A friend of mine and I were having a conversation about Christmas, and
beliefs. She has seen my posts on ATOT, and knows about my lack of belief concerning theism.
She wondered what kind of significance Christmas could have for
atheists, since we did not ?believe? anything. Of course, since I was a "liberal" atheist, I must HATE Christmas...
Now, unlike some atheists, I would not characterize all theists as stupid. I told her that
I thought it best to put my thoughts on paper so that I could effectively
communicate how I feel. I thought I would share some of this letter with my
friends here at ATOT.
Dear Beth:
It is very hard to make sweeping generalizations about people and have them
be proven true. I can only speak for myself because I cannot crawl inside
the head of every other atheist I know. You said that atheists, by their
very nature, cannot ?believe? in anything. Nothing could be further from the
truth. We have expectations of the present and the future that we cannot
necessarily prove, and we think of things that happen in the past that we
must suppose were true. I believe, for instance, that the sun will rise tomorrow, and that it is dark outside as I type this. Many other things I believe, but they were not part of this conversation. Beyond that, I can tell you what this one
atheist believes in relation to religion and society of today. Here it is:
I believe that Jesus Christ was a real man, a good man, and probably did and
said a lot of the things attributed to him. I believe in his message that we
should all love one another and that we are all brothers (and sisters!)
under the skin, no matter what kind of world we create for ourselves and
however that world interacts with others.
I believe that most churches in the world are filled with good, dedicated
people who are making life better for all around them. I believe that those
who have a close relationship with their god are generally happier and more
content than persons who have no relationship with a deity. I believe that
the majority of persons on this planet know in their hearts that there is
something better than this life waiting for them when they die, and the
religious framework under which they were raised enables them to be
productive and happy people. I happen to believe that there is no afterlife,
but that the things we say and do will affect countless others. Our spirit
may not live on, but I believe that our actions will speak for us long after
we die. You have to look no further than Jesus Christ to understand the truth to that statement.
I believe that me showing up on your doorstep to get you to think my
way is as fruitless as you attempting the same?the difference is, I believe,
that I am disobeying NO one if I stay at home during my time away from work.
I will not denigrate you for your belief...please do not denigrate me for a
lack of belief.
I also believe that, like any group in society, there is a small minority of
persons associated with religion who prey on the weak and exploit the
ignorant. They lie, cheat, steal, kill, and try to enact massive social
change, all while invoking the name of their god. I believe that people can
exercise freedom in their religion and should be able to associate with just
about any church that they want. But I also believe that with that freedom
comes the responsibility to ensure that the weak and the ignorant among us
are not devoured by those evil people operating under the umbrella of a
church. And I am not talking about cults, either...I am talking about
children abused by priests, the old and the infirm who give their last
dollar to the man on the television, and the persons who dip into the church?s till to create a lifestyle that a king would envy.
This liberal believes that the Reverend Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and those like him
are a bunch of power hungry egomaniacs. I believe that they no more
represent the average liberal?s viewpoint than Reverend Falwell or Pat
Robertson represents yours. I believe that if the President of this country
wants to have these nuts in the White House to pray, he is more than
welcome. But I do NOT believe that the President should be giving them any
of my tax money. Jesus told people to worship god in their closet. Jesus did
not say that the church should go to the government for money. If fact, I
believe he said just the opposite (paraphrasing) ?Give to Rome what Rome
wants?give to God what God wants.? He did NOT say, ?Go to Rome to get money
for God.?
YOU say that I represent the secular humanist liberals that blindly go about
their business of underpinning many of the things you (and I!!!!) hold dear.
I do not claim responsibility for their actions, just like you do not claim
responsibility for the abuses that happen in religion. Maybe if we acted
together to clean up the messes created by the groups (rightly or wrongly)
associated with us, our world would be a better place.
I believe in a hand up rather than a handout, but I also believe that you do
not shout advice on how to swim to a man who is drowning. So please forgive
me if I hand a dollar to the guy in a wheel chair on the off-ramp. Maybe he
is going to spend it on drink or drugs. But then again, maybe he will use it
to pay for a sandwich. Or put in the till of HIS church. Sometimes, the proper application of money DOES solve something.
