Atheist Christmas Sign Stolen... or Smote?

Mark Impomeni reported, earlier this week, that the State of Washington had accepted a display from an atheist group, to stand next to a nativity scene. The sign read:

"At this season of the winter solstice, may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."

I am happy to report that the sign has been stolen. From MSNBC:

A controversial atheist sign that was placed in the state Capitol near a Nativity scene vanished Friday morning, but then turned up at a Seattle radio station a few hours later.

A receptionist at the radio station KMPS said a man dropped off the sign around 10 a.m. and asked her to give it to show host Ichabod Caine. The man did not say how he came by it before he left, she added.

Why am I happy to report this? For one, it gives me a rare chance to agree with Mark Impomeni. Sort of.

Don't get me wrong, I'm as staunchly in favor of separation of church and state as a guy can be. Take "In God We Trust" off of the money, take "under God" out of the Pledge, all of that. Mixing church and state is toxic to both.

I'm also as non-religious as it gets, and frequently poke fun at religion. The key difference, though, is that people volunteer to read what I write, like it or hate it.

What irks me about the atheists' display is that its sole purpose is to be dickish. That's really my problem with atheists, too. They are every bit as annoying as the guys who ring my doorbell and try to sell me a creepily-drawn comic book masquerading as a magazine.

An Atheist believes there is no God, which is about as useful as believing there is one. Both sides insist that they know something that is currently unknowable. That's why it's called a belief, because you don't know. But atheists will tell you all about their belief, whether you ask them to or not.

Or they'll do incredibly obnoxious things, like loudly eating during grace at a family dinner, just to let you know how defiantly intelligent they are. Look, go sign a petition, or get elected to something, or even handcuff yourself to the White House Christmas tree. Just shut the frak up about it around me.

That sign was completely devoid of wit, and had no purpose but for the presence of the nativity scene. It wasn't in keeping with the theme. If they had put up a tableau of a jerk wearing glasses and an elbow-patches jacket, bitching at his mom for offending him with a Christmas present while she cries and his dad orders him out of the house, then it might have worked for me. Or if it were added to an existing display of douchey signs.

Tommy Christopher and Caleb Howe co-host "Unusable Signal",on BlogTalkRadio, Tues through Thurs at 10pm, and Fri, and Sat at 11pm. (Eastern) Click here for the Unusable Signal homepage.