An Epiphany
My last blog post garnered way more attention than I thought a cartoon that I borrowed from another blogger deserved.
But the comments from people I know (the anonymous commenter's can go fuck themselves, I don't care what they think), and a conversation with a friend today got me to thinking about some stuff.
Most of the people who visit my blog are other bloggers. Some are my atheist buddies, but a lot of them are people of some sort of faith. These are people I like and respect and whose friendships I cherish.
I can't think of a single one of these bloggers-of-faith who put up posts quoting scripture, telling inspirational stories designed to get the reader "right with God", or condemning other people for what they believe (or don't believe). For the most part, they just keep that shit to themselves.
So I got to thinking maybe I should try to do the same.
I haven't made any secret about the fact that I'm an atheist, so hammering away on the subject isn't really giving my readers anything they didn't already know.
Apparently they don't find it very fucking entertaining or enlightening, just as I wouldn't find it entertaining to hear about how much God loves me every time I visited their site.
I'm sure as shit not going to change anyone's mind and am not certain I would want the burden of having done so if I did. I understand that people's faith is important to them. For some, it recharges their batteries, gives meaning to the world around them and helps them get through life without totally losing it on a daily basis.
To each his own. To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson (because I'm too fucking lazy to google the exact quote), "What another man chooses to believe or not believe neither breaks my bones nor picks my pocket."
You know, it would be one thing if this blog had some HUGE national or international audience who turned to me for their atheistic talking points for the day. But it's not.
I've never been exactly sure why people visit my blog. It's always been a bit of a mystery. It isn't really "about" anything. I don't have a consistent theme. It's pretty much whatever the fuck pops into my head that I think I might be able to share in an entertaining way.
I'm not compromising my point of view, or letting other people determine my content. I'm simply going to make a conscious effort to tone it the fuck down a little and not go out of my way to offend actual, real life friends that I care deeply about.
I won't always succeed. I am who I am. So don't expect this blog to become totally free of any discussion about religions. But I'll try to be a kinder, gentler, asshole.
I may even start up a separate blog dedicated to all of the atheist stuff where I an yell and scream and wave my arms to my hearts content without throwing it in the faces of the people who come here for other reasons.
If I do, you can betcher ass it will be linked on my blogroll.
That is all.
Labels:
bloggers of faith,
epiphany
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23 comments:
well, fuck: if you're gonna be all reasonable an' shit, I ain't comin' back...
; ' )
be happy Christians don't issue fatwas
I'm a pretty pony
Bull - SWAGGER JACKIN' FUCKER!
Good post. Frankly, I don't give a shit what you believe or don't believe, XO. Yes, I have my own beliefs and none of the stuff you were going after was anything I hadn't heard before. So yeah, you just became...boring...for a while. I'm way beyond the age where a blog post is going to make me rethink my entire belief system. Glad to see that a) you're sticking to your beliefs, which is important and b) you're moving on just at the moment I was going to delete you from my RSS reader and Twitter feed.
That said, I enjoy POVs that are counter to my own. I welcome them and I'll sit around and argue them any day of the week over drinks or whatnot. But after a while, it gets old. There are more interesting things to discuss anyway.
You're fucking kidding me.
Some whining bitching psuedo "christians" give you shit and you roll over.
Thomas Torquemada wouldn't have wasted a minute on you. You'd been the light work.
This surprises me. I've read you for awhile now and I thought you were pretty solid in your convictions and didn't worry about the backlash, which I found admirable.
Like I said before, the Christians worth calling Christians didn't and don't give a rat's ass what you or anyone else thought about their beliefs. They're solid in them and, taking Christ's cue, "turn the other cheek."
It's the ones that lie to themselves and others that they're all up Christ's ass that cause the most stink.
And they're not changing anything for you.
P.S. to Patchchord
If you and XO are buds, my apologies.
But after looking at your blog, no wonder you comment here. After looking through a couple of months' worth of your posts, I couldn't find one that made me want to comment. Not one.
XO livens things up, eh?
Dangerousdaisy - "Some whining bitching psuedo "christians" give you shit and you roll over."
No, that's not the case at all.
These aren't "Some whining bitching psuedo "christians".
They are people I know and love and respect.
No, I don't believe what they do.
No, they don't agree with me.
But if they ever needed help from a friend, I would be there for them. And I know they would be there for me.
"I thought you were pretty solid in your convictions and didn't worry about the backlash, which I found admirable."
I am very solid in my convictions.
I do not believe that God exists.
But I have friends (not anonymous blog commentors, but real-life, actual, face-to-face friends)who do believe.
Surely I can find a way to remain true to my convictions without spitting in the faces of my friends who feel otherwise.
Their belief in a god, in their own, private lives, has no impact on my disbelief.
We only come into conflict in the political arena when one group seeks to impose their view on another through force of law.
In those cases, I will state my opinion without hesitation or remorse.
