Seattle has a reputation as being the most atheistic city in America. LGBT scandal after LGBT scandal. Including the resignation of their gay mayor for sex with an underage minor. Does atheism make a difference to human rights and moral behavior? I think it makes human rights and moral behavior impossible to rationally ground.
Anyway, here is the story from the Daily Wire: (H/T Samizdat, a Canadian apologetics web site)
A Seattle street preacher says he was arrested for simply reading his Bible at a public park near a Seattle Gay Pride event.
Matthew Meinecke was surrounded by Seattle police officers and taken to the police station, where he was fingerprinted before being released.
“So at this point we can no longer stand by,” a police officer told Meinecke as he arrested him. “The risk that you pose for public safety by remaining here can be mitigated if you leave, it’s your last chance.”
“I don’t want to leave because I’m not in danger,” Meinecke responded.
The video of the arrest is here:
Here’s what you can expect in the way of morality, in atheist Seattle:
One Seattle Pride event featured several men riding their bicycles naked as some children watched; during another event some men paraded around naked in front of children, according to footage posted of the event.
Meinecke posted a video of Bibles that he said had been seized from him and ripped as one person yelled at him, “Get the f*** out of here! Get your holy water off my ovaries, b****! Get the f*** out!”
One person yelled at Meinecke to “forget about your imaginary fairy in the f***ing sky.”
What is rational, once you accept the idea that the universe is an accident, and human beings are machines made out of meat? What kind of morality is possible if you accept “survival of the fittest”?
Can you rationally ground human rights on atheism?
On atheism, morality is reduced to cultural fashions, like clothing fashions and cooking fashions. It differs by time and place, and each standard is “right” in that time and place. Infanticide is right in some times and places, and wrong in other times and places. When an atheist says X is wrong now, the same atheist can say X is right in a different time and place. Atheists aren’t referring to any objective standard when they talk about right and wrong, they’re just describing what cooking or clothing is OK for their time and place. The words are just to present themselves a certain way to people around them. Moral language is meaningless. It’s just social behavior – saying what will make people like you. Atheists don’t spend time thinking about morality. There’s nothing to study. There’s nothing to reason about. There’s nothing to submit to. Who would waste a moment thinking about which flavor of ice cream is “morally right” for everyone, in all times and in all places?
But even this pretense of morality stops the moment that a prescribed course of action goes against an atheist’s self-interest. This is the only life they have, and they are determined to feel as happy as they can, regardless of who else gets hurt. Right to free speech? Right to religious liberty? Those things can be trampled by the state the minute they offend an atheist. Just look at what happens to Christian business owners who decline to participate in same-sex wedding ceremonies in atheist cities like Seattle. Atheists don’t think that forcing people to disobey their consciences is wrong. That article I linked to points out how the laws are never enforced when it’s an LGBT-owned business discriminating against Christians. “Atheist morality”. Justice is not rationally-grounded on atheism. It’s all about power.
I recently linked to a couple of excellent posts on morality and atheism. Check them out. In that post, I also linked to a post by James Bishop, featuring TONS of interesting quotes by famous atheists, about the implications of adopting the worldview of atheism.
Here’s one by former Cornell University paleontologist Will Provine:
Let me summarize my views on what modern evolutionary biology tells us loud and clear … There are no gods, no purposes, no goal-directed forces of any kind. There is no life after death. When I die, I am absolutely certain that I am going to be dead. That’s the end for me. There is no ultimate foundation for ethics, no ultimate meaning to life, and no free will for humans, either.
There are tons of quotes like that from leading atheists on James Bishop’s blog. It’s very important to understand that atheists who use moral language are speaking about things that they believe do not actually exist in reality. You really have to check a person’s worldview before you can trust them.
WINTERY KNIGHT 
It shows how deep down they know there is a God and that they are in rebellion against him. If he was reading anything else they’d let him speak.
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Precisely. “Anything else”, no matter how outlandish.
I end this dialog (from this morning) with these very words:
“You only suffer those views with which you agree and give you the greatest moral latitude, no matter how absurd or counter-intuitive. It seems we are not free to make our own meaning after all, but only that which meets with your approval.”
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I admire all of the street preachers who go to the Gaystapo events, and I myself have protested drag queen grooming hour and Pride Month with some very tough, but 100% Biblical, signs.
I can’t say for sure what is going on here, but it looks like he was asked to disperse for public safety reasons, his safety primarily because the crowd wanted to mob him. He has every right and Christian freedom to refuse a dispersal request. But he has every right and Christian freedom to follow it too.
Personally, if the request to disperse is a legal one, and this looked like it possibly, then I disperse and live to fight another day. It has the added effect of not giving the wicked the satisfaction of seeing me put into chains. Some of these events, to me, are like throwing pearls before swine, and Corrie ten Boom did not stand with a sign that said “Nazis are Fascists!” outside of the Gestapo headquarters just down the street from her home. She rescued Jews from right under their noses. Not sure what the equivalent is here. Maybe dropcards or something more active.
Again if I’ve misanalyzed this, my apologies. Nothing but the highest regard for street preachers. Christian freedom is a thing. So is Christian obligation. He’s got guts to go to Seattle and do that!
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Perhaps some non-biblical signs, like: “How can you be a sex you physically are not?” or “Who put you in the wrong body?” or “Children have a right to their biological parents.” or “How is gay natural when nature only cares about reproduction?” Come to think of it, so many more can be conceived. I’ve started compiling a list for an article. I think the person using such a sign should also be equipped to argue the specific point they are making.
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Those are great!
I tend to go with signs like “LGBTQP is Child Abuse!” (With LGBTQP in gaybow colors.) You definitely want them pithy with large lettering, so that people can read them easily when dirving by.
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I’ve created 20 and counting. Length may be a problem. My longest is 15 words. What are your thoughts on length, and is there a context for longer ones? Not sure if I’m wasting my time.
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It’s like a game. We try to keep ours 6 words or shorter so that the words can be huge and seen far away by the most people. I have some exceptions to that when I’m doing up close witnessing, but for intersection and abortion mill work, it’s fun to see if we can get our message down to something short. “Babies Murdered Here” is a great classical one.
I’ve got one that says “Am I Not a Child and a Neighbor?” that’s an exception to 6 words, but a great takeoff on the slavery phrase.
Most pro-aborts drive past me with these little tiny signs and as much writing on it as the Declaration of Independence. I couldn’t read those signs with a magnifying glass!!!
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This is not a serious country.
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Aarons Razor says “Its just demonic bro”
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Here’s a video of the preacher before the arrest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOLmL4rhoiM
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Thanks, RF!
At that point, it was very mild, so there would be no need to issue a dispersal order. That’s just very silly Gaystapo / pro-abort behavior – they are just reveling in their unrighteousness, not threatening to riot and burn the place down, LOL. Even then, the police usually just cordon off the preachers and let them continue to preach while protecting them.
But, it is Seattle after all. Sweet guy, and courageous.
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Thanks!
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(I didn’t take the video by the way- it’s not my Youtube channel. Found it on Twitter.)
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