I believe in a strong national defense, and I think we as citizens should
pay for that defense. Maybe that makes me unpopular with ?liberals? but I
believe that many ?liberals? are misguided when it comes to the business of
keeping our country safe. I believe that if a military contractor is going
to spend my money, said contractor should be judiciously policed so that my
money is being spent wisely. I believe that a ballistic missile defense
system is insane when you have people effectively killing thousands with
airliners. I believe that, to properly defend ourselves against attacks at
home, we must stop thinking and planning like it is 1950. I am not the
smartest guy in the world, but even I know that the best way to deliver a
nuclear device to an American city would be to throw it in the back of a
truck, drive the truck into the center of town, and flip a switch to kill 5
million people.
I believe that the government should get out of the corporate welfare
business, and create a sane human welfare program. I believe that if other
governments sponsor universal health care and their citizens live longer
than us, then we should spnend some time looking at our system, not denigrating theirs.
I believe in patriotism, but not in blind patriotism. I believe that it is
our job as citizens it to keep the government honest. I believe that people
who just focus on one or two areas of government operations (when they
should be looking at the big picture) are at best, misguided. I believe that
those who protest ONLY against abortion laws or ONLY against defense cuts or
ONLY against taxes are worse than those who do not care about the
government?because the protestors can take the spotlight off of other areas
of government that affect us all, and make us debate tiny points while the entirety of the problem eludes our grasp.
You believe that our tax rates are a sin against the rich. I believe it is a
sin against humanity when we have persons who make a million dollars a DAY
and head up corporations who may soon pay no federal taxes at all, riding in
limos past kids who have not seen a decent meal in months. I believe that
people who run those companies should place human lives ahead of a 5 cent
jump in the stock price. I believe that the CEO of such a company should
have the strength of character to tell the shareholders that profit margins
may not be as high, but a lot of people will actually be able to celebrate
Christmas this year because they still have jobs.
I believe that the family is the most powerful force on this planet. I
believe that future of the human race depends upon us, as parents, raising
kids properly. I believe that our children should grow up knowing how to
love, to reject hate, and to be smart enough to tell the difference between
the two. You sneer at the phrase "it takes a village," but I believe that if the entire village,
including BOTH parents, expects the children to excel, those children will excel.
I believe in a woman?s right to choose. You have lectured me enough about
your god?s giving us the gift of free will. If we have free will, then we
can choose what we want to do with our bodies. I believe that if your god
says you have free will, it is mighty presumptuous of you to try to limit
the free will of others.
I also believe that a woman should be prepared to
deal with pregnancy if she wants to have sex, since there is no method of
birth control that is 100 percent effective. I may believe that terminating
a potential human life is a waste, but it is not illegal and people in this
country deserve to live their lives without harassment if they are operating
within the law. Try as you might, you have not been able to bestow
citizenship on a fetus. Since a fetus is NOT a citizen, it does not have
?rights? that supersede those of the mother. I believe that this is not just
a legal issue, but a biological, moral and humanistic one.
Women were having abortions long before our society was created, and will have them long after
both you and I are dead. I believe that there is no way you are going to
stop a woman from terminating a pregnancy if she really wants to. I believe
that instead of arguing about this, we should redirect our efforts to
decrease the amount of unwanted pregnancies.
I believe that our country, for all it's faults, is the best country in the
world. Do I want some things to change? Yes! Does a lot of what happens
around me cause me to seethe in anger? Absolutely! Would I ever want to move
anywhere else??? NEVER. This country was founded by people who thought that
protesting how government operates was a "god-given" right. I believe if
anyone tells you that dissent=a lack of patriotism, that they should go back
and read the constitution...for their minds have wandered far away from that
wonderful document.
Finally, do I believe in celebrating Christmas? You bet I do. This time of
year seems to showcase all of the good things that we in western
civilization can accomplish. I believe that if we tried to act this way the
entire year, the world would be a better place. I do not believe in your
god. But that does not mean I do not believe in almost everything you do.
Peace be with you this Christmas. I hope that it is more joyful than any you
have ever had, and that all future Christmases are even better.
Love, Robert.
If you read all the way thru this, thanks.
