ATHEISTS WERE arrogant “because we do not believe that the entire
universe was created for our benefit”, Michael Nugent, chairman of
Atheist Ireland told the convention.
They were arrogant because
they did not believe “that the most powerful being ever created a
universe of over 100 billion galaxies, each with over 100 billion stars
like our sun, which existed for 14 billion years, and then picked one of
the 100 billion galaxies and picked one of the 100 billion stars in
that galaxy, and picked one planet revolving around that star and of the
million species on that planet he picked one animal member of all those
species and said: ‘I’ve really got to tell that guy to stop gathering
sticks on the Sabbath’.”
Mr Nugent thanked delegates for the
success of the convention, despite attempts to sabotage it by false
e-mails saying it was called off.
A man also falsely ordered in loads of
pizzas and 11 bunches of flowers to the convention.
Later the man
inadvertently confirmed he had ordered the pizzas and flowers and would
now be billed via the gardaí.
“It’s the sort of thing one gets
used to in Ireland,” Mr Nugent said, and referred to those who, in 2009,
saw “Their Lady” on a tree stump in Rathkeale, Co Limerick.
He recalled
a comment at the time that “if she looked like that it’s no wonder she
was a virgin”.
He recalled how when an atheist woman died in
Donegal recently there was nowhere to bury her except a municipal
graveyard in Derry.
When asked where in the graveyard she was buried,
the reply was “the Protestant section”.