One of the latest comments in particular caught my attention and inflamed my ire. Not sure why, perhaps it is because the writer has zero understanding of, or exposure to, atheists and why many of us condemn religious teaching and thought. This was her comment:
Such hateful, evil responses to people you personally know nothing about. If ever there is an example of someone who is so miserable in this life, it would be you. Spending so much time responding so hatefully, I would say you are truly threatened by Christians and our God! Amy L. Wright, 1/28/12 amazon.com
Amy,
I don't have to know someone personally to be disgusted by their knee jerk proselytizing, or the investment of their lives in nonsensical superstition. I'll venture there's a whole lot of people, historical and modern day, who you dislike. That said...
Yes, indeed, threatened is a good word: America is threatened by religious fanatics claiming to all have been called by their Sky Daddy to be president; threatened by rejection of intellect, science and learning preferring myth and blind rejection of objective evidence; threatened by attempts to make this a theocracy at worst, or giving preferential treatment to the majority religion at best. Threatened by fanatical religious intrusion into peoples lives, what they do with their genitalia, wombs, and pursuits of happiness...if that happiness isn't in step with what their imaginary god likes; threatened by Christian ideals which obstruct scientific advancement, or condemns women to bear the children of their rapist or their own relative.
Yes, we are threatened by Christian rejection of global warming; threatened by evangelical fundies' desire to see Israel rebuild the temple on top of an existing Mosque to see the End Times prophesy fulfilled; threatened by their trying to collapse the Wall of Separation between Church and State; threatened by the "true Christians" of Cranston, RI whose harassment and threats of violence toward a 16 year old girl and her family who sued a School for a constitutional violation and won the case requires them to have police protection; threatened by that state’s Representative who promoted hate toward her by declaring this girl "an evil little thing", much like the words uttered before a witch burning by his 17th century good Christian predecessors.
I'm threatened by religionists’ attempts to dumb down our schools by trying to equate religious myth with science; threatened by religious fervor to go to war at the drop of a hat to fend off "Gog and Magog" as your born again president Bush, Jr. so brilliantly espoused. I am threatened by president GHW Bush's comment that “atheists aren't patriots or maybe not even Americans,” while I and thousands of other "atheists in foxholes" put their lives on the line, or lost them in the service of this nation.
Indeed Amy, I and millions of freethinkers and progressive Christians, feel threatened. And now you have only a very small inkling as to why.
As for your god: I am as threatened by your god myth as you are by Wolfman or Isis or Athena ...probably less so, seeing as how your credulity may well permit you to accept the Wolfman myth as real.
Amy, I'm sure much of this is way beyond your meager ability to comprehend. I doubt you have the reasoning capacity to even understand what half of these things mean. But I'll be happy if you just possess the intellectual curiosity to get to the end of this sentence.
19 comments:
Testify! You nailed it with that one. There is no need to fear imaginary skydaddy, but his minions frighten the living hell out of me and for all of the reasons you indicated. Add to this the fact that they take my fear of their irrationality and call it a belief in/fear of skydaddy. I wonder if they don't get it, or if they get it but because they're so brainwashed, they try to bury it.
Brilliant! :)
Thanks, Momma and Loren:
I don't think they see any of this. They are so Christian-centric that the things that threaten us don't even register with them.
I imagine many of the Germans of the 1930s had no inkling of what the Jews were threatened by prior to Crystal Nacht. Funny thing how that works when you're in the majority. "Problem? What problem?"
I will post again, Hump.
This woman will never get to the end of your last sentence.
She might blow up with rage because she either does not comprehend your points or because she does comprehend and realizes how ignorant and foolish she looks.
She also might get distracted by some shiny object near her window.
Bob,
You called it alright.
she blew up and stomped out because she realized she was both ignorant and in way over her head. ;)
That was one hell of a comeback there Hump! You sure put that brain dead deluded theist in her place.
Her level of (wilfull) ignorance of her own "beliefs", which I am sure result from others telling her what to believe rather than from her own investigation, preclude any meaningful dialogue. Every answer will be defensive regurgitated boiler plate. Every question will be regarded as an attack on or persecution of her religious beliefs. I don't believe this woman is capable of indepentent thought on religion or has ever demonstrated any intellectual curiosity regarding her beliefs. So any discussion will be one sided and fruitless. However it is indeed amusing reading.
