Saturday, December 6, 2008
Atheists finding religion after Ann Coulter accident
By Darnell Washington, Newsophile Staff Writer
PARSIPPANY, NJ -- After experiencing a bad fall last month, conservative author and personality Ann Coulter will reportedly need to have her jaw wired shut for a period of approximately six weeks. While her silence has undoubtedly brought calls of joy from the liberals she has regularly trounced in her books including "If Democrats Had Any Brains, They'd Be Republicans," it has also unleashed an interesting response from the American atheist community: finding God.
"It's unlike anything I've ever seen in my 20 years as an activist," says Dr. John Bruckner, the newly named President of American Atheists, an education group oriented towards those who believe in secular humanism as opposed to a religious God. "As soon as news of Ms. Coulter's jaw being wired shut hit the airwaves and the Internet, our phones started ringing off the hook by members asking to cancel. Apparently the news made them believe that there is in fact, a God."
According to Edward Cardinal Logan, however, who heads up the Archdiocese of New York, such 'of the moment' conversions are, in fact, quite common and generally based on a compelling event in an individual's life.
So could Ann Coulter's accident count? Logan says it's quite possible.
"For an atheist to immediately convert to a God-fearing Christian, he or she would have to really, really hate Ms. Coulter, her books, her speeches and everything she stands for. From what I hear from my congregation, there are plenty of such people."
Still, Cardinal Logan does offer an alternative explanation. "For many people including our troubled brothers and sisters who forsake the Lord, this could simply be a happy coincidence."