An Open Letter to the Writer of This Glurge (long)

The BBQ Pit
1

You think that death and destruction and evil happen when someone decides she doesn’t want people to be made to bow to a belief system they do not hold? Now, I don’t know exactly what this woman was saying, and if she was trying to ban religious expression of any kind then you do have a right to be upset about it. But if all she wanted was to keep different belief systems separate, as they should be, then your logic is rather… illogical.

I’ve never read the Bible. I don’t kill, I don’t steal, and not to blow my own horn but I’m generally regarded as one of the most generous people I know. Why do we need religion to be moral?

…Were you spanked as a child? I wasn’t. I’m not sure about self-esteem, but hitting someone who can’t defend himself or herself is wrong in my book. I guess yours doesn’t see it that way.

I’m not asking myself any of that. I have faith, you see. It isn’t any faith you would recognize because it is not faith in any god or gods, but faith in the human spirit. I know plenty of children. I don’t know any murderers.

Or maybe it has a great deal to do with the fact that, sadly, humankind will always have its outcasts. I don’t think we need to sow anything in order to find weeds growing in our gardens. We simply have to transplant them to the compost heap where they will do the world some good.

Is there anyone who accepts every “news item” they read, unequivocally, simply because it’s in print? Is there anyone who rejects everything they recognise as coming from the Bible, unequivocally, simply because they happen to be philosophically opposed to the source? Neither position is valid. The newspapers are generally true, except when they’re not. As for the Bible - again, I’ve never read it. I have no doubt that it teaches at least a few good lessons. I also have no doubt that it teaches at least a few bad ones. It’s up to an individual to decide which is which if they want to. I would prefer to find my moral lessons elsewhere.

Yes. That is because there are people in this world who don’t believe in the same god you do. Few of them would appreciate being sent messages with regards to that god, just as you would probably not appreciate being sent… oh, the Wiccan Rede, for example.

Funny how you fail to mention that lewd, crude, vulgar, and obscene articles are for the most part banned in the school and workplace. And I highly doubt that public discussion of God is in fact suppressed. Brash and annoying attempts at conversion are probably treated as the brash annoyances they are, but where do you live where religion is a taboo subject entirely?

I didn’t forward this message. I posted it on the SDMB for all to see, and added my comments. I’ve probably gotten it more viewing in one go than it has had from any two previous forwarders. I’m not worried about what other people think of me, and I’m definitely not worried about what God thinks of me, because if he exists I dearly hope he has more important things to worry about.

I have nothing to say to this that does not involve heavy doses of sarcasm, so I’ll refrain.

[sub]Forgive me for being so polite in the Pit, but I see much vitriol in this message’s future. If I’m wrong, Mod, I apologise for the inconvenience of relocation.[/sub]

2

Huh, so it all started when Murray O’Hair (I wish these glurgists would learn how to spell properly*) started campaigning for further separation of church and state? Well, I guess that means that God’s been A-OK with all the genocide, terrorism, slaughter in the name of whatever religion, epidemics, famines, plagues, and all that other crap that’s come down the pipeline before the 1960s or so, eh? Otherwise him “backing out” of the lives of humans recently doesn’t seem to mean anything different when compared to the past existence of humanity.

  • Any spelling or grammar errors should obviously be considered to be present for purposes of irony, rather than manifestations of Gaudere’s Law. Yeah, that’s the ticket.
3

That piece of crap has been floating around the Internet for several years. I’ve lost track of the number of times it’s shown up in my inbox. It promptly gets replied to with somewhat the same answers that you gave, although mine are nowhere near as polite as yours are.

Good post. Your responses are quite accurate.

4

The pat answer to that is, “Well, those people don’t accurately represent (insert religion here). Those people are crazy and have lost their way. A real believer in (insert religion here) is all about love and peace, etc, etc.”

5

When I was boy, these idiots stayed in tents and VBS. You see, this internet thing is a bad idea! If they make an extension for Porn (.xxx) I think they should make an extension for God so I don’t have to hear this sort of crap.

6

Perhaps I should tell that to the person who forwarded it to me. (In fact, I believe I’ll just tell him about this thread.)

Thank you.

7

I particularly like the element of “blame the victim” in that thing. That’s the mark of a real nutbag, in my opinion. It’s not terribly far to go from that position to Phelpsville.

Right. Now, could someone please tell me why you have to wear a kilt while saying that?

It just doesn’t make sense that a just god would allow September 11th to happen in order to make a point to people who think like I do. If he has a problem with what I think, he knows where to find me. A god who allows the deaths of innocents to make a point would be as bad as the terrorists who killed those people to make a point. Not that I’m expecting a glurgist to make sense, but…

8

I think the glurgist’s logic was more along the lines of “We keep telling God to go away, and look what’s happened now that he finally listened!”

Don’t ask me how that makes sense. I am not and have never been s.a.g.-gy.

9

Exactly. He “finally listened,” allowing this to happen to prove we were wrong for “telling him to go away.”

10

Well, the glurgist is clearly trying to place all the blame on atheists, because of course (s)he can’t place it on God. Like I said - don’t ask me to make sense of it. I’m not qualified. :wink:

11

I fully understand that. I’m just attempting to work with the loopy things he/she said.

You’re probably incapable because you’re overqualified. :wink:

12

Old glurge. Lame rant. Have fun in algebra Monday morning.

13

If I understand it correctly, God is either an abusive spouse or a mobster running a cosmic protection racket (Sure I’ll get out of your schools. Thems sure some nice towers. Be a shame if something happened to 'em.).

So when do I get my no-prize?

14

And may your first child be a masculine child.

15

Too late, but thanks anyways.

16

This lack of logic amongst discussions of what God does or doesn’t do isn’t new - whenever there is an event that kills a lot of people, there is always someone who was almost killed who comes along and says, “God was watching out for me that day. God saved me.” Well, the logical extension of that is that God sure was pissed at the rest of those people who died horribly. What utter arrogance - that somehow one person managed to cozy up to God enough that God saved them alone. I guess it keeps them warmer at night than the idea that their survival was purely accidental.

17

It was a reference to Godfather. A lame attempt from my part at humour :frowning:

18

To further destroy the creedence of this glurge, it should be pointed that Dr. Spock’s son didn’t kill himself; it was his grandson. Snopes has the whole story.

19

I figgered, but I had just taken my daughter to school so it was the first thought in my teensey ittle mind. :stuck_out_tongue:

20

For anyone who belittled Pythian (SleepyDuck???) for bringing up old news:

http://rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=224333

It’s only ingorance not worth fighting when the ignorant stop promulgating it.