Sunday, August 7, 2011
I'm American too, Motherfucker.: Atheists should be better than Christians, not jus...
I'm American too, Motherfucker.: Atheists should be better than Christians, not jus...: "Over the past couple of months, I've joined a few atheist and humanist groups on Facebook with the hope of finally finding people who think ..."
How I realized I was an atheist
I figure I have some friends who, since I post my blogs on Facebook, might wonder why I'm not a Christian since I used to claim to be one. For one thing, everyone in my hometown was Christian and it wasn't so much an issue of being afraid to say I'm atheist, but that Christianity was all I knew or rather, the Christianity I grew up with in my church and my mom's family, is the only Christianity I knew. Lucky for me, I wasn't raised with Hell fire and brimstone, but with values of forgiveness, love, and social justice. I'll come back to that in a bit though. After several years of questioning and dancing around the issue, I realized that I was indeed an atheist and that there was no point in keeping up the charade (for the most part...I haven't told my family, nor do I see a reason to. It's more trouble than it's worth on my part).
First, I never even questioned it until I was in college. It just never occurred to me. If someone claimed something that I disagreed with, I more or less decided that they just didn't know what they were talking about. A little arrogant, perhaps, but I've always had confidence in my ability to reason and understand things. I can't know what goes through other people's heads, so my own abilities and knowledge were the only things I had to go on. I also took Christianity as more of a philosophy or a way of living than religion which brings me to my next point, the nature of belief.
I had no idea what it meant to believe in something. I literally did not understand belief. Then I saw Jesus Camp. That was the first time I'd ever seen true belief. That isn't to say that the people I knew growing up didn't truly believe, but I was raised in a church and family that encouraged questioning. I was encouraged to think. At no point was I ever expected to accept something that didn't make sense. I just assumed that everyone thought like I did. I realize that not all Christians are like the people in Jesus Camp, but those who are the loudest and proudest in the media right now are. Those are the people we're dealing with. They have been indoctrinated and brainwashed. They know that if they question what they've been told that they may be shunned completely by their communities. That's a difficult thing to face. I never faced that and I didn't know that sort of thing existed (Honestly. I grew up outside of a small town with no cable and no internet. If there were people of that persuasion around, I didn't know them or they kept it hidden). After seeing what true belief meant, I realized that I'm not capable of it. I'm just not hardwired for belief.
Third, my questions actually started within Christianity itself. I questioned things I was taught and I accepted the most reasonable conclusion I came to and I accepted those answers as a part of my Christianity. For example, one of the biggest questions I had was about the condemnation of Judas Iscariot. If Christ had to die in order for Christianity to exist, I didn't understand why Judas would be condemned to hell for betrayal. To this day, that makes no sense. Even considering that he committed suicide (a topic never covered in my church), it still didn't make sense because of the idea of the greater good. If he was sorrowful for his friend's death, which by god's own prophecy at the time had to happen, then surely god would forgive him. Then I came across other ideas about Christ's arrest. One idea I came across was that Jesus asked Judas to turn him in because he had an in with the Jewish authorities. I saw Jesus Christ Superstar, which made Judas more human and I think painted him in a more sympathetic light (I mean, Carl Anderson was awesome). I also had issues with the idea of Satan. If god is both omnipotent and omniscient, the why in the hell would anyone, especially his right hand man, er, angel lead a revolution against him? If your opponent knows your coming and is all powerful, you're going to lose. Period. So either the story of Satan is wrong or the image of god is wrong. I also remember watching a Dateline special at Easter that questioned some of the events of the Bible. Does it matter if Mary was a virgin or not? Does it change Christ's message? Those were the questions I started with.
I also realized that a person's religion has more to do with geography than god. Christians are Christian because they are born in Christian households and most likely, in predominately Christian communities. If the community isn't predominantly Christian, then the religion is most likely accepted. I would imagine that it is exceedingly rare for a Christian to be born in a place that it is unacceptable to be a Christian, compared to the membership as a whole. I also don't believe that there are very many 'born again' Christians or converts who were raised without Christianity or religion in their lives. Even if their parents weren't religious or were members of a different religion, Christianity is still around, especially in the US. There are churches everywhere. Our politicians are very outwardly religious (they won't get elected otherwise). Religion is on tv, on the radio, online, especially social media sites where a person can easily see what their friends believe. If you're born in Iran, you're Muslim. If you're born in India, you are most likely Hindu. In Israel, you're most likely Jewish or Muslim, if your parents are Palestinian; there's a chance you'll be Christian, but you probably won't follow Shintoism or Buddhism. If you are born in Greece, you'll most likely be Christian, but you won't be Baptist or Catholic. You'll be Greek Orthodox. This is an undeniable fact. Most theists are born into theist families and they most often stay in the religion they were raised in.