I will go back to being a fsckhead now.
beliefs. She has seen my posts on ATOT, and knows about my lack of belief concerning theism.
She wondered what kind of significance Christmas could have for
atheists, since we did not ?believe? anything. Of course, since I was a "liberal" atheist, I must HATE Christmas...
Now, unlike some atheists, I would not characterize all theists as stupid. I told her that
I thought it best to put my thoughts on paper so that I could effectively
communicate how I feel. I thought I would share some of this letter with my
friends here at ATOT.
Dear Beth:
It is very hard to make sweeping generalizations about people and have them
be proven true. I can only speak for myself because I cannot crawl inside
the head of every other atheist I know. You said that atheists, by their
very nature, cannot ?believe? in anything. Nothing could be further from the
truth. We have expectations of the present and the future that we cannot
necessarily prove, and we think of things that happen in the past that we
must suppose were true. I believe, for instance, that the sun will rise tomorrow, and that it is dark outside as I type this. Many other things I believe, but they were not part of this conversation. Beyond that, I can tell you what this one
atheist believes in relation to religion and society of today. Here it is:
I believe that Jesus Christ was a real man, a good man, and probably did and
said a lot of the things attributed to him. I believe in his message that we
should all love one another and that we are all brothers (and sisters!)
under the skin, no matter what kind of world we create for ourselves and
however that world interacts with others.
I believe that most churches in the world are filled with good, dedicated
people who are making life better for all around them. I believe that those
who have a close relationship with their god are generally happier and more
content than persons who have no relationship with a deity. I believe that
the majority of persons on this planet know in their hearts that there is
something better than this life waiting for them when they die, and the
religious framework under which they were raised enables them to be
productive and happy people. I happen to believe that there is no afterlife,
but that the things we say and do will affect countless others. Our spirit
may not live on, but I believe that our actions will speak for us long after
we die. You have to look no further than Jesus Christ to understand the truth to that statement.
I believe that me showing up on your doorstep to get you to think my
way is as fruitless as you attempting the same?the difference is, I believe,
that I am disobeying NO one if I stay at home during my time away from work.
I will not denigrate you for your belief...please do not denigrate me for a
lack of belief.
I also believe that, like any group in society, there is a small minority of
persons associated with religion who prey on the weak and exploit the
ignorant. They lie, cheat, steal, kill, and try to enact massive social
change, all while invoking the name of their god. I believe that people can
exercise freedom in their religion and should be able to associate with just
about any church that they want. But I also believe that with that freedom
comes the responsibility to ensure that the weak and the ignorant among us
are not devoured by those evil people operating under the umbrella of a
church. And I am not talking about cults, either...I am talking about
children abused by priests, the old and the infirm who give their last
dollar to the man on the television, and the persons who dip into the church?s till to create a lifestyle that a king would envy.
This liberal believes that the Reverend Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and those like him
are a bunch of power hungry egomaniacs. I believe that they no more
represent the average liberal?s viewpoint than Reverend Falwell or Pat
Robertson represents yours. I believe that if the President of this country
wants to have these nuts in the White House to pray, he is more than
welcome. But I do NOT believe that the President should be giving them any
of my tax money. Jesus told people to worship god in their closet. Jesus did
not say that the church should go to the government for money. If fact, I
believe he said just the opposite (paraphrasing) ?Give to Rome what Rome
wants?give to God what God wants.? He did NOT say, ?Go to Rome to get money
for God.?
YOU say that I represent the secular humanist liberals that blindly go about
their business of underpinning many of the things you (and I!!!!) hold dear.
I do not claim responsibility for their actions, just like you do not claim
responsibility for the abuses that happen in religion. Maybe if we acted
together to clean up the messes created by the groups (rightly or wrongly)
associated with us, our world would be a better place.
I believe in a hand up rather than a handout, but I also believe that you do
not shout advice on how to swim to a man who is drowning. So please forgive
me if I hand a dollar to the guy in a wheel chair on the off-ramp. Maybe he
is going to spend it on drink or drugs. But then again, maybe he will use it
to pay for a sandwich. Or put in the till of HIS church. Sometimes, the proper application of money DOES solve something.
