From http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2011/08/atheist_national_registry_prop.php
Pastor Michael Stahl – or “Pastor Mike,” as he’s known on the net – posted on his blog about a year ago saying he was pretty sure he was going to start a grassroots organization to keep a database of atheists called “The Christian National Registry of Atheists.”
“I mean, think about it. There are already National Registrys [sic] for convicted sex offenders, ex-convicts, terrorist cells, hate groups like the KKK, skinheads, radical Islamists, etc…” Stahl writes. “This type of ‘National Registry’ would merely be for information purposes.”
He probably thought that was a really great idea. That is, until the rest of the internet found out about his idea yesterday.
“Pastor Mike” was happy to let the rest of the interwebs know that his website got tons of hits from angry people after somebody discovered he’d just recently posted a link to the old post on his Facebook page – which he’s since had to delete.
We’ll also note that Stahl’s church, the “Living Water Church,” isn’t actually a church in Miramar. Instead, it’s an online church – or an “I-Net” church, as he calls it – but he says he lives in Miramar.
A year later, though, Stahl says he still supports his atheist registry, and if anyone were to start a Christian registry, he says you could put him at the top of the list.
You can read all about Stahl’s complaints with internet people here, but let’s focus on what’s really important – the “Atheist National Registry” idea from Pastor Mike, as he says he honestly doesn’t understand why anyone would be against such a thing.
He says it would just be for informational purposes and wouldn’t have addresses of those damned atheists, just their names and possibly a photo.
Here’s the brilliant explanation from “Pastor Mike,” which includes all of his errant spelling and grammar, as well as his choices of underlining and italicizing words:
Now, many (especially the atheists), may ask “Why do this, what’s the purpose?” Duhhh, Mr. Atheist for the same purpose many States put the names and photos of convicted sex offenders and other ex-felons on the I-Net - to INFORM the public! I mean, in the City of Miramar, Florida, where I live, the population is approx. 109,000. My family and I would sure like to know how many of those 109,000 are ADMITTED atheists! Perhaps we may actually know some. In which case we could begin to witness to them and warn them of the dangers of atheism. Or perhaps they are radical atheists, whose hearts are as hard as Pharaoh’s, in that case, if they are business owners, we would encourage all our Christian friends, as well as the various churches and their congregations NOT to patronize them as we would only be “feeding” Satan.
Frankly, I don’t see why anyone would oppose this idea - including the atheists themselves (unless of course, they’re actually ashamed of their atheist religion, and would prefer to stay in the ‘closet.’).
In case you didn’t read that, he didn’t really come up with a reason for the registry except for atheists being super bad and quite possibly homosexuals.
We’ll keep this one filed under “almost-great ideas.”
