The U.S. Congressman for Florida's 21st District, Lincoln Rafael Diaz-Balart is a former Democrat who switched to the Republican Party and who has served in the Florida House as well as the Florida Senate. Diaz-Balart is also an anti-atheist bigot who has declared that atheism is "damaging" and "evil." These remarks were made after he saw the Divine Performing Arts show which is touring the United States and which, apparently, is a propaganda piece for Falun Gong.
Congressman Diaz-Balart addressed the deeper meanings and references to higher matters—fate, truth, good and evil—in many of the songs: "The fact is, some things are eternal, and no matter what the difficulties in this life the truth will prevail, and mankind cannot be destroyed.
"I was very moved by the song that talked about the damage that atheism has caused and is causing. It was very moving, but all of the performances were moving, uplifting; they teach us about the eternal nature of mankind and of how we have to be humble.
"The songs carry the sense that evil will not prevail, and so the message is that the truth ultimately prevails. It is extraordinarily uplifting and I am so happy to be here."
Source: Epoch Times (via: Unreasonable Faith)
Yes, mere disbelief in gods is causing all sorts of harm. People are flying airplanes into skyscrapers because of despair over the absence of gods. People are blowing themselves up in crowded markets over their nihilistic vision of a universe without ultimate meaning. Different groups and countries go to war with each other because their lack of belief in gods causes them to have no reason to be moral, so they just decide to find ways to kill as many other human beings as possible.
Yes, it all makes so much sense now that Lincoln Diaz-Balart has explained it to us!
The show's local presenters are the Greater Philadelphia Asian Culture Center and the Greater Philadelphia Falun Dafa Association. Many participants onstage and behind the scenes practice Falun Gong.
Past performances have included a handful of dances depicting Falun Gong practitioners passively resisting police and women being beaten in a prison.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
Lincoln Diaz-Balart's comments were a direct reaction to messages in the songs from the Divine Performing Arts show, so it seems as though this show and Falun Gong (which also appears to be behind the Epoch Times site, not just the show) are promoting anti-atheist bigotry across the country.
Kate Dobbs Ariail writes:
Even a passing acquaintance with pre-1948 Chinese cultures would have led one to expect wonderful things from this show. But the "divine" in the group's name has to do with its promotion of what it calls its (traditional Chinese) spiritual values—as used by DPA, "divine" is not an adjective describing the quality of the work. If DPA had been straightforward about its intent, the jingoistic mediocrity of its program might have been less offensive.
If it had been clear that the purpose of this event was to promote the practice of Falun Gong, or Falun Dafa as it is also called, one would not have been expecting an exquisite aesthetic experience, and one would have chosen to attend or not based on interest in that practice—or an interest in seeing the current Chinese government castigated. Despite DPA's disingenuous disavowals, there is clearly a political motive behind the organization's programming...
I would argue that there is also a bigoted, hateful motive behind the programming if they are spreading the message that atheism is damaging and evil. If the Divine Performing Arts show comes to your town, perhaps you should consider attending to verify what sorts of messages they are promoting. If indeed they are spreading anti-atheist bigotry, action needs to be taken. At a minimum, letters to the editor and whomever is sponsoring them should be written, but it might also be helpful to pass out leaflets before other performances in order to educate the audience about the political, religious, and bigoted agenda of what they are about to see.
(About.com, January 18, 2009)
Original text from: http://atheism.about.com/b/2009/01/18/lincoln-diaz-balart-atheism-is-damaging-evil.htm
