At religious campuses, atheist groups operate underground

[MartinJordan]

Are “free thinkers” atheists?

MJ

 

[Ahimsa]

But do those Jewish clubs get all up in arms when there is a Cross in the classroom…

I don’t see any atheist clubs agitating.

On the Muslim story, let’s clarify this here and now:
Let’s not forget that this whole thing was brought about not by Muslim students, but by a cranky law professor trying to make a name for himself. The web is filling up with outrage stories that Muslims are trying to bully Catholic University into accommodating them by suppressing its own Christian identity. Banzhaf is going to bring all kinds of opprobrium down on innocent Muslims, and contribute to religious discord in this country. Great job, jackass. With friends like you, American Muslims don’t need enemies.

 

[Ahimsa]

Are “free thinkers” atheists?

MJ

“Free Thinker” is usually short hand for atheist, agnostics, humanists, and other people skeptical of supernatural claims.

 

[Cristiano]

OK, let me get this straight: you’re saying that we need both the Holy Spirit and our reason, in order to believe?

Yes, you can read that in the letter to the Romans, the documents from the First Vatican Council and the Oath Against Modernism.

 

[wmscott]

I don’t see any atheist clubs agitating.

On the Muslim story, let’s clarify this here and now:
Let’s not forget that this whole thing was brought about not by Muslim students, but by a cranky law professor trying to make a name for himself. The web is filling up with outrage stories that Muslims are trying to bully Catholic University into accommodating them by suppressing its own Christian identity. Banzhaf is going to bring all kinds of opprobrium down on innocent Muslims, and contribute to religious discord in this country. Great job, jackass. With friends like you, American Muslims don’t need enemies.

Thanks for the clarification

 

[Ahimsa]

Yes, you can read that in the letter to the Romans, the documents from the First Vatican Council and the Oath Against Modernism.

I agree. So why assume that the reason someone “can’t” believe in God, is simply because they freely reason and choose not to, when it could be that the Holy Spirit is not active in his/her life?

 

[MartinJordan]

“Free Thinker” is usually short hand for atheist, agnostics, humanists, and other people skeptical of supernatural claims.

Thanks. Personally I think this club will dissipate into oblivion. Nick and Branden et al will find it hard going to keep the place in order.

Perhaps they should stick to learning for betterment of their futures.

MJ

 

[_Abyssinia]

I understand your concern, but students of different religions go to universities of another religion, all the time. Notre Dame has Jewish clubs. It helps inter-religious understanding and cooperation.

It is different because Christianity and Judaism are connected. It is even different if Muslims attend a Catholic school to me, because Muslims still have reverence for Mary and Jesus. With agnostics, there is no compatibility in religious beliefs with Catholicism and thus no compatibility with a Catholic university.

 

[Ahimsa]

It is different because Christianity and Judaism are connected. It is even different if Muslims attend a Catholic school to me, because Muslims still have reverence for Mary and Jesus. With agnostics, there is no compatibility in religious beliefs with Catholicism and thus no compatibility with a Catholic university.

Pope Benedict XVI invited atheists to the interfaith gathering and pilgrimage at Assisi, not because they believed in God, but because both believers and non-believers are human, who share the common human need for peace and cooperation.

 

[Marie_Gregg]

“Free Thinker” is usually short hand for atheist, agnostics, humanists, and other people skeptical of supernatural claims.

That drives me nuts. The underlying assumption is that you don’t really think if you have faith. Perhaps that’s true for some, but you could also say that of atheists, agnostics, etc. I know quite a few who refuse to give serious study to the claims of Christianity. “Free thinking,” then, is much more a matter of personality than one’s religious affiliation or lack thereof.

Okay.

I’m off my soapbox now.

 

[Marie_Gregg]

Oh, BTW:

I went to both secular and religious universities. On a secular campus, I think it’s perfectly fine, normal, whatever you want to call it to have student groups coming at issues from different viewpoints. On religiously-affiliated campuses, however, I think that it is naive for any student to expect that the authorities allow a group that is contrary to the stated beliefs of the institution. If I decided to go to an explicitly atheistic university, I would hardly expect the authorities to sanction a formally organized Bible study group.

 

[Ahimsa]

If I decided to go to an explicitly atheistic university, I would hardly expect the authorities to sanction a formally organized Bible study group.

Why not? An atheist university might simply be a university whose mission is to support atheism, rather than destroy or suppress religious belief.

 

[Cristiano]

I agree. So why assume that the reason someone “can’t” believe in God, is simply because they freely reason and choose not to, when it could be that the Holy Spirit is not active in his/her life?

What you are saying would be correct if we were to assume that the Holy Spirit would not present in his/her life. However, considering that God’s creates us to be with him I do not see how the Holy Spirit would not be active unless we do not accept the gift of grace. The Church teaches that is we obey natural law, but because of conditions extraneous to our will (ignorance) we are not going to know the revealed truth, then we can still hope for salvation. This last statement means that God is always active in distributing His graces; how could we follow natural law at all times without the help of the Holy Spirit?

 

[Marie_Gregg]

Why not? An atheist university might simply be a university whose mission is to support atheism, rather than destroy or suppress religious belief.

Well, since the beliefs (non-beliefs?) to which atheists hold are diametrically opposed to religious belief… It’s an unrealistic expectation.

 

[_Abyssinia]

Pope Benedict XVI invited atheists to the interfaith gathering and pilgrimage at Assisi, not because they believed in God, but because both believers and non-believers are human, who share the common human need for peace and cooperation.

I understand, but you saw the quote I posted from Pope Benedict about a Catholic institution forming the Catholic identity in the student, how can that be done with an atheist.

 

[puzzleannie]

Same reason non-Catholic kids attend Catholic high-schools?

which would be presumably they share some of the values taught there, so if they don’t why pay to go there? enlighten me

 

[fons_vitae]

That drives me nuts. The underlying assumption is that you don’t really think if you have faith. Perhaps that’s true for some, but you could also say that of atheists, agnostics, etc. I know quite a few who refuse to give serious study to the claims of Christianity. “Free thinking,” then, is much more a matter of personality than one’s religious affiliation or lack thereof.

Okay.

I’m off my soapbox now.

Indeed, and some atheists are very intellectually bound to the ideologies that guide their lives in lieu of religion.

 

[Ahimsa]

which would be presumably they share some of the values taught there, so if they don’t why pay to go there? enlighten me

Lots of non-Catholic parents agree with the Catholic school emphasis upon discipline and education, without being Catholic.

 

[vsedriver]

Is a Muslim group “anti-Catholic”? Are Jewish groups “anti-Baptist”?

Just because someone does not believe in God, does not mean that that person is somehow hostile and antagonistic towards those who do believe.

although hostile is one definition of the prefix ‘anti’, another is opposite. And yes, a Muslim group would be anti-Catholic, likewise religious Jews are anti-Baptist. Expecting a religious school to support an anti-religious group is silly. I did not refer to individuals but to the group/club.

So I would not expect a Muslim school with a mission of promoting the Muslim faith to provide a Catholic support club on campus with space and money.

 

[puzzleannie]

Lots of non-Catholic parents agree with the Catholic school emphasis upon discipline and education, without being Catholic.

and do they then go to the local news media to complain they are “forced to go underground” because of their beliefs? I think not.