2) In response to:

I apologize. I'm late with the ballots this month, and I feel terrible.

I'd forgive you, but I don't have a son to kill.

By: Gregory A Greenman
Nominated: Mark K. Bilbo
Seconded: zeplerfer

It's July, it's hot, and I'm swamped with skeeters. They are my constant
companions as I battle to keep my back yard from being washed away by
the all-too-frequent thunder storms we're getting this year. I hope
things are better for all of you. {;-)

6) _YOU_ may "have" to be good. _YOU_ may begrudgingly refrain from
rape, murder, torture and all that jazz because your holy sky spook will
zap you if you don't, all the while drooling in some secret corner of
your mind every time a bloody corpse appears on the newsreel. I, on the
other hand, _don't_ "have" to be good. I do it because I _want_ to.
That being the case, festering nutcases like yourself who ONLY have an
imaginary space pixie standing between you and mass slaughter should all
be locked away for the safety and well-being of the rest of the world,
'cuz 'heaven' only knows it's just a matter of time before you fantasize
that your space pixie's changed its mind and decided to send _you_ to do
its dirty work.

By: Avender Neufonze
Nominated: towelie
Seconded: Rhode Island Red

------------

------------

10) A sacrifice is not a sacrifice by definition if you get back what
you supposedly sacrificed. At best, Jesus can be considered to have been
inconvenienced for your sins.

By: raven1
Nominated: Zeplerfer
Seconded: Martin Crisp

It's July, it's hot, and I'm swamped with skeeters. They are my constant
companions as I battle to keep my back yard from being washed away by
the all-too-frequent thunder storms we're getting this year. I hope
things are better for all of you. {;-)

Here are the nominations for Atheist Quote of the Month for July 2003.
Vote for your favorite by responding to this thread. Votes will be
accepted until midnight, July 31. See rules below. Questions? Comments?
Email me.
* * * * *

It's July, it's hot, and I'm swamped with skeeters. They are my constant
companions as I battle to keep my back yard from being washed away by
the all-too-frequent thunder storms we're getting this year. I hope
things are better for all of you. {;-)

------------

12) It does make for a snoppy sounding urban legend does it? If
condeleeza, aka dorothy, were transported to Nigeria and she followed
the yellowcake road then, she might find a guy with no brain (bush), a
guy with no heart (cheney) and a guy with no courage (wolfowitz). But
when they got to the end of it, the wizard, aka Hans Blix, would explain
to them that the WMDs had all been a bad dream.

By: quibbler
Nominated: towelie
Seconded: Michael Nash

------------

I don't understand why you'd deny that from yourself

companions as I battle to keep my back yard from being washed away by
the all-too-frequent thunder storms we're getting this year. I hope
things are better for all of you. {;-)

Here are the nominations for Atheist Quote of the Month for July 2003.
Vote for your favorite by responding to this thread. Votes will be
accepted until midnight, July 31. See rules below. Questions? Comments?
Email me.
* * * * *

1) You know, I think I'm going to place a follow-up ad stating:

Save 10%, don't go to church.

By: Routerider
Nominated: Bob Dog
Seconded: Harry Leopold

------------

2) In response to:

I apologize. I'm late with the ballots this month, and I feel terrible.

I'd forgive you, but I don't have a son to kill.

By: Gregory A Greenman
Nominated: Mark K. Bilbo
Seconded: zeplerfer

------------

3) Would you rather your airline pilot just finished reading a Boeing
checklist, or the Bible?

By: Ghost Rider
Nominated: Wolf333
Seconded: TCS

------------

4) In response to:

I've never understood why a person should receive more respect after
they died than while they were alive. It makes no sense to me.

It harkens back to the time when folks believed that the shade of a dead
person had real power to cause harm. When you "spoke ill of the dead",
you risked the wrath of the unquiet ghost who could then conveniently be
blamed for failed crops, dry cows, spoiled cheese and termites. And
(pardon the expression) God help you if you dissed the departed in the
marketplace with lots of people to overhear, and the village well goes
dry a few days later....

By: Gregory Gadow
Nominated: Charles R Ward
Seconded: Denis Loubet

------------

5) In response to:

I don't understand why you'd deny that from yourself.

