fundy, atheism, atheist, evangelism, christianity,
In the previous fundy bubble post we met a woman who felt as shocked to meet an atheist as I would be if I ran into a yeti at the supermarket. The replies to her post are worth revisiting the thread for.
If you can have amiable conversations with her about these things than talk about prophecy and what the Bible says about the end times. unfortunately most people become very very uncomfortable talking about these things for some odd reason. I have come to be believe that the reason is because they know the truth and they don't like it. And thats why they get so upset. Here is what I do sometimes. Im fond of pretending to be a skeptic myself and making believe i have been recently astounded by all the things happening in the world that line up with Bible prophecy. I will bring up shows that are on the history channel like race to Armageddon and other ones that talk about Biblical prophecy.
For the last freakin' time, I am not secretly Christian and merely pretending to be an atheist. There is no value in that. Being a Christian would make me part of the majority, and give me access to all kinds of privilege. Being an atheist makes me the subject of quite a bit of bigotry and hatred. Also, if you have to
The problem is not one of science, you see; it is a question of the heart. They can defend against every "scientific proof" you can muster, but they cannot defend against a life lived for the Lord. A suggestion I have is that you forgive this lady for angering you*; let it go and give it into God's hands. Another thing you may wish to do is to apologize to her for arguing with her.
I like that this poster put "scientific proof" in quotes in this context. It's quite unexpected honesty! The idea that I cannot defend against a life lived for the Lord is just silly. The same could be said for any religion. Actually, by that logic, muslim suicide bombers should convert us all. As for forgiving this woman for angering the OP, that pisses me off. The atheist in question didn't confront the OP, the OP confronted the atheist. All the the atheist did was answer a question. What does she have to be forgiven for?
You said she volunteered for toys for tots. You could ask her why she did that. What was the purpose for her doing that?
I presume her purpose was to make sure children get Christmas presents.
If she is offended by [the Way of the Master], then it will expose her reliance on her own good works to get her wherever it is she's trying to go. It will show that she has set herself up as god (even though she may deny it). This is the folly of the atheist viewpoint. They won't acknowledge it, and maybe even will deny it, but when boiled down, atheism is about being your own god.If you can help her to see that, then you'll be showing her that she has just as much faith in her god as we do in ours. Atheism isn't about no god and no faith, it's about faith in yourself and your own good works as your god.
That's a lot to unpack, but first and foremost, I don't believe in god, therefore, I also do not believe in heaven or hell. If I do nice things (and I do), I do them because I see they need to be done, not out of hope for a reward or fear of a punishment. Don't project your own inability to be good for goodness' sake onto me.
As for "atheism is about being your own god", that's just nonsensical. That sentence literally has no meaning. A god is an immortal being with supernatural powers. I can no more set myself up to be god than I can set myself up to be a toaster. It's like saying "you don't like my boa constrictor because you want to be your own snake." And yet, I see this all the damn time.
Apparently, a disturbing number of people live in the fundy bubble.
Apparently, a disturbing number of people live in the fundy bubble.
*If you didn't read the previous post, the OP discovers an acquaintence is an atheist, gets upset, asks her to prove god doesn't exist, doesn't like the answer and gets even more upset.
Growing up in Wheaton, Illinois we all called our hometown "the bubble." As someone who lived in that bubble for a year or so while being non-religious and often running in to people I'd grown up with in the church I can say without a doubt that it's a stressful position to be in. I don't believe any of it, I have damn good reasons not to believe any of it, I think many of my former friends are deluded and really need to actually learn something about the world they inhabit, but it's not my job to convert anyone to anything.
ReplyDeleteI know nothing of the atheist in the story, but I know plenty about how it goes when you're trying not to tell people who know you exactly what you no longer believe. It's not fun. Moving 15 miles away and mostly hanging out with whoever happened to be around regardless of beliefs helped immensely.
Also, if someone decided to bring one of those Armageddon shows that's currently stinking up the History Channel all the time as proof that Biblical prophecy is spot on the conversation would end immediately. With me being taken to the hospital after I passed out from laughing too hard. I call it The Bullshit Channel these days for a reason...
"Sure, we atheists set ourselves up as our own gods to decide right and wrong, but you christians set yourselves up as HIGHER than god.
ReplyDeleteYou give yourself authority over God when you decide whether to accept or reject his Words in the Holy Bible (Peace And Blessings Lie Upon Mine).
When God proposes to keep the sabbath and kill those who don't, you judge the first part to be correct and declare the second part invalid. You make yourself God's supervisor, to whom he must submit his work for approval."
hey, Uzza, where are you quoting from? that seems familiar, but i can't seem to remember why...
ReplyDeleteit is spot-on, wherever its from :)
I really like the one about being offended by Way of the Master. Lots of Christians are offended by that for its sheer, unmitigated stupidity and offensive theology. Are all those people atheists then?
ReplyDeleteHello! I read the link and I read the comments. It was kinda disturbing to see how many people were just Not Getting It, and I felt so sorry for the wee Christian woman, she hasn't had as full a life as the athiest woman and she totally knows it, IMO. And she gets that the athiest is actually being a good person... better than many of her fellow parishoners! Parisheners? Church-people. Damn.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I will give full props to that last poster, who did at least get why someone who's being hit on by a church full of married men might conceivably not want to be a part of that. Only decent reply! I mean, doesn't get that someone might have different beliefs, but...
I did love reading the conversation the two women had though, fascinating actually seeing that through the 'other guy's' eyes.
Oops! I'm not quoting anybody, I wrote that myself. I don't know how quote marks got in there; I guess I'm quoting myself--how pathetic is that?
ReplyDelete