God is not great
When I was young my mum told me that being naughty and telling lies would put a black mark on my soul, so that god could see it. I now know my mother doesn’t believe this to be true, but for a good while I thought it was fact and I was scared. At school I would be forced to sit on my left hand because I am left handed and my teachers often thought this was blasphemous. I was ashamed. I’m not anymore.
As I grew older I learned that my father was something called ‘atheist’ and that he didn’t believe in god. It blew my little mind that someone could be so defiant. I was a child who had been brought up in an environment where religion was normal and the existence of god unquestioned.
To suddenly learn that my own father didn’t believe in any of it was eye opening. I think I was about nine or ten at the time. It also scared me because he didn’t think those who have died are still around in heaven. Up until that point I had believed that everybody went to heaven or hell – the idea that this was false was deeply troubling, but the question had already been placed in my mind and the doubt started to build – eventually resulting in me realising that I too was atheist. It was a long struggle because my father doesn’t talk about his non-belief. I wish he had because it would have helped, but what’s done is done.
…& Sometimes skeptics don't deserve ice cream
I’m atheist because I belong to no religion and do not believe there to be a god/gods. Atheism is not a huge part of who I am, it’s just there.
I follow numerous people on twitter who are more vocal about atheism than I am and I often see tweets and posts about atheism. Recently I caught snippets on Twitter about how Skepticon attendees had been banned from an icecream store when a sign was put on the window telling them they were not welcome in the ‘christian business’.
It’s illegal to ban people in that manner and the way people were talking about it made me assume that they had been banned for no good reason, and simply because they were non believers. I was outraged on their behalf – I’ve never personally witnessed religious intolerance and I’ve never been a victim of that, but my younger cousin has when she was spat at for wearing a crucifix. She was still in primary school, and although I don’t share her beliefs I felt outraged anyone would treat another people like that – especially a child.
However, today I saw a posting by the owner of the ice cream store in question explaining why he posted the sign and I was reminded of that important lesson we’re all taught early on in life – ‘there are two sides to every story’. This is what he had to say:
What I saw instead was a man conducting a mock sermon, reading the bible and cursing it. Instead of saying “Amen”, the phrase was “god damn”. Being a Christian, and expecting flying saucers, I was not only totally surprised but totally offended. I took it very personally and quickly decided in the heat of the moment that I had to take matters into my own hands and let people know how I felt at that moment in time.
What followed was the creation of the sign. A totally bad reaction on his part, but I find that I can understand why the owner did what he did. This doesn’t mean I condone it.
What I find the most concerning is that a mock sermon of that nature took place and the people involved wonder why someone got annoyed.
You’re free to do what you want and I’m not going to condemn the mock sermon even though I think it is an ugly, intolerant and disgusting thing to do. I just wanted to write this post to say that those skeptics… those atheists or non believers or whatever they want to call themselves who are surprised or outraged by what happened, should really realign the way in which they think about free speech.
You are free to do and say as you please, even if it is offensive – but don’t be surprised when people get offended and act on that. Chances are you’ve done the same at some point in the past.
I think this is a great example of how labels such as ‘skeptic’ or ‘atheist’ or ‘non-believer’ are not all encompassing. I am not like the people who took part in the mock sermon, I’m not like those claiming that the owner of the store should be made an example of.
I’m glad of that.
No doubt I’ll be told I am wrong for what I have written, or that I don’t ‘get it’, and that’s fine because you’re all entitled to your own opinions just as I am mine. However, for what it is worth, you’d only need to ask me for forgiveness to get it.
doubt, it's complicated!
Perhaps I have this perspective of mine because of the two years I’ve been part of the Righteous Indignation Podcast, or perhaps it is because I come to skepticism as someone who used to hold illogical beliefs? Either way, I cannot help but think that sometimes the people who call themselves skeptics often assume too much about the people they are criticising.
I’ve thought this for a while, but it’s something that was reinforced in my mind when I happened to share on twitter & facebook that I was going to read the book that a psychic had given to me as a gift a few weeks ago. The book is called ‘I dared to call him father’ by Bilquis Sheikh, and is about the dialogue between Muslims & Christians, and faith and courage.
I went into the book with an open mind and, not necessarily to learn about God or Allah, but to read the story of another human being who has had a spiritual experience that they wanted to share. Perhaps my curiosity was roused because I have had spiritual experiences in the past that shaped the way I viewed the world. Not only that, but it was a gift and a book, and I never pass on the opportunity to read a book because who knows what you might learn?
A few of the people who commented on my posts about reading the book seemed shocked that I would read a) a book about god, given that I am atheist, and b) that I would read a book given to me by a psychic.
I was a little confused by their confusion and questioned why I wouldn’t. I said to one person on twitter that they shouldn’t judge a “book” by its cover – meaning both the book and the fact that it was given to me by a psychic, their reply was:
I’d judge them by their willingness to lie to the grief-stricken to line their own pockets in that case!
The psychic, they mean. However I don’t think it is that simple. In fact, I KNOW it isn’t that simple. Some people who think they’re psychic, or who think they can talk to god, or can heal the sick with their hands actually believe they can do what they say they can.
They’re not lying or intentionally misleading people – even when they ARE misleading people. To simply dismiss everyone who makes such claims as a con artist is lazy and disingenuous.
As I said before, perhaps it is because I’ve spoken in-depth to people who hold beliefs that I don’t agree with, or perhaps it is because I used to hold similar beliefs due to experiences I’d had that makes me understand how belief isn’t a simple case of right or wrong, lying or telling the truth… it’s about people.
If we don’t take time to learn about the people who hold the beliefs, then we cannot pretend to know anything about the beliefs we are claiming to disagree with. Doubt, it’s complicated to get right!
”By three methods we may learn wisdom:
First, by reflection which is noblest;
Second, by imitation, which is the easiest;
and third, by experience, which is the bitterest.” – Confucius
The irrational me
Yesterday I awoke from a dream in which I was attending my own funeral and for the rest of the day I couldn’t shake the idea that I was going to die as I went about my normal routine. I took extra care as I walked to work, I eyed people suspiciously for weapons as they passed me on the street… I avoided a black cat when it crossed my path.
It was an irrational thing to think, and yet I was still convinced my dream was somehow a premonition – which is daft because I don’t believe in premonitions or dream interpretation. Yet it unsettled me so much that I carried the notion around with me for the rest of the day and, unless I’m actually a ghost as I type this, I didn’t die.
It did set me thinking about what other irrational things I do that I don’t mean to, and I’ve decided to make a list because it’s quite funny and shows how it’s easy to be irrational without meaning to.
- I say ‘bless you’ when people sneeze, despite there being no plague right now, and despite not being religious.
- I “touch wood” for luck
- I cross my fingers for luck
- If I spill salt, I throw some over my shoulder and “into the devils eye”
- When I eat boiled eggs in the shell, I break the bottom of the shell so that a witch can’t use it as a boat to escape*
- When I walk through a graveyard, if I stray from the path I apologise to the deceased…
- I wish people luck.
- I say “jesus christ!” “Holy moses!” “for gods sake!” “go to hell!” “What in the name of God!” “for my sins” when I’m not religious
I feel like a bad skeptic/atheist when I do the above and realise what I’m doing. It feels like I’m somehow cheating even though it’s just a habit I’ve grown up with.
I’m curious, dear reader, what quirky yet irrational habits do you have that you can’t quite break?
*I blame my mother for that one, I don’t even know what it means! WHAT DOES IT MEAN?! A WITCH IN AN EGG?! FROM WHERE IS SHE ESCAPING?
I support…
