CARL Behr’s crosses have caused a bit of kerfuffle in Baldwin, near Pittsburg.
There are two of the illuminated crosses on Behr’s property: one on the roof of his house, and a larger one facing his neighbor’s property.
And the neighbour, Lisa Fera, ain’t happy. According to this report, Fera claims the light streams in her windows at night. She said Behr was running a contracting business out of his home and she thinks the cross is his way of getting back at her for complaining about it.
Said Fera:
I shouldn’t have to come home and see a dump truck and bobcats and see heavy equipment. Every cross that went up came as a direct result of conflict that we had.
But Behr said:
It’s a measurement of my faith. The way the world’s coming with all these atheists, it makes me sick to my stomach. If I can turn one soul towards the Lord with my sign, it was well worth all my efforts.
Fera retorted:
This is not a religion thing. It’s not about me being against the cross, or religion, or God, because I have a lot of faith in God. It’s more about trying to keep community – the value of your community – up.
Police showed up recently at 12:30 a.m. to ask Behr to turn the lights off, which he did. He says he now turns them off at a more reasonable hour.
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
February 10th, 2011 at 7:32 pm
Do you think he really understands what the symbol really is?
February 10th, 2011 at 7:50 pm
Well he is certainly doing his bit in combating ‘the way the world’s coming with all these atheists’ the sight of his illuminated cross has convinced me to change sides.
February 10th, 2011 at 8:02 pm
Air Rifle, That’s what you want mate
February 10th, 2011 at 8:13 pm
Atheists make Pennsylvanian man sick,?There is no such thing as an atheist.
It is time to choose a new name for those of us who know that all human gods are imaginary. why define ourselves as the opposite of theists theists are delusional. The word “atheist” gives theists way too much credit. If asked i say I am a Rational Person. I think that Rational Person (or just Rational) is a good name for us.
February 10th, 2011 at 8:25 pm
“The way the world’s coming with all these atheists, it makes me sick to my stomach.”
Well, they say the truth often is hard to stomach.
February 10th, 2011 at 9:06 pm
Now there’s a good christian man, loving his neighbour.
February 10th, 2011 at 11:35 pm
See, just proves what an evil bastard this god is. They both have faith in it but it´s screwing both of them.
February 11th, 2011 at 12:26 am
Reminds me of the joke about the two nuns and the vampire.
February 11th, 2011 at 12:42 am
terry said:
“I think that Rational Person (or just Rational) is a good name for us.”
Personally, I have come to favor the term, “freethinker”.
At: http://www.yourdictionary.com/freethinker you will find this definition:
free·thinker (-t̸hiŋk′ər)
noun
a person who forms opinions about religion, politics, morals, etc., independently of tradition, authority, or established belief
Therefore, extrapolating, a person who at some point in their life, took the time to inventory their personal belief system with brutal honesty. Not an easy task, because we are not really rational creatures. We are driven by hormones that drive us to propogate the species, we are driven by our fear of the unknown, and we are driven by our survival instinct, the fear of death. Tough stuff to dig through in search of a rational perspective.
But, when the job is completed, to the best of our ability, we delete the crap, save what’s valuable, and admit we don’t know that which is unknowable. There, “freethinker”. It suits me comfortably.
NeoWolfe
February 11th, 2011 at 2:02 am
commit idolatry much, Mr Behr?
February 11th, 2011 at 2:22 am
@NeoWolfe: If it rolled off the tongue better, I’d go with “unencumbered thinker.” But freethinker is easier.
Of course, if you want to get snarky, just “thinker” is sufficient.
Ah, religion. The Last Great Mental Illness.
February 11th, 2011 at 5:56 am
Only “between 1% & 3%” of Americans are atheist. What’s he getting in such a lather about?
February 11th, 2011 at 6:17 am
Rationalist seems the best term to me.
February 11th, 2011 at 7:09 am
Personally, I’m more in favour of the epithet enlightenist… er… enlightenedismist… enlightenedonian… enlightenedian… enlightentertainmentist… Oh, bollocks to it. I’ll stick with atheist.
February 11th, 2011 at 7:20 am
BTW, after several decades as a devout atheist I have decided to take up religion after all.
In fact, I have become a fully ordained Dudeist priest. If you haven’t heard about Dudeism, I’m not surprised. It’s proud to be the world’s slowest growing religion, man. Fans of The Big Lebowski might feel particularly attracted to the religion’s ‘fuck it, let’s go bowling’ take on life, the universe and everything.
You can find out more here. If you can be bothered.
http://dudeism.com/
Mark it 8, dude.
February 11th, 2011 at 7:51 am
@terry:
If asked, I reply that I am not superstitious, but that is just politeness, I actually think sane is the correct term.
delusional/delusion
“a belief held in the face of evidence to the contrary, that is resistant to all reason”
February 11th, 2011 at 1:27 pm
What a tit.
He sounds like the kind of neighbour you’d dread moving in next to, the kind the estate agent didn’t tell you about because he’d screw the property prices.
February 11th, 2011 at 2:49 pm
Let’s hope the electricity bill will bankrupt him.
February 11th, 2011 at 9:47 pm
Well, Fundamentalists make me sick.
And on the name thing, I prefer “freethinker,” but when I come out to people, I usually say atheist because “freethinker” is not that common a term.
February 11th, 2011 at 9:51 pm
Why is it the mere existence of atheists compels so many believers to act like complete fuckwits?
February 12th, 2011 at 3:15 am
Marcus said,
“enlightentertainmentist”
I actually thought that was rather creative. But, on your view of the issue, if we roll over your monacre. Perhaps, “SnarkMarc”?
I’m sure it’s really easy to be an “IN YOUR FACE KINDA GUY” in a venue with your peers. But, who are you really, and how does it compare with the personna you present to your boss, coworkers, and customers where there are social stigmas attached to your opinions? Even if you own your own business, you still don’t publish your agenda, do you? There are no publicized atheist car dealerships, at least to my knowledge.
English is a fluid language. In the fifties, a homophobe was a psychiatric condition of a person who feared the presence of other human beings. Now it means gay hater.
So it’s understandable that many people wish to not be labeled at all. They just want to be, “ME”. Until they find a cause they believe in. Then there are not only labels, but bumper stickers, and signs. We are such an “entertaining species”.
I don’t call myself an atheist because I understand that the philosophy assumes that the universe is an accident. An assumption that contradicts undeniable laws of chemisty. As a person, honest with himself, I file that question under “unknown”. That is why I call myself a freethinker, because at the moment you assume something that is unproven by scientific test, you have become a religion. Belief of convenience is what mankind is suffering. We don’t need to become it’s second generation.
NeoWolfe
February 12th, 2011 at 5:57 am
The twit next door is payin’ for de power.