I’ve Learned Something BIG From the Angry Atheists!
I have gone around on the topic of God/atheism, church and politics, etc for some time with our vocal atheist/church basing agnostic group on this site. I began by trying to address their points one by one, but as time has gone on I have found noticed a significant increase in atheist anger. Recently, I have removed myself from specific debate and started pointing out the humor I find in the angry atheist obsession with God and religion, which has brought on a new level of anger and even hatred along with a bunch of accusations of me being “holier than thou”, and showing “mock superiority”.
Well, these claims got me wondering if they were right. It doesn’t serve my goal to be judgmental, so I gave it some serious thought and realized that I don’t judge anybody who doesn’t believe at all, although I wouldn’t claim to agree with or even respect their position. My eternal life is not based on what any of you do – only on what I do with my life. I’ve got my own things that I need to do better and things I need to quit or start doing altogether to worry about. This is where I need to be spending my energy before I try to “shove my views down anybody’s throat”, but I won’t stand by and be idly attacked, either.
The fact is, although I respond to attacks, if you knew me in the real world you wouldn’t expect me to post up like this because I don’t wear my religion on my sleeve. Surprised? I go to church almost every Sunday and I volunteer there on a regular basis, but that’s about as much as people know about me. It’s personal, it’s about my salvation, and none of you know what my religious denomination actually is. So although I have stepped up in suggesting the atheists/agnostics might miss out on an eternity of happiness because it’s the right thing to do, it doesn’t really affect me if they choose to ignore it. That said, I sincerely hope to see you all there.
So what’s this all about then? Well, I think I’ve figured it out, and it’s based one thing: POWER. In my world, nothing the Angry Atheists or anybody else does can affect my ultimate goal of eternal life and happiness in God’s presence, so I have nothing to get so angry and hateful over. Nothing, no matter how bad you could possibly make my life here will make a difference unless I allow myself to let it have that affect.
The atheist can only hope to impossibly reach bliss in an imperfect world that is out of their control, andthe ultimate goal of living without any meaningful restriction is something that can greatly affected by people of different mindset. This not only puts the Angry Atheists ideal world in danger, but also gives an incredible amount of ‘perceived’ power to me. That’s right – If I believed for one second that somebody had the power to affect my ultimate goal, it would infuriate me. But my beliefs and actions are controlled by me alone, and are the only things that determine whether I will realize my goal. I don’t feel angry or hateful, because ultimately the Angry Atheist’s comments are nothing more than an annoyance, but in comparison I represent the ultimate danger because they believe I have the power on some small level as an individual and in a large way as a group to step in the way of their ultimate goals.
It’s so clear – nothing they do can stop me, but I have the perceived potential to stop them. Isn’t it amazing how what they claim to be an imaginary and powerless God can give me so much power and leave them with so little? My faith is reaffirmed, and to think I can thank the atheists for that… Oh, and bash my religion? It's one thing that helps me get there - no gain in bashing there, either.
Let me jump in and point out that even if you say it’s all in my head, it doesn’t matter much. The angry atheists will remain angry and upset because I remain powerful over them in their reality, and I will remain happy and indifferent to them because that’s my reality.
Now, how about a “You Suck if You’re a Christian” sticky for all of you to spend your time in, or I need to start an official Suggestion Thread?
