The Atheistic Secularists have responded to my article about Secularist Abuse on social media by stating that it is untrue, and then abusing me on social media!
“DAR has a Xmas bitch.”
“‘DAR has a xmas bitch’ can be interpreted in other ways. Any volunteers?”
“He has created a God in his own image. And it’s not a particularly nice God.”
“his guy is clearly a monster”
‘a weirdo’,
‘a useful idiot’,
‘a knobend’,
‘a pompous deluded buffoon’
“it won’t be long before we’ll be reading about DAR being arrested by the police in Dundee High Street, wrapped in a bedsheet, telling everybody he’s Jesus Christ”
“he prefers to do his vile and dirty deeds under the cover of darkness”.
They are such sweet and reasonable people, who clearly use the force of logic and the power of evidence to advance their case!
Here is the letter that the Herald published today in response to some of this:
ALISTAIR McBay (Letters, December 23) states that I and Solas celebrated continued “discrimination and prejudice against the gay people in Slovenia”. We did nothing of the sort. We were pleased that the people of Slovenia voted by a majority of two to one to retain the traditional Christian understanding of marriage.
I would like you wish all your readers a Happy Christmas and all the best for the New Year. I hope and pray that my secularist friends will enjoy a more enlightened New Year.
David A. Robertson
That was a very much edited version: The one I actually sent is below:
Dear Editor,
I would be grateful if you would allow me to answer the unsubstantiated accusations by Alistair McBay that I and Solas celebrated continued ‘discrimination and prejudice against the gay people in Slovenia’. We did nothing of the sort. We were pleased that the people of Slovenia voted by a majority of 2 to 1 to retain the traditional Christian understanding of marriage. Mr McBay is entitled to disagree with that, but to call anyone who disagrees with any of your morals a prejudiced bigot, is itself somewhat prejudiced and bigoted. The first step of the mob attempt to control those who dare to differ with the prevailing zeitgeist is to make such accusations.
Their second rule is to seek to silence their opponents through mockery and abuse. The irony is that after the Herald publishing my comments about social media being used to try and silence different opinions, the atheistic secularists immediately started using social media to abuse. In a thread on the Secular Scotland facebook discussion page set up to discuss the Herald article, I was called ‘a weirdo’, ‘a useful idiot’, ‘a knobend’, ‘a pompous deluded buffoon’ and told to shut my ‘whining cake hole’. Of course there are always internet trolls who make such posts but what is striking about the SS FB page is not only that these comments went unchallenged by Mr McBay, who joined in the attacks, but that they were added to by their founder, Gary Otton. He began the ‘discussion’ by declaring “it won’t be long before we’ll be reading about DAR being arrested by the police in Dundee High Street, wrapped in a bedsheet, telling everybody he’s Jesus Christ” and then going on to make further unsubstantiated accusations such as “he prefers to do his vile and dirty deeds under the cover of darkness”.
Although it is somewhat ironic and sad at least the reaction of Mr McBay and the Scottish Secularists proves the point I was making about social media abuse and mockery being used to try and silence dissenting voices. Despite this I would like you wish all your readers a Happy Christmas and all the best for the New Year. I hope and pray that my secularist friends will enjoy a more enlightened New Year!
Yours etc
David A. Robertson
Moderator of the Free Church of Scotland
St Peters Free Church
4 St Peter St
Dundee
DD1 4JJ
And for good measure Garry Otton has the following wonderful letter published in The Courier today. He seems to be brownnosing The Courier, whilst at the same time attacking The Herald for daring to publish any Christian letters! I was going to reply to the usual charges of extremist – but the letter is so bad I think it better to leave it stand on its own merit…
Letter: Extremist views of moderator
The Courier & Advertiser 24 Dec 2015
Sir, – I must congratulate The Courier on its balance.
You have always been very generous in publishing letters by secularists, atheists or humanists in response to Christians.
In one Scottish newspaper (December 22) was an article on a church-backed study that stated: “75% of us think church is good”.
That was a reprint, complete with the same picture, of an article that appeared earlier in the year.The paper also published the Christmas message from the notorious Rev Robertson, moderator of the Free Church of Scotland who has spoken publicly that gay marriage doesn’t exist, that paganism is the greatest threat to modern civilisation, that one of the basic functions of his charity, Solas is helping atheists overcome their “ignorance” that Mormonism is a dishonest and deceitful cult” and Islam is a model of consistency and logic.
I doubt many saw Mr Robertson’s tweets congratulating Slovenia for voting against gay marriage.
I’ve always wondered why so many of a Christian bent have letters published in some newspapers. Perhaps they operate a similar policy to a Christian evangelical working for an MP who admitted shredding constituents’ letters before the MP gets a chance to read them.
Garry Otton. Secretary, Scottish Secular Society, 58a Broughton Street, Edinburgh.