Well, first of all, religion can sometimes help people... but it can
also sometimes harm people. Personally, my life is *much* better since
I lost my religion. So please don't make the mistake of thinking that
what helps *you* will help everyone else too. Just as a medicine that
can help one person can harm or kill another, just so with worldviews.
Our minds are not 'one belief system fits all'.

Secondly, what makes you think that an atheistic worldview can't be just
as much as help as a theistic one? Atheism is an aspect of our
worldviews, it is not the be-all and end-all of them. My worldview
seems to me to be at least as much help to me as yours is to you ...
Just because my worldview doesn't include a god doesn't make it useless
or less use the way you seem to assume above.

There just doesn't seem to be any signs that a theistic worldview is any
better for people than an equivalent atheistic worldview.

By: Abner Mintz
Nominated: Meteorite Debris
Seconded: stoney

------------

6) _YOU_ may "have" to be good. _YOU_ may begrudgingly refrain from
rape, murder, torture and all that jazz because your holy sky spook will
zap you if you don't, all the while drooling in some secret corner of
your mind every time a bloody corpse appears on the newsreel. I, on the
other hand, _don't_ "have" to be good. I do it because I _want_ to.
That being the case, festering nutcases like yourself who ONLY have an
imaginary space pixie standing between you and mass slaughter should all
be locked away for the safety and well-being of the rest of the world,
'cuz 'heaven' only knows it's just a matter of time before you fantasize
that your space pixie's changed its mind and decided to send _you_ to do
its dirty work.

By: Avender Neufonze
Nominated: towelie
Seconded: Rhode Island Red

------------

7) Baloney. My poor god-soaked child, the bible is supposed to be
knowledge imparted by the infinitely intelligent creator of the
universe! Why would this supreme being allow such a confused book to be
published in his name? Surely it is within his power to have produced a
book that unequivically states *exactly* what we need to know and
provides incontrovertible evidence of his existence.

By: Alan Hobson
Nominated: Steve Knight
Seconded: Dr. Smartass

------------

8) Re: Proposed "Creation Museum"

I'm not sure about the artifacts, but the entrance should be a large
representation of a bovine posterior...because what you find within will
be the largest collection of ***** you are ever likely to see.

By: zamboni30000
Nominated: stoney
Seconded: Dr. Smartass

------------

9) In response to:

What do you do when you "share a testimony"?

He regurgitates what he was fool enough to swallow, and then expects you
to swallow it too.

As a dog returns to its vomit...

By: Martin Crisp
Nominated: towelie
Seconded: Tink

------------

10) A sacrifice is not a sacrifice by definition if you get back what
you supposedly sacrificed. At best, Jesus can be considered to have been
inconvenienced for your sins.

By: raven1
Nominated: Zeplerfer
Seconded: Martin Crisp

------------

11) The "Left Behind" books are to literature what communion wafers are
to gourmet cuisine....flat, bland, tasteless little cultural quirks with
no real nutritional value...and the only reason people swallow them is
they think that the very act of doing so will save their souls!

By: Clayton Can't Stop the Music...or the Voices!
Nominated: stoney
Seconded: Dr. Smartass

------------

12) It does make for a snoppy sounding urban legend does it? If
condeleeza, aka dorothy, were transported to Nigeria and she followed
the yellowcake road then, she might find a guy with no brain (bush), a
guy with no heart (cheney) and a guy with no courage (wolfowitz). But
when they got to the end of it, the wizard, aka Hans Blix, would explain
to them that the WMDs had all been a bad dream.

By: quibbler
Nominated: towelie
Seconded: Michael Nash

------------

13) Skeptic, please do not reply to anything I post, because as soon as
I discover that you (under any name) are Skeptic you go into my
kill-file. You are an idiot, a moron, an unthinking waste of peoples
time. A one-note regurgitator of misread, misunderstood writings of your
betters.

This one time I respond to you in order to inform you that you are a
waste of protoplasm and oxygen that could be better used to grow mildew.

By: Harry Leopold
Nominated: ABC
Seconded: Will

------------

14) I suggest we go one further, we preface *all* science text books
with a warning that all of science is only a theory and should be
challenged wherever the evidence is shaky. That, after all, is what
science does anyway.

