Tell me something, do you have all the time in the world? Wow, what a coincidence! Neither do I! I type 70 words a minute without error. This blog takes me less than an hour and a half per week.
Atheists and agnostics are a very small percentage of the U.S. population. Christians are a huuuge percentage in comparison. I don't have a problem sharing my world with you. I see you everywhere I go, every day of my life. My husband is a Christian. My mom is a Christian. My brother is a Christian. Many of my friends are still Christians. You're kind of hard to avoid. And it's not that I dislike you personally...we cool.
The problem is that everywhere I go, there you are. So when I talk about my views you've got to open your mouths and give me yours (usually indignantly, condescendingly and in long, drawn out prose). I just don't have the time.
We can all get along. I truly believe that. People say "God bless you" to me all the time and I don't burst into flames or foam at the mouth. I have people telling me that Jesus loves me quite often and I refuse to tell them they are soft in the head. In fact, I thank them because I think their intentions are basically good and I don't need to bring up my views at every single opportunity. You know, the way some people do...
But here's the thing. Sometimes I do like to talk about various things. Sometimes, I even like to write about things. Like my life and my experiences in and out of religion. Like you, I like to share my ideas and conclusions.
Like many of you, I like to blog. Do you do that to get a reaction or start a debate every time? Wow, we really *do* have a lot in common! Neither do I!
And the thing that might seem really weird to you is that I don't want to spend a bunch of time talking about me getting "saved." Yet I know that's super important to you because you believe the Boogeyman In The Sky is going to fry my soul forever and boil me in oil like a drumstick at KFC unless he saves me from himself. I know you think it's a loving, super awesome deed for you to go ahead and learn me sumpthin about your Bible so that I don't spend my life in darkness, misery, debauchery and ignorance and then fry up Colonel Sanders style in the afterlife.
But you know what's funny about that? I'm not a particularly miserable person and I actually don't spend every waking moment looking for life's selfish pleasures. I have kids to raise and work to do.
Plus you know what's great about no longer believing in the Boogeyman? I'm no longer afraid of his Boogeyman Pit.
So the thing is I don't want to debate about your Bible because I've already read it. I've already debated it. Again. And again. And again. There are always plenty of Christians willing to discuss it. At one point I was going to 3 Bible studies a week and "seeking" with an open heart because I truly wanted to believe. There aren't many Christians who know the Bible better than me and that's not even bragging. That's an honest (and rather pathetic) truth.
I don't want to debate about your God because in the end, it will get neither of us anywhere. I will go away unconvinced because you have no actual evidence. You will go away convinced because you believe exactly what you want to believe. Because you want the Boogeyman In The Sky to be on your side and fry up somebody else. That's cool. I'm okay with you thinking I'm going to fry because that means about as much to me as my kid telling me his imaginary friend isn't speaking to me anymore. IE: it doesn't mean anything at all.
Have you looked into Agnosticism or Atheism as hard as I've looked into your religion? I've asked tons of questions and studied up hard, which is how I got my Agnosticism in the first place. TADA!
So if I'm okay with you thinking I'm "frying in the afterlife" and am willing to accept that extremely remote possibility, can I just hereby absolve you of guilt and obligation to "change my heart"? Pray for me if you like, but she who has seen the man behind the mask can no longer be fooled into thinking he's the great King of Oz.
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