The final factor for me was the religionizing (because I can't think of a real word to describe it) of American politics, particularly after Bush the second took office in 2001. I doubt I really need to elaborate on that too much. Unless you live under a rock, you know. I will say that the use of scripture to deny people legal rights in this country has gotten out of control and needs to be stopped. The Constitution is the governing document of this country. Period.
Admitting to myself that I was an atheist was liberating. God is an oppressive idea and that idea is used to oppress people who are too afraid to question what they are told for fear of being shunned by their communities or of going to hell. God was bad for my psyche. I'm prone to guilt and disappointment in myself without the added pressure of a god. I also don't need god to be a good person.
First, I never even questioned it until I was in college. It just never occurred to me. If someone claimed something that I disagreed with, I more or less decided that they just didn't know what they were talking about. A little arrogant, perhaps, but I've always had confidence in my ability to reason and understand things. I can't know what goes through other people's heads, so my own abilities and knowledge were the only things I had to go on. I also took Christianity as more of a philosophy or a way of living than religion which brings me to my next point, the nature of belief.
I had no idea what it meant to believe in something. I literally did not understand belief. Then I saw Jesus Camp. That was the first time I'd ever seen true belief. That isn't to say that the people I knew growing up didn't truly believe, but I was raised in a church and family that encouraged questioning. I was encouraged to think. At no point was I ever expected to accept something that didn't make sense. I just assumed that everyone thought like I did. I realize that not all Christians are like the people in Jesus Camp, but those who are the loudest and proudest in the media right now are. Those are the people we're dealing with. They have been indoctrinated and brainwashed. They know that if they question what they've been told that they may be shunned completely by their communities. That's a difficult thing to face. I never faced that and I didn't know that sort of thing existed (Honestly. I grew up outside of a small town with no cable and no internet. If there were people of that persuasion around, I didn't know them or they kept it hidden). After seeing what true belief meant, I realized that I'm not capable of it. I'm just not hardwired for belief.
Third, my questions actually started within Christianity itself. I questioned things I was taught and I accepted the most reasonable conclusion I came to and I accepted those answers as a part of my Christianity. For example, one of the biggest questions I had was about the condemnation of Judas Iscariot. If Christ had to die in order for Christianity to exist, I didn't understand why Judas would be condemned to hell for betrayal. To this day, that makes no sense. Even considering that he committed suicide (a topic never covered in my church), it still didn't make sense because of the idea of the greater good. If he was sorrowful for his friend's death, which by god's own prophecy at the time had to happen, then surely god would forgive him. Then I came across other ideas about Christ's arrest. One idea I came across was that Jesus asked Judas to turn him in because he had an in with the Jewish authorities. I saw Jesus Christ Superstar, which made Judas more human and I think painted him in a more sympathetic light (I mean, Carl Anderson was awesome). I also had issues with the idea of Satan. If god is both omnipotent and omniscient, the why in the hell would anyone, especially his right hand man, er, angel lead a revolution against him? If your opponent knows your coming and is all powerful, you're going to lose. Period. So either the story of Satan is wrong or the image of god is wrong. I also remember watching a Dateline special at Easter that questioned some of the events of the Bible. Does it matter if Mary was a virgin or not? Does it change Christ's message? Those were the questions I started with.
I also realized that a person's religion has more to do with geography than god. Christians are Christian because they are born in Christian households and most likely, in predominately Christian communities. If the community isn't predominantly Christian, then the religion is most likely accepted. I would imagine that it is exceedingly rare for a Christian to be born in a place that it is unacceptable to be a Christian, compared to the membership as a whole. I also don't believe that there are very many 'born again' Christians or converts who were raised without Christianity or religion in their lives. Even if their parents weren't religious or were members of a different religion, Christianity is still around, especially in the US. There are churches everywhere. Our politicians are very outwardly religious (they won't get elected otherwise). Religion is on tv, on the radio, online, especially social media sites where a person can easily see what their friends believe. If you're born in Iran, you're Muslim. If you're born in India, you are most likely Hindu. In Israel, you're most likely Jewish or Muslim, if your parents are Palestinian; there's a chance you'll be Christian, but you probably won't follow Shintoism or Buddhism. If you are born in Greece, you'll most likely be Christian, but you won't be Baptist or Catholic. You'll be Greek Orthodox. This is an undeniable fact. Most theists are born into theist families and they most often stay in the religion they were raised in.
The final factor for me was the religionizing (because I can't think of a real word to describe it) of American politics, particularly after Bush the second took office in 2001. I doubt I really need to elaborate on that too much. Unless you live under a rock, you know. I will say that the use of scripture to deny people legal rights in this country has gotten out of control and needs to be stopped. The Constitution is the governing document of this country. Period.