By: Levy Oates
Nominated: Indefual
Seconded: AckbarJedi

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Here are the rules for the Quote of the Month Contests.


RULES

1. Only atheists and agnostics may participate in the contests.

2. A quote is a valid entry for the contests if:

a. The quote is a brief piece of text;

b. The quote has recently been written in alt.atheism (verifiable);

c. Nomination of the quote is made by an atheist or agnostic
in alt.atheism

d. Nomination of the quote is supported by at least one other
atheist or agnostic in alt.atheism;

e. The quote is not nominated or seconded by the person who wrote it
in
the first place (no one is allowed to nominate him- or herself,
but a person
can vote for the quote he or she wrote.)

3. There will be two categories: 'Atheist Quote of the Month'
and 'Theist Quote of the Month'. The category for which a
quote must be nominated must be mentioned by the atheist or
agnostic who wants to nominate it.

If a quote is miscategorized (e.g. an atheist quote is mistakenly
nominated in the Theist QOTM category), the quote will be re-directed
to appear in the correct category, with approriate notification.

4. Nominations can be made until five days before the first of the
next month. If quotes are nominated after this period, they will be
considered as entries for the contest of the next month.

* When making a nomination, the word "nomination" MUST appear
somewhere in the subject line!

5. Each atheist or agnostic who visits alt.atheism has one vote to
cast for each category (two votes total).

6. Voting starts 5 days before the end of the month. During the month,
votes will be ignored. This way, all nominees will have equal chance of
winning.

7. The two winning quotes will be published in the QOTM Archive.

SUMMARY

A nomination must contain the following information:

1. The lines of the quote.

2. Who wrote it.

3. Who nominates or seconds the nomination of this quote (that's you!)

4. Which category this nomination is for.

5. The word "nomination" MUST appear somewhere in the subject line!

Publish the nomination or support for a nomination in a designated
thread, preferably called "[T/A]QoTM Nomination for [month]." You can
also e-mail it to me (see below).


VOTING

1. In the last five days of the month you can cast your vote in both
categories.

2. Votes must either be placed in the designated thread.

14) I suggest we go one further, we preface *all* science text books
with a warning that all of science is only a theory and should be
challenged wherever the evidence is shaky. That, after all, is what
science does anyway.

By: Levy Oates
Nominated: Indefual
Seconded: AckbarJedi

It's July, it's hot, and I'm swamped with skeeters. They are my constant
companions as I battle to keep my back yard from being washed away by
the all-too-frequent thunder storms we're getting this year. I hope
things are better for all of you. {;-)

------------

7) Baloney. My poor god-soaked child, the bible is supposed to be
knowledge imparted by the infinitely intelligent creator of the
universe! Why would this supreme being allow such a confused book to be
published in his name? Surely it is within his power to have produced a
book that unequivically states *exactly* what we need to know and
provides incontrovertible evidence of his existence.

By: Alan Hobson
Nominated: Steve Knight
Seconded: Dr. Smartass

10) A sacrifice is not a sacrifice by definition if you get back what
you supposedly sacrificed. At best, Jesus can be considered to have been
inconvenienced for your sins.

By: raven1
Nominated: Zeplerfer
Seconded: Martin Crisp

* * * * *

------------

2) In response to:

I apologize. I'm late with the ballots this month, and I feel terrible.

I'd forgive you, but I don't have a son to kill.

By: Gregory A Greenman
Nominated: Mark K. Bilbo
Seconded: zeplerfer

------------

------------

2) In response to:

I apologize. I'm late with the ballots this month, and I feel terrible.

I'd forgive you, but I don't have a son to kill.

By: Gregory A Greenman
Nominated: Mark K. Bilbo
Seconded: zeplerfer

------------

1) You know, I think I'm going to place a follow-up ad stating:

Save 10%, don't go to church.

2) In response to:

I apologize. I'm late with the ballots this month, and I feel terrible.

I'd forgive you, but I don't have a son to kill.

By: Gregory A Greenman
Nominated: Mark K. Bilbo
Seconded: zeplerfer

3) Would you rather your airline pilot just finished reading a Boeing
checklist, or the Bible?

By: Ghost Rider
Nominated: Wolf333
Seconded: TCS

I've never understood why a person should receive more respect after
they died than while they were alive. It makes no sense to me.

