This Atheist is Angry
Posted by: tony on 10/28/2007 11:15 PM
Updated by: tony on 10/28/2007 11:20 PM
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Expires: 11/28/2007 12:00 AM
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 One of the commenters on Jill Stanek's blog pointed me to this atheist who is angry, and she wants to tell us why she's angry, and why she's justified in being angry.
I don't have either the time or the inclination to address all of them, but I'm going to hit a few that caught my eye:
I'm angry that according to a recent Gallup poll, only 45 percent of Americans would vote for an atheist for President.
Gee, is it that high?
I'll go on record saying that I'll never vote for an atheist for President. Their unshakable faith in the absence of God is to me, a form of lunacy. To be unshakably convinced that nothing exists outside of our 5 senses is silliness in the extreme. We didn't discover bacteria until the microscope was invented. We didn't see any of the more distant stars without the telescope. Science has made some really silly assertions that others like Galileo tried to correct. Which brings us to the next one:
I'm angry about what happened to Galileo. Still. And I'm angry that it took the Catholic Church until 1992 to apologize for it.
And I wonder how long it'll take the scientific community to apologize for the scientists of the time who also threw Galileo under the bus.
Another favorite canard is brought up:
I'm angry that women are dying of AIDS in Africa and South America because the Catholic Church has convinced them that using condoms makes baby Jesus cry.
Yup, those who are thumbing their nose at the Church's teaching against fornication and adultery are going to hold to the Church's teaching regarding condoms? This is sheer silliness.
I understand why she's angry. Because judging from her picture, she has about 60 more years on this planet. Meaningless years dragging on to that final, eternal dirt nap. God is tickling her, like a theological itch, and she's refusing to scratch it. She thinks she understands intellectually, that there is absolutely no reason for her being here, her life has absolutely no meaning, and when she's gone it won't matter at all.
I, on the other hand, know that I was created by a God who loves me and calls me by name. I know that I was put here to love him with all my heart, and love my fellow travelers who are also loved by Him. I know that I am totally unworthy of that love and He give it to me unconditionally. I know he sent His Son to die an agonizing death in atonement for my sins and the sins of the whole world. I know that if I believe in Him, worship Him and follow Him, I might be able to dwell in communion with Him forever.
This fills me with joy.
And she's really going to hate this, because all the fundie atheists I've met hate it. God loves her too. He's loved her before she was formed in her mother's womb. And I'm going to say a prayer for her.
Update: Here's a bio of Greta Christina:
I've been a freelance writer since 1989. I write books, essays, movie reviews, porn and sex toy reviews, other reviews, features, interviews, fiction (mostly erotica), irate letters to the editor, song parodies, and assorted commercial copy.
I am currently editing a new annual anthology, "Best Erotic Comics," the first volume of which is scheduled for publication in November 2007.
Among other things, I'm the author of "Bending," an erotic novella that's part of the three-novella collection "Three Kinds of Asking For It," edited by Susie Bright for Simon & Schuster. I'm also the editor of "Paying For It: A Guide by Sex Workers for Their Clients," a book of advice for sex work customers, written by sex workers and former sex workers, published by Greenery Press.
Apart from my books, my best-known pieces of writing are probably "Are We Having Sex Now or What?" and "Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing do Do With God."
I live in San Francisco with my wife, Ingrid.
This explains a lot.
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