Did Someone Say Atheists?

KELO's Perry Groten has stirred up a hornet's nest of online jabber, not to mention outright intolerance and outright hatred, with a simple question: "Are You an Atheist?" Yesterday afternoon he posted a blurb on KELO -- not even a full report, just a question fishing for responses that might serve as the basis for a later story on atheism in our great nation. As of this morning, that simple call for contacts has elicited 95 forum comments. Some are just curious, some dismissive, and some downright nasty, like the very first comment: "I see this being a 'hot' topic on the forums. Can't wait to see the story and see who some of these freaks are." (Interesting that that commenter could be so prescient on the "hotness" of the topic yet so crudely ignorant and intolerant toward his/her fellow citizens.)

As a firm believer in the value of the First Amendment and the husband of a very intelligent and tolerant theologian, I'm a little surprised to be reminded of the outright hostility some surely loving Christians hold for non-believers. If the mere question can provoke this much response, it will be interesting to see how viewers respond when Perry Groten actually puts some godless secular humanists on the air. Will he be lambasted for giving atheists airtime to profess their "dangerous" views? Maybe Sibby will spin it and thank Perry for giving atheists the chance to embarrass themselves in front of the public. Maybe we'll even be treated to responses from Leslee Unruh about how atheists are responsible for abortion. I can't wait!