Hump, thanks for another great post and solid response to that delusional person, they are so caught up in their rebarative prattling and god-talk they don't comprehend how totalitarian they really are.
Pure awesome-sauce!
I have to wonder, why do these people read your blog?
Do they have nagging doubts? Do they need reinforcement of their delusions?
Capt. Mitch
Thanks all for your kind words.
Mitch, that woman doesn't read my blog. She read the 1 star review I posted to amazon.com on the NIV Bible.
There are over 1200 "Yes" [helpful review) votes, and almost 300 "NO" [not helpful], the latter being from Xtians. Also, over 200 comments on my review, a number from hyper religious fanatics who make this woman look quite normal.
You'll find the review here, just scroll down a few: http://www.amazon.com/Holy-Bible-NIV-ebook/product-reviews/B004G5Z1HM/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
Excellent take down. Just finished reading your last book by the way. Was not disappointed. Keep up the great rants.
Your blog not only hit the spot ...it removes it!
I rec'd the following in email from a long time humanist fb friend who occasionally chastises me for my oft condescending manner toward the religiously afflicted. It is re-posted here with his permission.
-------------------------
Dear atheist camel,
I agree with your letter except for the last paragraph. 'your meager ability to comprehend' was insulting and may be completely false.
If those who were trying to push their religiosity on us were all stupid we would have nothing to worry about.
Augustine incorporated his puerile neurotic guilt into the notion of Original Sin. In the Bible Paul incorporated his sexual maladjudgment into religious misogyny. I read the 'Confessions' of Augustine and was impressed by the obvious intelligence he displayed along with his childish neuroticism. His speculations on time and space were sublime.
In short a person can be intelligent, able to display critical reasoning in some areas and yet be neurotic or even crazy when it comes to irrational belief.
David
David,
Thanks for your perspective.
If you go to the NIV Bible review on amazon, and forward to page 21 of what is now 22 pages of comments, you'll see that not only did she not understand the "threats" I itemized, preferring to simply respond to the last sentence of my reply, neither did a hyper-religious fanatic who has been posting continually his bizarre rants. He too chose not to address my concerns, instead sympathizing with her and suggesting it was a result of my obvious possession by demons.
It has been my experience, over some 20 years of activism, that those who are deeply ensconced in their religious fervor have little or no ability to empathize with those who reject their belief. That is, they see none of the issues I outlined as even being on their radar screen, much less as a threat to anyone. They cannot conceive of why a prayer on school wall is a violation of the Constitution, instead seeing its removal as unConstitutional - a violation of their freedom of speech and religion.
Naturally, the only way they could understand it is if some one were to post a Satanist, or Muslim prayer on that same school wall. But even then, while they will hypocritically demand it's removal, their own religio-centrism will prevent them from seeing the illegitimacy of their own prayer posting. In that regard, they have "a meager ability to comprehend," in my opinion.
Whether that meager ability is due to the generally lower intelligence, less education of the religiously afflicted (on the aggregate, as substantiated in overwhelming studies) or simply blocking caused by the God Virus, it is none the less a reality. This does not imply that all religionists are of sub IQ. Indeed, as you say, many are quite intelligent and succumb to the God Virus nevertheless -compartmentalizing that unfortunate affliction. However, based on "Amy's" comment to me I deemed her to be someone lacking the necessary intellectual acuity to internalize the reality of the threats I outlined. Her subsequent response confirmed my assessment.
Finally, I am not famous for my patience with gross religionist stupidity. Anyone who would project their own superstion on another who has already declared their non-belief (i.e. my being threatened by their God) will receive no quarter from me. Fact is, I felt I was being rather genteel in my not so caged insult.
Again, thank you.
Please don't start going easy on them Hump. Your witty retorts to the mindless ramblings of religious nutbags makes my day.
Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. vs21-25
the last Anonymous, you are a coward to hide behind anonymity and spout fairy tale dead zombie fictional word salad.
You mimic words about strength but speak from weakness...we are laughing at you.
Bob... I wasn't sure whether this guy was using the bible to make fun of it, or was promoting it.
I was laughing at the verses...and still didn't know. I'll go with your take :)
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