rant rant rant RAAAAAAAAAANT

[luciazephyr]

So sometimes at work, if you're working drive-thru, the local churches will have you pamphlets along with their money. It's polite to take them, I suppose.

I got another today. A few co-workers giggled over the typoes in it, then I tried to hand it off to someone, mostly 'cause God pamphlets make me giggle inappropriately and I don't like looking like an asshole to the people around me.

So... let's call her S. S comes up to me and looks at it and says I should save it for someone who needs saving. I, assuming she's joking (because, well, look who she's saying it to), sarcastically say, "What, like me?" "No, for someone without faith."

Suddenly things are less funny.

I repeat myself, hoping she'll catch the hint, "What, like me?" And she gives me THAT LOOK. Atheists know what I'm talking about, the one that's half surprise (ohemgee, non-Christians exist?!) and half pity, like we're some kind of idiot child that is so misguided and foolish.

"So are you an... agnostic?"
"No, I'm an atheist. That's why I was trying to hand off the paper to someone else."
"Oh. Well, I don't need it. I have God in my life. I'll pray for your immortal soul."

Dead serious. Fuck, I hate it when Christians do that. Especially since it hasn't happened to me in a long while so I've been getting along well with the religious fuzzywuzzies (to co-otp a Joss term). But I hate hate hate hate hate when they do that.

Listen. I do not need anyone to pray for my immortal soul. Honestly. I am not a bad person, really. If there is a God, he doesn't have any serious reasons to send me to Hell.

And here's the kicker. Here's the thing I think most of these "I'll pray for you" folk don't understand.

If God is willing to send a decent person to Hell because they don't believe in him, I don't want to go to Heaven anyway.

Let's say tomorrow God shows up on a TV call-in show. I will call and ask him where Douglas Adams ended up. If he says Hell, then I'm going to forget his existence and go about my life as if nothing changed. Because Douglas tried to be a good man. He was funny and insightful and climbed a mountain wearing a ridiculous rhino costume to raise money for charity. If he got sent to Hell, it's only because God is an egotistical fuck who can't handle people being skeptical.

So Yeah. To sum up this rant: If you pray to Jesus for my immortal soul, I'm gonna pray to the FSM that you open your fucking eyes and stop being a condescending twatwaffle.

[/tirade]

-Lucy

Comments

[moonlitsiren.livejournal.com]

Atheists know what I'm talking about, the one that's half surprise (ohemgee, non-Christians exist?!)

That's...really condescending. Perhaps you shouldn't judge people with blanket statements if you don't want them to do the same.

[thene]

Oh lol, last time I was working food service here in the southern US I got tips wrapped in prayer cards sometimes, and by sometimes I mean 'way more than anyone else who worked there did'. Guess I look like a devil-worshipper. :P It's so rude. In my current job, back at Eastertime I had one customer go on at me about how it was nice that the establishment was closed on Easter Day because we could all go to church and celebrate the empty cross; back in December, someone told me to say 'happy christmas' instead of 'happy holiday' because WITHOUT CHRIST THERE WOULDN'T BE A HOLIDAY - yaaaaaaay for blinding ignorance of not only all other faiths but also your own. What.

It's pure entitlement. I know I can't go around telling strangers to worship Set, but they sure feel like they can demand that I pay my precious attention to their god.

re. the end of your post - early on in Les Miserables there's a chapter about a bishop speaking with an atheist on his deathbed, and it ends with the atheist remaining a an atheist and the bishop telling other people that the atheist is going to heaven anyway. It's sweet, but still entitled in a way.

[sarken.livejournal.com]

*applause of agreement*

[peapods42.livejournal.com]

A resounding and kind of ironic A-FUCKING-MEN.

[fofomazuzu.livejournal.com]

Aw, sorry hon.

I had a similar experience recently. Someone on my FB made a status about talking with a non-Christian and then went on to say that they were to go to hell unless they repented. I told them that if they believe in a merciful and compassionate God, God would forgive a non-believer and then let them in (I researched before I posted that, a correct translation doesn't condemn non-believers to Hell, and most mentions of Hell are in parables and are symbols for judgement), you don't say that someone is going to hell for that. They continued to be ignorant so I unfriended them, I didn't feel like fighting.

[amethyst-wolf.livejournal.com]

It's always awkward around people who insist that their ways should/must be yours, but I usually try to laugh it off. I've been a pagan for over 10 years, and it's sometimes difficult dealing with people who insist that I'm evil incarnate/kill babies/sacrifice animals, especially since I certainly have no recollection of any of that.

tl;dr I usually brush people off with a "cool story, bro" and a smile, and most people get the hint. I suppose I'm trolling with that, in a sense, but for me - well, I think there's no reason in getting angry, since some people genuinely don't realize how they affect others (not that it's an excuse, mind you), and it's getting harder to tell who has ill-mannered-but-good-intentions, and who's just being a jackass.

Now, all that being said? Yeah, S. was a schmuck, and needs to pick up some manners and consideration for others.

[heidi-wiggin.livejournal.com]

I give you internet high-fives! I am also an Atheist and I find the lack of respect and human kindness from religious folks totally hypocritical. I also think it's odd that I've only ever been proselytized by various christians, never once has a muslim, hindu, jew, or buddhist tried to force their beliefs on me.

[kylawild.livejournal.com]

I am apparently late to this discussion but felt like saying something.

There are Christians out there that make me slightly ashamed to admit that I am one myself. I am not ashamed of my faith but I am bothered about the possibility of being lumped in with people like the one that you were talking to. Sorry about that because I don't get that mentality that we are supposed to be forcing our way of life on people. I have yet to find that in the Bible anywhere that that's the way to go.

Those tracts are kinda hilarious though because of the typos and the horrible grammar. Not sure how those are supposed to be productive. I work at a Christian store and at a regular one and we'll have people come in to both of them that have told me that they will pray for me. I am not shy about telling people that that is already being taken care of. Of course, I've had a couple tell me that I was going to hell which had me laughing in their face, but oh well.

Basic gist of this was sorry she offended you and please don't think we're all pushy bastards.