It harkens back to the time when folks believed that the shade of a dead
person had real power to cause harm. When you "spoke ill of the dead",
you risked the wrath of the unquiet ghost who could then conveniently be
blamed for failed crops, dry cows, spoiled cheese and termites. And
(pardon the expression) God help you if you dissed the departed in the
marketplace with lots of people to overhear, and the village well goes
dry a few days later....

5) In response to:

I don't understand why you'd deny that from yourself.

6) _YOU_ may "have" to be good. _YOU_ may begrudgingly refrain from
rape, murder, torture and all that jazz because your holy sky spook will
zap you if you don't, all the while drooling in some secret corner of
your mind every time a bloody corpse appears on the newsreel. I, on the
other hand, _don't_ "have" to be good. I do it because I _want_ to.
That being the case, festering nutcases like yourself who ONLY have an
imaginary space pixie standing between you and mass slaughter should all
be locked away for the safety and well-being of the rest of the world,
'cuz 'heaven' only knows it's just a matter of time before you fantasize
that your space pixie's changed its mind and decided to send _you_ to do
its dirty work.

By: Avender Neufonze
Nominated: towelie
Seconded: Rhode Island Red

7) Baloney. My poor god-soaked child, the bible is supposed to be
knowledge imparted by the infinitely intelligent creator of the
universe! Why would this supreme being allow such a confused book to be
published in his name? Surely it is within his power to have produced a
book that unequivically states *exactly* what we need to know and
provides incontrovertible evidence of his existence.

By: Alan Hobson
Nominated: Steve Knight
Seconded: Dr. Smartass

------------

8) Re: Proposed "Creation Museum"

9) In response to:

10) A sacrifice is not a sacrifice by definition if you get back what
you supposedly sacrificed. At best, Jesus can be considered to have been
inconvenienced for your sins.

By: raven1
Nominated: Zeplerfer
Seconded: Martin Crisp

11) The "Left Behind" books

12) It does make for a snoppy sounding urban legend does it? If
condeleeza, aka dorothy, were transported to Nigeria and she followed
the yellowcake road then, she might find a guy with no brain (bush), a
guy with no heart (cheney) and a guy with no courage (wolfowitz). But
when they got to the end of it, the wizard, aka Hans Blix, would explain
to them that the WMDs had all been a bad dream.

By: quibbler
Nominated: towelie
Seconded: Michael Nash

13) Skeptic, please do not reply to anything I post, because as soon as
I discover that you (under any name) are Skeptic you go into my
kill-file. You are an idiot, a moron, an unthinking waste of peoples
time. A one-note regurgitator of misread, misunderstood writings of your
betters.

This one time I respond to you in order to inform you that you are a
waste of protoplasm and oxygen that could be better used to grow mildew.

By: Harry Leopold
Nominated: ABC
Seconded: Will

14) I suggest we go one further, we preface *all* science text books
with a warning that all of science is only a theory and should be
challenged wherever the evidence is shaky. That, after all, is what
science does anyway.

By: Levy Oates
Nominated: Indefual
Seconded: AckbarJedi

10) A sacrifice is not a sacrifice by definition if you get back what
you supposedly sacrificed. At best, Jesus can be considered to have been
inconvenienced for your sins.

By: raven1
Nominated: Zeplerfer
Seconded: Martin Crisp

------------

------------

2) In response to:

I apologize. I'm late with the ballots this month, and I feel terrible.

I'd forgive you, but I don't have a son to kill.

By: Gregory A Greenman
Nominated: Mark K. Bilbo
Seconded: zeplerfer

------------

10) A sacrifice is not a sacrifice by definition if you get back what
you supposedly sacrificed. At best, Jesus can be considered to have been
inconvenienced for your sins.

By: raven1
Nominated: Zeplerfer
Seconded: Martin Crisp

14) I suggest we go one further, we preface *all* science text books
with a warning that all of science is only a theory and should be
challenged wherever the evidence is shaky. That, after all, is what
science does anyway.

By: Levy Oates
Nominated: Indefual
Seconded: AckbarJedi

14) I suggest we go one further, we preface *all* science text books
with a warning that all of science is only a theory and should be
challenged wherever the evidence is shaky. That, after all, is what
science does anyway.