But I think I'll try to throttle back the gratuitous, blind sided, all-encompassing attacks on faith in general if there are no compelling political issues involved.
I can establish another venue for that, if I feel the need.
Is that not reasonable?
Well, this post sent me to yesterday's post to check out the comments.
Yesterday I glanced at your blog entry briefly, dismissed it, and went about my usual Internet-surfing.
I'm a Christian (albeit a pretty pathetic one), but I don't expect everybody in the world to think and believe the way I do.
It's your blog. Use it as you wish.
Joe Stalin and Leon Trotsky wouldn't have gone for "its Ok if you don't believe as I do" crap...they were committed atheists who oversaw the murder of millions of Christians.
Millions.
Officially atheistic governments killed more people in the 20th century than in all the wars, for any reason, since the first century.
I had relatives who got out of country like that and I don't want those people in control here.
They won't have any of that believe what you want jive.
THE ANTI ATHEIST
And this is exactly why I keep two blogs, one for friends and family, one for my atheist POV peeps. And I keep my identity separate for each of them.
A Christian will not disavow his/her faith. That's just the way we roll. And, you feel the same way about your beliefs. As long as we don't smash into one another, everything's cool.
:-)
Joe Stalin and Leon Trotsky didn't kill millions of people (not just Christians) because they were atheists but because they were communists. So presenting it like they just lined up millions of Christians and shot them because of their religion is just ignorant. Some people were killed because they were preachers or rabbis, others for supposed allegiance to the old regime, others were wrongly accused of being spies, etc. Christian-led countries have plenty of blood on their hands. Don't forget the war in Iraq was started by Christian G.W.Bush and was signed off by Cristian-majority congress. Over a million Iraqi civilians are dead.Being Christian or religious in general doesn't necessarily guarantee a person to be smart,nice, kind, honest, wise,peaceful or better than anyone else.There are plenty of examples of just the opposite.
Hey m.v., I am sure the millions of people who died at the hands of Joe Stalin and gang would have felt better that knowing they were dying because fo Communism and not atheism.
Except that atheism is an integral part of Communism as expressed in the past century.
Dialectical Materialism is the philosophical foundation of Communism.
"Opium of the People"
As that jive.
Yep. Atheists did it, BECAUSE they wanted all believers silenced and BECAUSE they were atheits.
Your exuse don't fly, because its DENIAL.
The Anti-Atheist.
Um, Anti Atheist? I say this as a public service...you really don't want to get into an argument about the nature of Communism with m.v. He will fucking take you to school and leave you there. That is, if he has some time to kill and nothing better to do.
lmao XO, i've never seen a fairer warning.
I would agree that people who got killed really didn't spend any time nitpicking the reasons of their untimely demise. While you want to sound dramatic and knowledgeable, plenty of religious people were never touched,many churches survived, and although being religious during early years was ridiculed and discouraged during the latter years it was never banned.Plenty of people were baptized, had icons in their houses,traditional religious holidays were still celebrated and not at all undercover. Going to church may have been damaging to someone's career but for most working people it wasn't a big deal. I am Jewish and I went to churches many times just to look at the services, my city had a synagogue (but plenty more were turned into gyms or warehouses), they baked matzo's and had services. At the time of the revolution Russia was one of the most religious countries in the world, and killing off all these people would have meant shooting 90% of the population. To summarize- I am sure the government wished the religion would go away but they never took steps to completely eradicate it, and you better believe that they could if they wished to do so. Many people who got killed or were prosecuted happened to be Christians just because that was a majority religion in the country but there were plenty of other denominations(Jews, Muslim, Buddhists) as well as atheists who were treated that way. So were most of the people who performed the executions.
Say hello to your relatives.
XO, I read your blog because you're completely random and interesting. I don't care if you believe in God or not. I don't believe in anybody's opinion about a higher power except my own opinion. I am Catholic, but that doesn't mean I've completely drank all the Kool-Aid/Communion wine. I adore people with opinions that I strongly disagree with because at least it makes me think outside my pre-established box. Keep up your heathen works...
@dangerousdaisy: Like I give a flying f*ck about what you think about my blog. If I'm not interesting enough for you, so be it. Go troll elsewhere.
I've never met XO in real life, though I'm pretty sure we live a matter of minutes apart. From what I can discern, he's good people. If he hit me with a message via the digital means we keep in contact saying that he needed my help, I'd be there. Why? Because he seems like the sort of guy that would return the favor.
I heard Xo spoons well.
Damn XO. I was just about to buy into the Athiest BS. All I needed was one or two more posts from you. Oh wellz. I guess you missed your chance for a convert.
I agree with you XO! I don't thump. I just try to live my life... As AF says LUMI!
Meant to add my two cents a week ago, but got distracted. Anyhoo: great post and delightful comment thread. XO livens things up, indeed.
emaw: If you're still feeling all waffley, check out my new Zoroastrian BS blog.
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