Admitting to myself that I was an atheist was liberating. God is an oppressive idea and that idea is used to oppress people who are too afraid to question what they are told for fear of being shunned by their communities or of going to hell. God was bad for my psyche. I'm prone to guilt and disappointment in myself without the added pressure of a god. I also don't need god to be a good person.
Atheists should be better than Christians, not just like them.
Over the past couple of months, I've joined a few atheist and humanist groups on Facebook with the hope of finally finding people who think and see the world the way I do. At first, that's what I thought I'd found, but it wasn't long before I began seeing the same sorts of behaviors and rhetorical devices used by Christians (and by Christians, I am generally referring to the ones in the media these days: Biblical literalists and those who don't understand context or facts or what the word "theory" actually means). What bothers me even more is the number of people in these groups who think that it's okay to behave like that.
Atheists are the most distrusted and probably the most hated group in the US. No one is denying the lack of love coming our way. But acting like children or mimicking the behavior of those who hate us isn't going to further our goals or win us any favors. We have to be better than those who hate us. We have to be more respectful, more mature, and less incendiary when we speak. There are two behaviors in particular that bother me: the "religion is bad and here are some quotes that prove my point" argument and incendiary language toward theists.
The first is the frequent "this is why ______ religion is bad" posts. Generally, this sort of post is reserved for the Bible, but ever since the tragedy in Norway (weirdly enough, considering that the perpetrator was Christian), the subject has been Islam (apparently even atheists like to jump to conclusions). First of all, they're preaching to the choir, so to speak. I don't see the point in littering the news feed with things that most of us are already aware of. Secondly, exactly what is being accomplished by it? We're already atheist. They aren't convincing any of us to not be members of those religions.
The "Islam is bad" issue is one that really riles me up. For one thing, Muslims and Christians are still human. They come in many flavors and mind sets, so equating all of Islam with terrorism is hateful. All Christians are not Biblical literalists (I am aware that I often say "Christians" when I mean Biblical literalists...it's a difficult thing to get around without making it complicated). Many Christians have the same views of social justice that atheists do and we really shouldn't be alienating people who are on our side. For example, there are two churches in Louisville that refuse to perform any marriages until gay marriage is legal. I don't see a need to alienate them because I disagree with Michele Bachmann. Secondly, I'd like to leave the Islamophobia to the racists. Extremists are extremists regardless of their beliefs (or lack there of). I don't want to be associated with extremist atheists (though I am having difficulty thinking of any off the top of my head) anymore than all Muslims want to be associated with Osama bin Laden or all Christians want to be associated with Pat Robertson or Lou Eagleton. You can't have it both ways.
The second issue I have is with inflammatory language like "magical sky daddy" or "imaginary friends." Really? Do we really want to go there? Oh, because some Christians say hateful things about us, we should do the same thing to them? I'm sorry, but I thought we weren't in kindergarten anymore. Now I know that a lot of atheists would ask how those things are hateful. They're hateful because we are attacking something that a person takes very seriously. Faith is a deeply personal thing and when we use language like that (as opposed to asking questions or simply offering another side to the issue), a person of faith is going to take it personally. And anyone who uses that sort of language KNOWS THAT. Otherwise, there's no point in saying it. We say things like that precisely because we know how that person will feel when we say it and to claim otherwise is disingenuous at best.
Secondly, Christians have the right to believe in god. They have a right to take the Bible as literally as they want and we, as followers of the Constitution, should protect and respect Christians' right to believe, whether they return the favor or not. Frustrating as it is, if we want to gain any ground with Americans, that's what we have to do. It sucks. There's no denying that. But we have to be better. Period.
Finally, when we use that sort of language, people shut their ears. And not just Biblical literalists. Atheists have a reputation for being assholes (see the paragraph about all Muslims not being terrorists). I, for one, am not an asshole and I would like for the rest of the country to realize that the majority of atheists are, in fact, nice people. Our reputation is part of the reason that it's difficult for us to get support. Take the WTC memorial cross. Should that cross be there? Absolutely not. Should the president of American Atheists have said the thing about god not stopping 9/11? Again, absolutely not. It was irrelevant to the case and it made us look like assholes. That case is about representation. If all beliefs aren't equally represented, then none should be represented. That's what he should have said. He could have stated the numbers of Jews and Muslims who died on 9/11 who won't be represented by a 17 foot monument. He could have mentioned that the cross has been in a church for quite a while and suggested reasons for it to remain there. Those are the sorts of things that would have helped his position, not his personal distaste for Christianity. (see The Daily Show clip that has some atheists upset with Jon Stewart: http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/thu-august-4-2011-dick-durbin)
The bottom line is that we all, atheists, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Pastafarians, etc., have the exact same freedom to worship (or not worship) as we see fit. We have the same freedom of religion. It is none of my business what anyone else believes nor is it anyone else's business what I believe. We are equals. Period. Whether or not we respect someone's choice to believe, we must respect their right to do so, especially if we're fans of the Constitution. The correct attitude is one of ambivalence. I don't give two shits what anyone else believes and that's how it should be.
