What
is more peaceful than a drive through the towns and farmland of beautiful Lancaster
County? The very name sparks visions of
country roads, covered bridges, Amish buggies, Mennonite churches and peaceful
people who often say "blessings" upon departure, instead of
"goodbye". The county is the home of a 7,000+ member
mega-church with branch campuses in Ephrata, York and Harrisburg. People of faith permeate this land. And, somewhat surprisingly, people of no
faith.
I
learned this while reading my newspaper on the iPad one morning . I came across an article about the
Pennsylvania legislature passing a resolution declaring this the year of the
Bible in Pennsylvania. This action had spawned
immediate controversy regarding the separation of church and state. According to the article, one protesting
group was PAN, or Pennsylvania Non-Believers.
Being
ever curious, I immediately googled the name on the iPad and discovered that PAN
was an atheist organization based in York, Dauphin and Lancaster counties. What?
An atheist group in Lancaster County?
It jarred my image of that serene land, agitating my curiosity to learn
more about this group. How better to achieve
that than attending one of their meetings, which I did.
What
a hoot? Ironically, there were twelve
members present sitting around a table.
I was the thirteenth. When people
were asked to introduce themselves, I was tempted to say that my name was Judas
Iscariot, but I refrained. The average
age of the membership was 55+. Many were
retirees who felt they could only come out now because had they done so earlier,
they might have faced workplace discrimination.
Most came from religious backgrounds, but claimed reason had triumphed
over their faith. There was a degree of
underlying anger in this group that resulted in a somewhat aggressive posture
toward believers.
Thus,
the business agenda discussion included the manning of an atheist booth at the Lancaster
PrideFest. (What? There are gay people in Lancaster County??) Atheists and gays are among the last social
outcasts of American society, a group that once included the Irish, Jews,
Mormons, Catholics, blacks, Asians and Native Americans, to name a few. Let's not forget women whose social roles
were extremely limited. Some of these
groups still have not entirely escaped the social outcast label, though inevitable
progress will eventually free them of their current stigma.
It was announced that the York
chapter had rented billboard space in Harrisburg to protest the Year of the
Bible Resolution. We were told that the
billboard would depict a slave in chains with a Bible verse (Ephesians 6:5)
"Slaves, obey your masters!"
There was no discussion; it was presented merely as a point of
information. I pictured in my mind, a
white Spartacus-type slave.
About
a week later I learned that the billboard had been put in place with a
devastatingly opposite effect than PAN had intended. They depicted a black slave in chains on a
billboard located in a "diverse" neighborhood. It read like a message from the Ku Klux
Klan. The billboard was almost
immediately vandalized and soon thereafter taken down by the company that owned
it. The PAN chapter leader in York
apologized profusely. Is this a great
country or what?
By
the way, one of the York chapter's premiere events is a pub crawl held every
time the end of the world is announced, such as this December 21. Some believe that when the Rapture occurs,
people will be sucked out of their clothes and ascend to heaven, leaving
nonbelievers behind. Thus, the pub
crawlers set up lawn chairs in front of the establishment they are visiting,
positioning clothes and shoes on the lawn chairs to represent people that have
risen to heaven in this current Rapture.
Meanwhile, in the bar drinks are ordered, including one for Jesus. And what drink is ordered for Jesus? A glass of water. Why water?
Why pay for a glass of wine when Jesus can turn water into wine himself?
Now I
realize that many people of faith might be agitated by the above paragraph,
while others may find it amusing. If
this were about Mohammed, somebody might try to blow up the bar. Hopefully, we are little more laid-back,
realizing that this is all part of that wonderful fabric we call America.
It
was also reported that buses from York and Lancaster counties were booked for
the Reason Rally to be held on March 24 in Washington DC. Atheists, agnostics, humanists, and others
would be gathering to hear speakers and celebrate the triumph of reason over
faith that they had experienced. Music
would be provided by, among others, a band known as Bad Religion. Sen. Tom Harkin and Rep. Pete Stark are scheduled
to address the rally. They bill
this rally is as the largest secular
event in world history. Take that, Super
Bowl!
As people stood up at the end of the
meeting ready to depart, I blurted out, "Nice meeting you all. God bless you and have a safe trip
home." Some looked at me strangely,
some laughed and off we went.
But wait! There's more.
As Christians have splintered into many diverse churches, so the nonbelievers
have also split. While the PAN group
appears to consist mostly of atheists, another group of nonbelievers, the
Lancaster Freethought Society, is a home for agnostics and humanists as well as
atheists. I returned to Lancaster County
to visit one of their meetings.
These freethinkers were more cerebral,
well-versed in the Bible and had a speaker as the main feature of their
program. The speaker was a former divinity
school student who had lost his faith.
This group was younger and more dynamic than the PAN group. They were less interested in trashing
religion, and more interested in using positive works to show that the
ever-growing number of secular people is just ordinary citizens like you and
me. They just want to be accepted as
part of the rich fabric of the American scene, you know, like an Amish buggy
clopping through the beautiful farmland of tranquil Lancaster County. I wish them godspeed.
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