Not much of a story but one day I was in line at the bank, peeved because there are never enough tellers working, and this elderly lady in front of me turns around and without invitation to converse, looks me in the eye and said “Jesus loves you, you know.” I normally would just mutter something neutral or “thanks” but this time I was nettled and shot back, “I don’t believe in Jesus and I’d appreciate it if you keep your religious beliefs to yourself, just as I do mine.” She rocked back on her heels as if punched in the chest, blushed and said “No one has ever talked to me that way before.” My reply was “I’m sorry no one has ever has pointed out to you, how rude your behavior is.” She got mad at that point, turned around and we finished waiting in “blessed” silence.
I detest all the smarmy small talk that believers are constantly inflicting on people whom they don’t know at all, as if everyone was a member of their little club. That behavior is totally dismissive of the rights and feelings of others. It is one of the reasons I think that the religious are some of the most truly selfish and self-centered people around - something they love to accuse atheists of.
I have to wonder where people live that they get this. I never do. Except for the occasional (and thankfully dwindling) population of street corner preachers, people generally don’t talk about religion. Well, not to me anyway. Maybe I have “Mean Atheist” tattooed on my forehead.
As I mentioned, I don’t remember specifically what they asked me. Strangers asking if you have “accepted Jesus into your heart” is common enough that it is maybe just the first thing that pops out of the memory hole. But people assume you’re at least Christian, even if you aren’t their appropriate brand of southern Baptist or whatever the Assembly of God is. Apostolic? They ask the question because they have been told to do so, and they really expect a yes ma’am when they ask. While it is true that my statement could mean many th
Silly phone. The rest of that:
things, I think lots of people around here take “I’m not Christian” to mean “I am an atheist”, which is why I said it that way. And why, I think, they were so shocked.
I’ve heard stories like this before and I believe them. But it wasn’t my experience. Army basic 1989 they pretty much left us alone Sunday morning. Someone walked through every now and then to make sure no one was sleeping but that’s it. Training started again when the church people came back.
That’s a nice term. I usually just call myself non-religious because it really has no part in my life, either pro or con. I can not remember having any confrontations about it. Or even many conversations. I only know about 2 people at work who are religious. Thats only because they get kidded about how nice and straight edge they are, notbecause they push it. Both I assume are catholic due to their background. I walk away from just about any religious discussion. I do remember one conversation with one born again many years ago when I tweaked him about his ignorance not his belief. I asked him the old question about where Cain’s wife came from. I pointed out that Jesus is not a Hebrew name and was most certainly not his name while he was alive. I pointed out that the King James bible was just one of many translations and could not be the exact words of Jesus. He had never thought about any of that. I forgot what else came up but I doubt it penetrated.
That’s silly, did you ever point out to him that the support strength of dead babies is a lot less than bricks? If they wanted their churches to fall apart at the slightest wind, yeah use dead babies, but if they wanted cathedrals to stand the test of time, they have to use actual bricks
“Without religion, you have good people doing good things, and bad people doing bad things.
With religion, you have good people doing bad things.” (Anon)
I was at long john silvers with in-laws and they all joined hands to pray. I declined, so they asked me to leave the table until they were finished. I started eating and said, “Pray all you want, it doesn’t bother me.” I ate, they prayed, and it was never discussed…at least with me.
Religious people always want you to accommodate them, then cry foul if you don’t. I’m glad some people stand up to that. If they want to pray, they should leave the table
One of Emo Philips’s most popular jokes:
Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, “Don’t do it!”
He said, “Nobody loves me.”
I said, “God loves you. Do you believe in God?”
He said, “Yes.”
I said, “Are you a Christian or a Jew?”
He said, “A Christian.”
I said, “Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?”
He said, “Protestant.”
I said, “Me, too! What franchise?”
He said, “Baptist.”
I said, “Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?”
He said, “Northern Baptist.”
I said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?”
He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist.”
I said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?”
He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region.”
I said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?”
He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912.”
I said, “Die, heretic!” And I pushed him over.
We have an opportunity for a full on experiment. I just went to my Facebook page for the first time in a couple of weeks, and this woman who I worked with a decade ago, who truthfully, I can’t even remember, left a message on my wall:
“Are you really an atheist?”
I took a peek at her page and the first entry is: “THE GREATEST THREAT TO MEDICARE IS OBAMA CARE” followed by the whole fucking litany of right-wing glurge and catch phrases – god not allowed in schools – don’t tax the working man and give it to deadbeats – drooling over Christy, Romney, Ryan, the holy trinity, a picture of Charlton Fucking Heston, ferchrissakes … ad nauseum.
My first inclination is to defriend this freakshow immediately, but I’m wondering what will happen if I respond simply with, “yes.”
I live in Vancouver and I can’t think of one person I know who is religious, goes to church, or talks about God. It’s just not on the radar. If you’re religious you’re either really old or a Sikh.
We’re going to have to start using the churches for storage I think. They take up a lot of space for nothing. My camping gear takes up a lot of space in my garage, so that would really be handy.
