A blog entry which summed up my frustrations re theists perfectly.
Yesterday, I was reading my news feed on Facebook (the part where multitudes of other people post their statuses and such) and was again struck by the huge numbers of people who post stuff like this:
Let’s see how many true Christians are on FB! Press Like if Jesus is your Savior!!
You may not like me, but jesus thinks im to die for.
Press Like if you love God!
etc.
So on my own status on my own wall, I posted this:
If you’ve had it up to here with mindless FB status professions of faith, you are not alone.
Every time I read one of these statuses, I think, “Why does this person feel he needs to tell everyone? Repeatedly, no less. Does he think we can’t tell by watching?”
Almost immediately, a theist friend commented as follows:
Diana, why does it bother you that we want to profess our love for our creator? If it bothers you that bad just ignore them like I do most of the things that I see from others… It’s called freedom of speech and thank God we still have that!!!
Many of my atheist friends, in one form or another, laid into her. I was among them, because…well, several reasons, many of which are neatly represented in her comment. (As the conversation went on, the discussion turned out to be fruitful. I respect her for sticking in there. The discussion ended very nicely, in my opinion. This blog post is certainly not an attack on her. It is an attack on some of the ideas she expressed which I’ve heard countless times. It’s time these ideas were challenged.)
So why do I respond so negatively to such comments? Let me count the ways.
I suffer from “fragmented thinking syndrome” (my own diagnosis) and can almost NEVER say exactly what I’m thinking because there’s always another thought getting in the way before I can vocalise it. (and when I go re-read my posts here, I facepalm/facedesk constantly because the initial comment/thought got lost in a flood of others and I probably dont make sense at all :-[)
these religious people with their goddamn facebook groups. blech.
oooh oooh!!! jesus loves you.
no he sure as fuck doesnt.
and i quite like her self-important little comment ‘but jesus thinks im to die for’
you are fucking with me right?
does this little harlot truly think that jc would have himself nailed to splintery wood for the sake of one self-involved little busybody?
that is why i have done a very efficient and well needed de-friending on facefuck, and kept only the people i actually would spend time with, knew in person, or wanted to know in person.
no more random, pointless bullshit stuff.
This discussion raises a few of the points that really get under my skin. I am in total agreement that those who wish to profess their beliefs in public should be prepared to listen to and consider any points that are raised questioning those beliefs. The norm is for a) a personal attack on the one questioning their ideas or beliefs or b) a retreat into one or other claim of divine knowledge based either on personal enlightenment or the teaching of some ancient desert dwelling tribe from the distant past.
In the majority of the personal attacks various fallacies are trotted out with great pride. Atheists have no moral compass to replace their divine teachings and must as a result be totally immoral. With no divine guidance you must be so unhappy! What do you believe or the more common answer is to tell me what my beliefs are! All of the afore mentioned are delivered in a totally unreasonable manner and any answer is either shouted down or completely ignored or twisted to meet their concept of a non-believer.
If the second manner of responding is used it is very often a circular argument quoting dogs word and the bible as their authority (usually displaying their complete lack of knowledge of the book being quoted).
One thing that is always very clear to me is their normal complete lack of understanding as to what the lack of belief in gods really is. Most are not able to conceive of anybody living without some form of belief, in their minds one who claims to belong to the local coven has more understanding than one who has no belief in a woo figure. I find the word “atheist” to be counterproductive as it appears to be in the religious mind a belief system. I refuse to use this as a description of myself. As Dawkins or one of the other leading lights in popular atheism put it people do no normally use a negative term to describe themselves. I see myself as being a fairly rational and reasonable thinker who has drawn various conclusions from these attributes. I am not an astrologer, I am not an aastrologer; why then should I be known for my lack of belief in gods as an atheist? (I am not punting the use of “brights” )
Sorry just a small rant that has been building for some time! I am now feeling much better thank you!
