in 2008 we clearly have simpler people.

The most amazing one to me was Quakers.  Who knew that Quakers were so free-thinking?  Actually, I had an idea because I recall that the early Quaker movement in the US was largely due to dissatisfaction with contemporary sects of Christianity and has become even less rigid as of late.

I have considered attending a UU church for the social and intellectual stimulation, but many of the UU blogs and web sites are frequently lamenting that UU denominations are not more “spiritual”.  That’s certainly not for me, so UUism is probably not in my future.

You should check out beliefnet.  It was even more fun to try it again with my ‘Baptist’ upbringing.  Enjoy…