Proving My Point

First off, I need to say, that apparently anyone who tries to write a comment on my site, I guess I have to “approve” it before it will show up.  I just figured that out, sorry, my bad. I will approve them, no worries, but I don’t check every day, so whenever I check, I will approve them, then I think you wont have to write comments multiple times.

Anyhow… Getting to my point.  Everyone who has replied as of this writing, has replied to my first post, “No God… what’s the big deal?”  In that post I stated that anytime I let people know that I do not believe in god, I am met with awkwardness or people trying to convince me that there is  a god and turn me to their point of view.  No one yet has said, “That is cool” and moved on.  And certainly no one has agreed that there is an intolerance for non-believers that is not just. I stated that as a society we get very riled up and people cannot simply accept it and move on.

All of the comments that were made so far, are proving this point.  Everyone has shared a personal experience as to why he/she believes in god and what “god” has done for them. So far, no one has said, “That is cool’ and that they too have noticed the injustice or the intolerance.  No one has said that they believe in god, but think it is OK that I do not. No one has accepted my thoughts or beliefs.  Everyone has shared their experience and then stated that they are not trying to “convince me” or “change my mind,” but here are all the reasons why they believe in god…. God is Love, or they have had an out of body experience and they saw him and just know for sure he exists…etc… Great, good for you… to which I have commented a bit…so that I can get my points for this class, but, really, we are still not addressing the issue, which is that there IS an intolerance for those of us who do not believe.

Everyone “says” they are not trying to convince me that there is a god, but are you sure? No one has accepted it.  I have heard all these type of stories before, people saying they have “seen Jesus” or just “knowing” there is a god, because they have had some very emotional experience and felt his presence, or they have come to terms with their inner demons or problems while sitting in a church, or praying and that it was a “sign” that god exists.  Is the implication, that if I have not felt it, there is something wrong with me, or I am not as enlightened?  Why the need to share your stories? Perhaps one day, I will “see the truth? Become saved? Know what you know?”

What about the real issue of my first post, that we all got side tracked on?  The fact that people do not like to accept the fact that there are those of us who do not believe in god. The fact that there exists an unfair baised against those of us who do not believe and that creates a rift in society that is not being addressed because the belief in a god seems “more acceptable” than a non-belief.  There was a time when owning slaves was more acceptable than not or more acceptable for woman NOT to vote than TO vote.  It did not make it right, it just made it true.  But just because something is widely accepted, does not make it good, right or fact.

It is as though the belief in a god, creates this class of people who feel they are more enlightened than the rest of us, and they are just waiting, hoping and “praying” for us to become enlightened or to experience that moment of redemption, that will “lead us to the truth” and make us more like them.  How condescending, patronizing and dangerous, if you really think about it.

Non believers do not need saving simply because they are non-believers, and if we do, we will ask or seek help from those we trust. I have no doubt that most people say and do these things out of good intentions.  Most people are not evil or trying to cause trouble. But we must be careful that our “help” truly IS help, and not rooted in our own need to feel important or feel enlightened.  If someone chooses to go down, what you might consider the “wrong path”… if they are not hurting themselves or someone else…. let them. It is not your place, or anyone else’s place to try and “save” them, when they are not asking for a life boat.  Maybe they want to learn to tread water the “hard way?”  And maybe to them, it is not the hard way, but simply “their way.”

So far, it seems that you all are proving the point of my first post because in reaction to hearing that one of your classmates does not believe in god and has started a blog about it, you have carefully shared all your stories about why he does exist.  I have yet to read a post from someone that addresses this intolerance issue, or accepts my beliefs even if they are not their own, which…. was my point.

It does not make sense.

I wonder what it is about religion and beliefs that makes it something that is hard for people to accept?  Differences in religion has caused many wars throughout history.  Many people have suffered at the “hands of god” and it is so interesting.  It does not make sense.  If God is all-knowing and all-powerful, and if he loves unconditionally, then why does he allow wars to happen and people to kill others “under his name?”  If he is all-forgiving, then why is there a “hell?”  This makes no sense.  If God is love, as I have heard so many people say, then why is there so much hatred and non-tolerance from those who are “believers?”   There are those believers who do not tolerate interacial dating, or gay people, or women’s rights…

And if I am just supposed to believe that he has a plan and I am not meant to understand it… I dont accept this.  I will not believe in some power in the sky I have never seen, to be smarter than me and that is why I do not understand.  How condescending is that? That is horrible.  Talk about not teaching people to critically think, that just makes no sense.  Yet people believe it.  How curious…

One nation… under God? Not true.

I do not like this phrase as part of our Pledge, to our flag.  It is inaccurate.  We are not one nation under God.  We are one nation, but we are not all under God.  There are those who do not believe in God, so we cannot say that we are tied by the belief in a God.  This should be changed. The phrase “Under God” was not actually in the original version of the pledge.  It went like this:

I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

It was meant to be short… 15 seconds long.

However, due to many factors, not the least of which is that many people linked atheism with communism, some religious believers wanted to change the pledge to add the “Under God” phrase.  It was eventually added, but not until well after the original one had been adopted.

This is yet another example of an unfair bias that is not being addressed.  Just my thought for the day.

No God…what’s the big deal?

It is interesting being a person who does not believe in God in this society. I find that many people make assumptions that they should not make about me and about religious beliefs, only they are hardly ever seen as the type of assumptions one should be aware of or try and be respectful of. We spend a lot of time making sure we are responsible and tolerant to the various cultural customs and beliefs that we come across, however, when it comes to the fundamental belief in if there is a God or not people get very riled up and emotional. An atheist is thought to be evil, bad, in need of help or saving or just plain wrong, more often than not.
There are assumptions that are apparent every day, like when someone says, keep us in your prayers. Well, I don’t pray… to anyone, so that is not something I can do. But when I explain that to someone in the moment, I am either met with an uncomfortable, blank stare, or a lengthy discussion which usually ends with the other person being incredibly defensive of their beliefs, or trying to convert me over to their “side.” I am usually not trying to engage in such conversations. However, I refused to be silenced into not being myself or to freely expressing who I am. It should be acceptable to express that one does not pray, or believe in God, and just move about business. However, this news is often met with pursed lips, or reactions like, “Wow, that is so negative.” or “That sounds awful.” or a condescending “Oh, I see.” Instead of simply, “Ok.” and we move on. It is just an interesting societal note. I wonder why this is, why is a belief in God assumed to be more acceptable? I assume this could be because of historical ties to religion. But even our liberated, modern society and city is still very conservative on this subject.