Fuck Militant Atheists Edition
I think I was probably 17 or so, when I would let other people know that I was an Agnostic Theist, and even then, it was almost exclusively when I was asked directly about religion, or confronted.
That last word… “theist”… it kind of messes with people. This is especially true among those who can’t differentiate between Atheism and Agnosticism. To a certain extent, the Theism twist is buying in to Pascal’s Wager, but I digress.
What I’ve found growing older, is that by and large, the vocal Atheists are bigger dicks than Bible thumpers. It’s one thing to offer mini sermons to people when you genuinely believe that they’ll be in eternal damnation if not for your “help”. It’s something completely different to go popping off on someone because you think you’re smarter, and you’re too jaded to accept that you might be wrong.
You see, Atheism is its own religion. The lack of empirical evidence does not in itself constitute empirical evidence. In short: nonbelief in something inherently impossible to prove is no more rational than belief. And I’m okay with that…
…not that anybody is dying for my personal seal of approval. But my point is: stop being such dicks about it.
And that, dear reader, is why I’m kind of a dick about it. I want to be left alone.
Sure, I’ll gladly engage anyone in religious debate, because I think it’s interesting, and I hope that whoever I’m debating with will learn as much from me as I will from them. And in the same regard, I’ll come up with quips from the Bible not to snipe, so much as to disarm.
It’s becoming trendy to take staunch sides. Christians are becoming more Christian in their estimation, and nonbelievers are speaking up more than they used to, and all the while, Jews and Muslims are standing up and saying “Wait a minute here.”
So I’ll toss out the Biblical quotes to say “Really? You believe this?”, while at the same time saying “I’ve read your book, and it was interesting.” And I’ll tell Atheists to shut up. Jews and Muslims are excluded, because, frankly, they tend to get shafted. You don’t see them recruiting people to their points of view.
But in that, I don’t go actively seeking out debates. And I don’t think anybody should on an individual level. I think most people want to be left alone.
And in that… consider for a moment how non-Christians aren’t left alone, assuming you’re a person of Christian faith.
How would you really feel if our currency said “In Vishnu We Trust”?
Or if the sassy lady at the gas station said “Praise be to Allah!” instead of “Have a blessed day!”
What if your tax dollars were allocated to “Hate-based organizations” instead of “Faith-based organizations”?
Would you mind if government offices were closed for holidays celebrated by all religions?
Can you really say you’d feel fine if random people wished you “Happy Passover” or “Happy Ramadan” for an entire month?
I could go on, but I think I’ve made my point there.
If as a society, we’re aiming for equality and fairness, we have to mean it. Equality means a lot more than having a “friend” who is black, and being proud that your company got a “two-for” by hiring a woman in a wheelchair.
We can’t lose sight of the fact that less than 150 years ago, the only people in the United States who had any sort of rights were white men who owned land. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t that long ago that being a white man wasn’t enough to give you voting rights. We oppress as a culture, then pat ourselves on the backs every fifty years when we let a new “class” of people become human. White men in apartments were first, then women, then African-Americans. We’re about due to release another group. My bet is on homosexuals.
Maybe sometime near 2060, “everyone” gets let out of the cage. By then, I’ll either be worm food, or medical science will have advanced such that I have a full head of hair, and look thinner and younger than I did when I was actually 18.
My bet is on worm food.
