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.