and her adventures in Atheism
christianity
How to Avoid Uncomfortable Conversations about Religion
Mar 11th
Ah the internet. Such a font of fantastic, novel, and often useless knowledge. One of my favorite sites to read for fun is WikiHow.com. The user-created content there is often worth reading if you need some simple advice on how to handle different situations.
Some of these wiki entries apply directly to secular folks like you and me. Do you have a friend who wants to ask you how your spiritual walk with god is going? Is your brother confronting you at an awkward time about your lack of church attendance? Do you just want to avoid debates on religion all together? Check out this bit of wisdom about how to handle acquaintances, family, or friends when they want to talk about spiritual matters:
How to Avoid Uncomfortable Conversations About Religion
Photo by hovering dog (flickr.com)
from wikiHow
There is a time and place for everything under the sun, including discussions about religion. Whether you are religious or not, if someone is trying to draw you into a conversation, or perhaps an argument, regarding religion or morality but the timing and situation is awkward and uncomfortable, this article will help you find a way to avoid a heated debate as politely as possible.
Steps
- Resist the urge to argue. It’s difficult to overlook a statement that seems completely ignorant and ungrounded, and you’ll likely have the urge to correct the person. Instead, smile and say “Interesting…”
- Meet it head on with honesty. Be true to yourself and your own feelings. Say “I’m not comfortable talking about that and I’m just not willing to have this conversation…”
- Redirect the conversation.
- Ask about their children, significant other, health, or job.
- Make an absurd joke to deflect the seriousness of the situation. For example, try: “Religion? No, I haven’t seen that movie.” Or: “Religion?! What . . . do you get that at, like, Wal-Mart or Starbucks or something?” Or: “No thanks. I haven’t been able to talk about religion since the last time the Cubs won the World Series.”
- Dead pan, “I am sorry. I have a firm rule to not discuss politics or religion with anyone I’ve not seen naked.” That usually ends the discussion rather abruptly, and on a light-hearted note.
- For people who are insistent on discussing religion, however, they’re likely to return to that topic quickly, so keep the conversation flowing at the level of small talk until you can do something else.
The Persecution of Atheists
Mar 10th
Photo by mind on fire (flickr.com)
I was recently asked a question on my formspring account that I thought deserved a longer reply:
Do you know any atheist who has not been persecuted for his/her (lack of) beliefs?
Ah, persecution. I think this word is used far too often by privileged people. For example, overly sensitive Christians claim persecution by those who don’t agree with them and who promote secularism and equal treatment. Of course this isn’t persecution at all, but who doesn’t like playing the victim when they’re so used to getting their way? I know a childish tantrum when I see one.
Anyway, there is real persecution in the world, and no matter who is being targeted, I think we should all fight for their rights and freedoms. People are imprisoned for their political and religious beliefs in many countries across the world. Many are tortured or killed simply because they will not follow the majority. To these people of all religions and non-religions, I say I’m so, so sorry. That is what persecution truly looks like. We belittle their lives when we claim to go through the same struggles.
So how about atheists being persecuted?
Blogger Challenge: The Honesty Project
Mar 8th
I want to get to know you better and am eager to try an experiment. Are you up for an excercise in honesty that demands you to say one truthful thing about yourself every single day for one week?
This is my challenge!
Original photo by Lady Vic (flickr.com)
Are you a blogger or journaler? Do you have a youtube channel? Do you have twitter or facebook? It doesn’t matter if you’re an atheist, republican, Canadian, teenager, stay-at-home mom, food blogger, cartoonist, scientist, or anything at all. There are no restrictions on who can participate.
Here’s What to Do
- Write, blog, plurk, tweet, or record one honest moment or thought each day for one week starting whenever you want.
- Be honest and take your time. Say something you may not have said to your audience before. It has to be about you, and it will hopefully be a bit more revealing of who you are than a statement like “I hate Chinese food.” Work with me here! If you’ve had writer’s block like I have, this could help you jump out of it. Use it as a springboard to talk about anything you like!
- When you start the challenge, leave your link below so we can all read it/watch it/fap to it.
- I’d appreciate it if you’d spread the word around so others could take part. You can link to this post and use the image above if you like! Tweet it, share it on facebook, or just keep it simple—your choice!
- There is no closing date, so come back and do it agin anytime!
Trashing My Past (Or, the Stories T-Shirts Tell)
Mar 4th
I'm considering a 'terrible t-shirts' post one day. Isn't this classy? And gross?
I should not own three laundry baskets, but all those clothes have to go somewhere! One is dedicated to dirty laundry, but two entire baskets were stuffed with crumpled up linens and old shirts and sweaters. After I moved from my old apartment, the “should be sorted sometime” collection had nowhere to hide. I kept staring at it when I grabbed my outfit for the day out of my closet. My inability to purge a simple clump of clothing nagged the back of my mind. Maybe I really am that lazy. The fact that I’m sneezing right now from the musty smell is my admission of guilt.
Some of the clothing can be washed and salvaged for future rotation, but I’m ashamed to say my dig through the baskets tonight was like extracting core samples from the depths of earth’s history. The further I dove, the older my memories associated with each piece of clothing.
So to share a bit of my life with you, here is my list of tops I’m throwing away tonight:
Third Day “Truth Gomer” (2001): The fans of the Christian band Third Day call themselves Gomers, after a song and woman in the Bible. Gomer became a last name of sorts, and each Gomer registered a first name to go along with it. After you registered, they sent you a bright orange t-shirt with “Property of ____ Gomer” on the front. You took a permanent marker and wore your Gomer name in the blank space. My name was Truth Gomer because my ideal in life was to always tell the truth and seek the Truth as much as possible. Look where that search landed me? 
Gospel Choir (2001): My alma mater had a black gospel choir, and I sang alto and tenor (hell yeah I said tenor). It was some of the most fun I had in college. For concerts on campus, we wore bright, bold t-shirts with bold words like “GRACE”, “FAITH”, and “SOUL” emblazoned on the front. I cut my yellow one off at the bottom because I was “edgy” and it was too tight around my hips. Apparently t-shirt dresses were in style and nobody knew it.
Hard Rock Cafe: Memphis (2002): I went on a mission trip to Memphis, TN in 2002 for my spring break. We traveled for Jesus, not for booze! We helped some families with manual labor and went witnessing in the poor parts of the city. I used to collect Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts from every city I visited. This shirt was especially cool because it had a puffy, sparkling flaming electric guitar on the back. I wore it everywhere! Want to know what my strongest memory is from that trip? The splinter-shedding bunk beds and how my tonsils swelled up so large that everyone felt the need to comment on how loudly I snored. Snoring for Jesus, I guess…
The shirt I ruined while having sex on the laundry room floor (2007): Well, not the actual top, but its twin. I bought the yellow blouse specifically for the date I was on; I loved that silly shirt (best boob day ever). Perhaps as a result of this wonderful boob day, my over-zealous (ex-)boytoy ruined it in a smear of detergent. I purchased another one to replace it, and made sure that it didn’t get any similar stains. Hey Mom, I hope you’re not reading this!
I am ecstatic about moving on from the person I was during each of those periods of my life. Nostalgia is amusing and sweet, but I’m done. Good memories, all of them. But good riddance all the same!
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