photo by DerrickT
The delightful and thoughtful @hyumen documented the beginning of a long journey on her blog.
Well, I did it. I told my family that I am an atheist. Sort of.
After posting the results of the “Do you believe in God?” CNN poll (which strongly favored “No” at the time of its closing), a discussion about doubting God’s existence broke out on her Facebook page. Two family members joined her in vocalizing those doubts, while another, a theist, spoke back about why God is truly there.
The good news is that at least a part of my family knows how I feel now. We all know what the bad news is. I will have to hear the hellfire and brimstone sermonettes at every turn, as will my nephew and daughter. However, the family doesn’t know there are several more in the family who have yet to come out of the atheist closet. The holidays this year should be very interesting.
Make sure to check out her blog and support her as she navigates this family situation.
As the aphorism goes, “Everyone is coming from somewhere”. Some atheists were raised without religion and faith; others live in areas that are unwelcoming to the non-religious.
For all of you atheists who had to come out of the proverbial closet as non-believers: What steps did it take to be completely public and honest about your identity? Was it a confession to one individual at a time or perhaps a more public approach like @hyumen’s? Were the people around you welcoming and understanding of you or did they evangelize and debate? How long were you “in the closet” before coming out godless?
Cast your vote:
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Remember all those posts about God being a douchebag? I’ve been discussing God with a friend of mine who suggested the following argument (which I will probably muddle, since I’m summarizing from memory). I’d love to hear your responses!
So what if God is an asshole? Even if God did order the slaughter of humans in the Old Testament, condone slavery, and send souls to everlasting torture in hell… that’s totally within his rights! After all, if this truly is an infinite being in size, power, and so forth, God is not subject to the morality he gave humankind. Nor does it truly matter if we live or die because we’re just specks–less than specks–to his infinite All. Our souls are like eternal beings; the body doesn’t matter if it’s all about eternity, so the suffering we feel on earth and the resentment for experiencing it is meaningless in the face of the eternal life of the soul and the ultimate power and all-knowing will of God.
I may have sped through her ideas, but do you get the gist of what she’s saying? And what would you say in response to this sort of argument? Does God get a free pass because he’s just so damn big? Should we really have a problem with an all-powerful deity that does whatever it wants with its creation?
Image by jemstone
Christians declare God’s perfect justice (Zephaniah 3:5; Psalm 37:28; 2 Thess 1:6-9). But how does God measure up against the imperfect American justice system?
YHWH’s Justice
You are guilty until proven innocent. The laws you are supposed to follow were collected over time thousands of years ago in another culture, but you’re screwed because the laws can’t be amended, reviewed, or doubted. You were born guilty–deserving eternal torture and punishment for something you cannot control. The only way for you to be saved from this terrible pain and suffering is for the judge to kill an innocent person instead of the guilty one. But don’t worry, the innocent guy only stays dead for three days, so it’s only a really bad weekend.
American Justice
You are innocent until proven guilty. The laws you have to follow are agreed upon by your local/state/federal governments instead of just one person; if there is confusion, there will be a final word on what’s okay or not okay to do. Revisions are also possible for the betterment of society. If falsely accused for a crime you did not commit, you can appeal to a higher court. You have a right to be judged by a jury of your peers. You cannot be prosecuted for thought crime. Punishments are not eternal, and only the criminals are punished for their own actions.
P.S. I admit, we all know the American justice system is a bit messy; but its ideals are still better than the theocratic alternative. Oh, and if you’re not American, I’m pretty sure your scenario would be very similar. That is, unless you’re from North Korea.
from The Onion
Christianity commonly teaches that God always answers prayer in one of four ways (here’s an example):
1) Yes
2) No
3) Wait
4) A specific answer. ex. “Choose chocolate, not vanilla.”
Let’s examine these answers a bit more, shall we? I hope it’s agreed that no one can physically hear God. We just don’t have casual back-and-forth chit-chats with the Almighty Whatsit. Prayer, for even the most sensitive and faithful religious individual, is a one-way street. If we could hear God, we wouldn’t need to guess what he was saying in response, now would we?
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