I have to ask that question after reading That Atheist Bitch's latest post. TAB has lupus, a painful, disabling, potentially life-threatening disease and what do her Christian "friends" do for her? They tell her that it's her fault. If she would just worship their "loving" god, her lupus would disappear.
A few online "friends" recently decided to get together and hold a sort of email/pm intervention about my illnesses. It's been going on since just before Christmas. The general gist of it is this - they sent me messages blaming me for being sick and accused me of doing nothing about it because I haven't asked Jesus to heal me. They said that God made me sick to force my hand because obviously, being in pain would make me turn to Him. It was followed up by accusations that I'm "avoiding God to stay sick" because I like not having to work.
Let's unpack all that arrogant, cruel, disgusting bullshit, shall we?
According to these Christians, it is moral and good and loving for god to torture someone for not believing. So, if you aren't paying enough attention to me, I would be justified in beating you, setting you on fire, dropping acid on you, waterboarding you, etc.- for years at a time. That would be the good thing for me to do.
What about children? There are children who develop or are born with equally horrifying illnesses, and I don't think we can accuse a fetus of being insufficiently worshipful of god. The Christian explanation is that those children are tortured in order to bring others to god. So, if you aren't paying attention to me, I would be justified in beating your child, setting your child on fire, dropping acid on your child, waterboarding your child, etc.- for years at a time. That would be the good thing for me to do.
What about the faithful? There are those whose faith in god is unquestionable, why do they get cancer, MS, lupus, etc.? The Christian explanation is that their continued faith in god in the face of their terrible suffering brings others to a belief in god. So, you're paying sufficient attention to me, but that guy over there is not, so I would be justified in beating you, setting you on fire, dropping acid on you, waterboarding you, etc.- for years at a time. That would be the good thing for me to do.
That's just insane. There's no other way around it. If that god does exist, he's a psychopath and every last one of his followers has some serious Stockholm Syndrome going on.
Wow, that is absolutely terrible. Both the idea behind the email and the people who would send it. I can see that they have not been seriously ill, or had someone very close to them seriously ill, or they would not act so callously. And the idea that turning to god will heal you? Yeah. That sounds retarded, no matter how you look at it. I can not believe that 1)a god would care one wit about if you're sick or not, and 2) would inflict an illness on someone just to get them to pay attention. That's too bizarre.
ReplyDeleteI have the sneaky suspicion that she may find herself a bit happier should she get rid of these unbelievably shitty excuses for “friends”. Seriously – blaming her and even accusing her of being lazy and whatever, just so that she could stay out of a job, all “thanks to” an incurable, barely treatable and degenerative genetic illness …
ReplyDeleteI hope I don’t ever get asked why the mere mention of “Christian Love” gives me the urge to punch that twit in the face.
Her post was an object lesson in the truth of the phrase "with friends like these, who needs enemies".
ReplyDeleteIf someone said that to me, they better damn well do it online, because if they did in person, they would leave the room with a few less organs than they had upon entering.
Ah yes..........it is your fault God is beating the shit out of you.
ReplyDeleteI have MS. I have had a myriad of health problems.........as a pastor/Christ follower and now as an agnostic.
As a Christian God was teaching me to be __________. As an agnostic God is beating one me in hopes of getting me to see why I should love him again. (or so goes the thinking)
This is one issue that drives me farther away from God. A God who is willing to use violence to get my attention/teach me a lesson is NOT a God I am interested in.
Yes, God loves you. He just might have to beat you to prove it.
Bruce
BRUCE!!! So glad to see you! Not so glad about the MS, but glad to see you!
ReplyDeleteWords fail me.
ReplyDeleteTo echo PF... BRUCE! Was sorry to see your site vanish, and I sincerely hope it wasn't because of new medical problems (or worsening of existing ones). You're doing well, I hope...
ReplyDeleteAnd, back on topic, yes... the depth of arrogance, the utter failure of empathy, and the presumption to speak for G-d: this is not an example that anyone should ever want to set.
I can't really add anything, but I thought I'd toss in my own, "Hi, Bruce." Hope you're doing okay.
ReplyDeleteI read TAB's post earlier and was lost for words. Much like I am now.
ReplyDeleteand what do her Christian "friends" do for her?
ReplyDeleteMy partner has taken to saying that he rather likes Christians, but he's only ever met a very few.
And if it isn't a punishment,suffering is a gift from God -- something every person in horrible pain loves to hear. Suffering brings you closer to God. It's a honor to suffer, like Christ suffered. Here's just one example of that sort of "thinking."
ReplyDeleteI am always left speechless at the comments of anyone who suggests that faith, or greater faith, would somehow improve a medical or genetically medical condition. And the same for athletes who thank their God for helping them win. Did God hate the other team? Maybe they didn't pray hard enough? I really find such thinking to be such an affront to a rational mind. What does God have against all the people with autoimmune disease or infants born with congenital disorders or people who develop cancer? Who would want such a God or want to follow his/her/its path? What rational person would trust the Word of such a vengeful entity? Give me the quantum field and nucleotide bases that grouped into some unfortunate pattern any day over an entity that makes anyone suffer as a 'gift', 'lesson' or chastisement for some perceived deficit in worship.
ReplyDeletei am ... floored. just FLOORED.
ReplyDeleteFUCK THAT. let me tell you - if i thought, for one second, that Goddess was putting me through this hell of pain to "teach" me to respect/love/worship/whatever "better" - i would just fucking QUIT.
chronic illnesses ARE NOT ANY RELATION TO MORALITY. being ill doesn't happened because one broke some moral rule [with the very, very, very specific STD that might happen if you have a stupid extra-marital affair - but that happens because you don't use condoms, not because of anyhting else]
this just makes me angry.