Existential angst is only a problem for people who are only halfway out of theistic brainwashing. I didn't grow up thinking that being a God's slave and suffer-bot is the most terrifically, wonderful thing there is, and freedom doesn't scare me in the least. I like life, and I'm not looking forward to dying, but the idea being dead doesn't scare me. I'm part of the grand human struggle to defeat death by science, not "deal with it" by fantasy and bullshit. And I like being part of an oppressed minority; It's not like I'm ever going to run for President anyway.
The so-called "problems" of atheism are a giggle. A walk in the park. If any theist wants to pity me, it's because I'm free, happy and I'm living a satisfied, fulfilled life with no more fear than is justified by living in a hostile universe. I think somehow I can find a way to live with that.
On the other hand, the idea of being a theist gives me the heebie-jeebies. To be filled with guilt and self-digust about my normal sexual feelings? To constantly dread not just death but eternal damnation if I put one toe out of line? It's hard enough to worry about one of my children earning a Darwin award in this life, but to worry that my children might face eternal damnation if they happen to be momentarily exposed to logic and reason? To stay in an abusive, possibly violent marriage (or face lifelong celibacy) because
Nope. Not gonna do it. I'm very happy with the trivial problems of atheism compared with the horror, degradation and exploitation of theism. I pity the poor theists. Living their lives in fear, sacrificing their one and only life for a pack of lies.
You might ask, "What about the 'liberal', humanistic theists? They don't believe in all that evil bullshit." Indeed. But, frankly, stupid is almost as bad as evil. "God loves us, and wants us to be happy!" Oh yeah? "War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades." If this is the work of God's love, God can take His love and shove it up His divine Ass. Sideways. I'll help push, up to the shoulder. Everything truly good the world is a result of human effort, not "divine grace".
God is love? Bullshit. It takes human beings — not a god — to love, to care, to be charitable, to be compassionate. It's taken human will, human effort, human intelligence to lift even a fraction of humanity out of perpetual misery, abject, unceasing fear and painful death, and it's going to take more human will, effort and intelligence to lift the rest of humanity out of the toilet. Every breath spent praising the most liberal, humanistic conception of a deity is still a breath wasted, a breath that could have been spent — at the very least — damning the parasites and predators who feed on our misery in the name of God (or, for that matter, any other sort of superstitious bullshit, from Crystals to Communism).
I don't pity the liberal theists like I do the fundies, but damn, they believe some stupid shit. It's still a waste.
Thankyou so much for this!!
ReplyDeleteAtheists are the free thinkers and the way of the future!!
The worlds round,we cure people not god,we revolve around the sun and so on!
We have to keep strong and the theists owe us one in the future.
Maybe in the JesusBot war we'll throw them in the front lines lol