By: Levy Oates
Nominated: Indefual
Seconded: AckbarJedi

2) In response to:

I apologize. I'm late with the ballots this month, and I feel terrible.

I'd forgive you, but I don't have a son to kill.

By: Gregory A Greenman
Nominated: Mark K. Bilbo
Seconded: zeplerfer

6) _YOU_ may "have" to be good. _YOU_ may begrudgingly refrain from
rape, murder, torture and all that jazz because your holy sky spook
will zap you if you don't, all the while drooling in some secret
corner of your mind every time a bloody corpse appears on the
newsreel. I, on the other hand, _don't_ "have" to be good. I do it
because I _want_ to. That being the case, festering nutcases like
yourself who ONLY have an imaginary space pixie standing between you
and mass slaughter should all be locked away for the safety and
well-being of the rest of the world, 'cuz 'heaven' only knows it's
just a matter of time before you fantasize that your space pixie's
changed its mind and decided to send _you_ to do its dirty work.

By: Avender Neufonze
Nominated: towelie
Seconded: Rhode Island Red

7) Baloney. My poor god-soaked child, the bible is supposed to be
knowledge imparted by the infinitely intelligent creator of the
universe! Why would this supreme being allow such a confused book to be
published in his name? Surely it is within his power to have produced a
book that unequivically states *exactly* what we need to know and
provides incontrovertible evidence of his existence.

By: Alan Hobson
Nominated: Steve Knight
Seconded: Dr. Smartass

My first AQOTM nomination :) I'll politely abstain from voting.
There are a lot of good quotes this month, though.

-Alan
aa#1608 BAAWA

10) A sacrifice is not a sacrifice by definition if you get back what
you supposedly sacrificed. At best, Jesus can be considered to have been
inconvenienced for your sins.

By: raven1
Nominated: Zeplerfer
Seconded: Martin Crisp

10) A sacrifice is not a sacrifice by definition if you get back what
you supposedly sacrificed. At best, Jesus can be considered to have been
inconvenienced for your sins.

By: raven1
Nominated: Zeplerfer
Seconded: Martin Crisp

It's July, it's hot, and I'm swamped with skeeters. They are my constant
companions as I battle to keep my back yard from being washed away by
the all-too-frequent thunder storms we're getting this year. I hope
things are better for all of you. {;-)

Here are the nominations for Atheist Quote of the Month for July 2003.
Vote for your favorite by responding to this thread. Votes will be
accepted until midnight, July 31. See rules below. Questions? Comments?
Email me.
* * * * *

2) In response to:

I apologize. I'm late with the ballots this month, and I feel terrible.

I'd forgive you, but I don't have a son to kill.

By: Gregory A Greenman
Nominated: Mark K. Bilbo
Seconded: zeplerfer

14) I suggest we go one further, we preface *all* science text books
with a warning that all of science is only a theory and should be
challenged wherever the evidence is shaky. That, after all, is what
science does anyway.

By: Levy Oates
Nominated: Indefual
Seconded: AckbarJedi

10) A sacrifice is not a sacrifice by definition if you get back what
you supposedly sacrificed. At best, Jesus can be considered to have been
inconvenienced for your sins.

By: raven1
Nominated: Zeplerfer
Seconded: Martin Crisp

It's July, it's hot, and I'm swamped with skeeters. They are my constant
companions as I battle to keep my back yard from being washed away by
the all-too-frequent thunder storms we're getting this year. I hope
things are better for all of you. {;-)

Here are the nominations for Atheist Quote of the Month for July 2003.
Vote for your favorite by responding to this thread. Votes will be
accepted until midnight, July 31. See rules below. Questions? Comments?
Email me.
* * * * *

7) Baloney. My poor god-soaked child, the bible is supposed to be
knowledge imparted by the infinitely intelligent creator of the
universe! Why would this supreme being allow such a confused book to be
published in his name? Surely it is within his power to have produced a
book that unequivically states *exactly* what we need to know and
provides incontrovertible evidence of his existence.

By: Alan Hobson
Nominated: Steve Knight
Seconded: Dr. Smartass

3) Would you rather your airline pilot just finished reading a Boeing
checklist, or the Bible?

