I was thinking about my recent barrage of Facebook posts, and how it might be perceived by my friends and family. I've already had one family member unfriend me, and while I can't claim with any certainty that I know how everyone else feels, I spend a great deal of time speaking with theists of all stripes and the responses are all very similar.
That being said, I don't want people to think I hate Christians, am angry at God, or have had a bad experience with religion somehow. None of what I say concerning religion or gods is based on emotion. I'm just looking at things from a rational and skeptical point of view.
Contrary to popular opinion, it is not rude or invasive to inquire about someone's view on religion. Of course, as with any other possibly controversial topic, there are times and places where it would be inappropriate to discuss religion but the subject itself isn't off limits.
If at times I seem agitated or angry about something, it's likely because it saddens me to see people I care about short-change themselves by giving the credit for things they accomplished to someone other than themselves. That and the way theists are allowed to pick and choose when it comes to events in their lives. From the athlete that spends countless hours training and learning to play a game only to thank God for letting him win the championship to the person who sees Tucson shooting victim Gabrielle Giffords' situation as a miracle when six innocent people, including a 9 year old girl are killed.
So I'm challenging that. I'm challenging the idea that your god, whoever it may be, is not to be questioned. I'm challenging anyone who says that their god is great. I'm challenging the idea that an omnipotient, omniscient, omnipresent being can even exist. I'm doing this because I want to hold as many true beliefs and as few false beliefs as possible.
This post will serve as my standard "go to" response when someone asks me why I do what I do. If I've sent you here to read this, consider it a starting point because this by no means encompasses the entirety of my belief structure.
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I agree with you completely. It's not about anger or frustration that I post what I post as well. It's simply that I see people failing to give themselves credit for their own actions or WORSE refusing to own their mistakes and claiming 'it's gods plan' rather than just admitting they did it to themselves.
ReplyDeleteI too have had the family members 'unfriend' me and that is fine. At some point, maybe they will see logic, until then I will watch and smile knowingly.