I believe in a strong national defense, and I think we as citizens should
pay for that defense. Maybe that makes me unpopular with ?liberals? but I
believe that many ?liberals? are misguided when it comes to the business of
keeping our country safe. I believe that if a military contractor is going
to spend my money, said contractor should be judiciously policed so that my
money is being spent wisely. I believe that a ballistic missile defense
system is insane when you have people effectively killing thousands with
airliners. I believe that, to properly defend ourselves against attacks at
home, we must stop thinking and planning like it is 1950. I am not the
smartest guy in the world, but even I know that the best way to deliver a
nuclear device to an American city would be to throw it in the back of a
truck, drive the truck into the center of town, and flip a switch to kill 5
million people.
I believe that the government should get out of the corporate welfare
business, and create a sane human welfare program. I believe that if other
governments sponsor universal health care and their citizens live longer
than us, then we should spnend some time looking at our system, not denigrating theirs.
I believe in patriotism, but not in blind patriotism. I believe that it is
our job as citizens it to keep the government honest. I believe that people
who just focus on one or two areas of government operations (when they
should be looking at the big picture) are at best, misguided. I believe that
those who protest ONLY against abortion laws or ONLY against defense cuts or
ONLY against taxes are worse than those who do not care about the
government?because the protestors can take the spotlight off of other areas
of government that affect us all, and make us debate tiny points while the entirety of the problem eludes our grasp.
You believe that our tax rates are a sin against the rich. I believe it is a
sin against humanity when we have persons who make a million dollars a DAY
and head up corporations who may soon pay no federal taxes at all, riding in
limos past kids who have not seen a decent meal in months. I believe that
people who run those companies should place human lives ahead of a 5 cent
jump in the stock price. I believe that the CEO of such a company should
have the strength of character to tell the shareholders that profit margins
may not be as high, but a lot of people will actually be able to celebrate
Christmas this year because they still have jobs.
I believe that the family is the most powerful force on this planet. I
believe that future of the human race depends upon us, as parents, raising
kids properly. I believe that our children should grow up knowing how to
love, to reject hate, and to be smart enough to tell the difference between
the two. You sneer at the phrase "it takes a village," but I believe that if the entire village,
including BOTH parents, expects the children to excel, those children will excel.
I believe in a woman?s right to choose. You have lectured me enough about
your god?s giving us the gift of free will. If we have free will, then we
can choose what we want to do with our bodies. I believe that if your god
says you have free will, it is mighty presumptuous of you to try to limit
the free will of others.
I also believe that a woman should be prepared to
deal with pregnancy if she wants to have sex, since there is no method of
birth control that is 100 percent effective. I may believe that terminating
a potential human life is a waste, but it is not illegal and people in this
country deserve to live their lives without harassment if they are operating
within the law. Try as you might, you have not been able to bestow
citizenship on a fetus. Since a fetus is NOT a citizen, it does not have
?rights? that supersede those of the mother. I believe that this is not just
a legal issue, but a biological, moral and humanistic one.
Women were having abortions long before our society was created, and will have them long after
both you and I are dead. I believe that there is no way you are going to
stop a woman from terminating a pregnancy if she really wants to. I believe
that instead of arguing about this, we should redirect our efforts to
decrease the amount of unwanted pregnancies.
I believe that our country, for all it's faults, is the best country in the
world. Do I want some things to change? Yes! Does a lot of what happens
around me cause me to seethe in anger? Absolutely! Would I ever want to move
anywhere else??? NEVER. This country was founded by people who thought that
protesting how government operates was a "god-given" right. I believe if
anyone tells you that dissent=a lack of patriotism, that they should go back
and read the constitution...for their minds have wandered far away from that
wonderful document.
Finally, do I believe in celebrating Christmas? You bet I do. This time of
year seems to showcase all of the good things that we in western
civilization can accomplish. I believe that if we tried to act this way the
entire year, the world would be a better place. I do not believe in your
god. But that does not mean I do not believe in almost everything you do.
Peace be with you this Christmas. I hope that it is more joyful than any you
have ever had, and that all future Christmases are even better.
Love, Robert.
If you read all the way thru this, thanks.
I will go back to being a fsckhead now.
Well written BTW.
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