By: Ghost Rider
Nominated: Wolf333
Seconded: TCS

14) I suggest we go one further, we preface *all* science text books
with a warning that all of science is only a theory and should be
challenged wherever the evidence is shaky. That, after all, is what
science does anyway.

By: Levy Oates
Nominated: Indefual
Seconded: AckbarJedi

6) _YOU_ may "have" to be good. _YOU_ may begrudgingly refrain from
rape, murder, torture and all that jazz because your holy sky spook will
zap you if you don't, all the while drooling in some secret corner of
your mind every time a bloody corpse appears on the newsreel. I, on the
other hand, _don't_ "have" to be good. I do it because I _want_ to.
That being the case, festering nutcases like yourself who ONLY have an
imaginary space pixie standing between you and mass slaughter should all
be locked away for the safety and well-being of the rest of the world,
'cuz 'heaven' only knows it's just a matter of time before you fantasize
that your space pixie's changed its mind and decided to send _you_ to do
its dirty work.

By: Avender Neufonze
Nominated: towelie
Seconded: Rhode Island Red

------------

7) Baloney. My poor god-soaked child, the bible is supposed to be
knowledge imparted by the infinitely intelligent creator of the
universe! Why would this supreme being allow such a confused book to be
published in his name? Surely it is within his power to have produced a
book that unequivically states *exactly* what we need to know and
provides incontrovertible evidence of his existence.

By: Alan Hobson
Nominated: Steve Knight
Seconded: Dr. Smartass

------------

10) A sacrifice is not a sacrifice by definition if you get back what
you supposedly sacrificed. At best, Jesus can be considered to have been
inconvenienced for your sins.

By: raven1
Nominated: Zeplerfer
Seconded: Martin Crisp

8) Re: Proposed "Creation Museum"

I'm not sure about the artifacts, but the entrance should be a large
representation of a bovine posterior...because what you find within will
be the largest collection of ***** you are ever likely to see.

By: zamboni30000
Nominated: stoney
Seconded: Dr. Smartass

14) I suggest we go one further, we preface *all* science text books with a
warning that all of science is only a theory and should be challenged
wherever the evidence is shaky. That, after all, is what science does anyway.

By: Levy Oates Nominated: Indefual Seconded: AckbarJedi

It's July, it's hot,

------------

6) _YOU_ may "have" to be good. _YOU_ may begrudgingly refrain from
rape, murder, torture and all that jazz because your holy sky spook will
zap you if you don't, all the while drooling in some secret corner of
your mind every time a bloody corpse appears on the newsreel. I, on the
other hand, _don't_ "have" to be good. I do it because I _want_ to.
That being the case, festering nutcases like yourself who ONLY have an
imaginary space pixie standing between you and mass slaughter should all
be locked away for the safety and well-being of the rest of the world,
'cuz 'heaven' only knows it's just a matter of time before you fantasize
that your space pixie's changed its mind and decided to send _you_ to do
its dirty work.

By: Avender Neufonze
Nominated: towelie
Seconded: Rhode Island Red

------------

2) In response to:

I apologize. I'm late with the ballots this month, and I feel terrible.

I'd forgive you, but I don't have a son to kill.

By: Gregory A Greenman
Nominated: Mark K. Bilbo
Seconded: zeplerfer

5) In response to:

I don't understand why you'd deny that from yourself.

Well, first of all, religion can sometimes help people... but it can
also sometimes harm people. Personally, my life is *much* better since
I lost my religion. So please don't make the mistake of thinking that
what helps *you* will help everyone else too. Just as a medicine that
can help one person can harm or kill another, just so with worldviews.
Our minds are not 'one belief system fits all'.

Secondly, what makes you think that an atheistic worldview can't be just
as much as help as a theistic one? Atheism is an aspect of our
worldviews, it is not the be-all and end-all of them. My worldview
seems to me to be at least as much help to me as yours is to you ...
Just because my worldview doesn't include a god doesn't make it useless
or less use the way you seem to assume above.

There just doesn't seem to be any signs that a theistic worldview is any
better for people than an equivalent atheistic worldview.

By: Abner Mintz
Nominated: Meteorite Debris
Seconded: stoney