Atheists are the most distrusted and probably the most hated group in the US. No one is denying the lack of love coming our way. But acting like children or mimicking the behavior of those who hate us isn't going to further our goals or win us any favors. We have to be better than those who hate us. We have to be more respectful, more mature, and less incendiary when we speak. There are two behaviors in particular that bother me: the "religion is bad and here are some quotes that prove my point" argument and incendiary language toward theists.
The first is the frequent "this is why ______ religion is bad" posts. Generally, this sort of post is reserved for the Bible, but ever since the tragedy in Norway (weirdly enough, considering that the perpetrator was Christian), the subject has been Islam (apparently even atheists like to jump to conclusions). First of all, they're preaching to the choir, so to speak. I don't see the point in littering the news feed with things that most of us are already aware of. Secondly, exactly what is being accomplished by it? We're already atheist. They aren't convincing any of us to not be members of those religions.
The "Islam is bad" issue is one that really riles me up. For one thing, Muslims and Christians are still human. They come in many flavors and mind sets, so equating all of Islam with terrorism is hateful. All Christians are not Biblical literalists (I am aware that I often say "Christians" when I mean Biblical literalists...it's a difficult thing to get around without making it complicated). Many Christians have the same views of social justice that atheists do and we really shouldn't be alienating people who are on our side. For example, there are two churches in Louisville that refuse to perform any marriages until gay marriage is legal. I don't see a need to alienate them because I disagree with Michele Bachmann. Secondly, I'd like to leave the Islamophobia to the racists. Extremists are extremists regardless of their beliefs (or lack there of). I don't want to be associated with extremist atheists (though I am having difficulty thinking of any off the top of my head) anymore than all Muslims want to be associated with Osama bin Laden or all Christians want to be associated with Pat Robertson or Lou Eagleton. You can't have it both ways.
The second issue I have is with inflammatory language like "magical sky daddy" or "imaginary friends." Really? Do we really want to go there? Oh, because some Christians say hateful things about us, we should do the same thing to them? I'm sorry, but I thought we weren't in kindergarten anymore. Now I know that a lot of atheists would ask how those things are hateful. They're hateful because we are attacking something that a person takes very seriously. Faith is a deeply personal thing and when we use language like that (as opposed to asking questions or simply offering another side to the issue), a person of faith is going to take it personally. And anyone who uses that sort of language KNOWS THAT. Otherwise, there's no point in saying it. We say things like that precisely because we know how that person will feel when we say it and to claim otherwise is disingenuous at best.
Secondly, Christians have the right to believe in god. They have a right to take the Bible as literally as they want and we, as followers of the Constitution, should protect and respect Christians' right to believe, whether they return the favor or not. Frustrating as it is, if we want to gain any ground with Americans, that's what we have to do. It sucks. There's no denying that. But we have to be better. Period.
Finally, when we use that sort of language, people shut their ears. And not just Biblical literalists. Atheists have a reputation for being assholes (see the paragraph about all Muslims not being terrorists). I, for one, am not an asshole and I would like for the rest of the country to realize that the majority of atheists are, in fact, nice people. Our reputation is part of the reason that it's difficult for us to get support. Take the WTC memorial cross. Should that cross be there? Absolutely not. Should the president of American Atheists have said the thing about god not stopping 9/11? Again, absolutely not. It was irrelevant to the case and it made us look like assholes. That case is about representation. If all beliefs aren't equally represented, then none should be represented. That's what he should have said. He could have stated the numbers of Jews and Muslims who died on 9/11 who won't be represented by a 17 foot monument. He could have mentioned that the cross has been in a church for quite a while and suggested reasons for it to remain there. Those are the sorts of things that would have helped his position, not his personal distaste for Christianity. (see The Daily Show clip that has some atheists upset with Jon Stewart: http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/thu-august-4-2011-dick-durbin)
The bottom line is that we all, atheists, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Pastafarians, etc., have the exact same freedom to worship (or not worship) as we see fit. We have the same freedom of religion. It is none of my business what anyone else believes nor is it anyone else's business what I believe. We are equals. Period. Whether or not we respect someone's choice to believe, we must respect their right to do so, especially if we're fans of the Constitution. The correct attitude is one of ambivalence. I don't give two shits what anyone else believes and that's how it should be.
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