don't pray in my school, and i won't think in your church.
bite me.
ok, so i'm used to people telling me my thoughts are worthless because i don't believe in christianity or any other religion. why it doesn't normally piss me off: it's on my own time, and i have a chance of explaining/defending myself and/or completely blowing them off.
today, i had the pleasure of enduring an entire class period of closed minded, weak arguments on religion, provoked by our class assignment: read an article written by a low-intelligence woman who really had no idea about what she was talking about, and comment on it.
normally i look at these things and scoff at the narrow minded ways. but i had to write something... and i found inspiration in the following lines:
"Not surprisingly, atheists tend to be moral relativists. After all, if you don't believe in the ultimate absolute, which is God, there is no way to ground other truths. As Dostoyevsky so eloquently put it: 'If God does not exist, everything is permissible.'"
where the fuck does she reach that conclusion???
so i wrote my argument. and was the first to read it for class. friedman's class is normally a sanctuary, a place for higher level thinking. unfortunately, this class is filled with some of the most devoutly religious students i have ever met. obviously i knew what i had said would offend, even though i wrote it objectively... all in all, i kind of hoped it would: i'm sick of being offended by all the "ilovegodyoushouldtoo" statements dripping from their lips. it irritates me to no avail.
after reading my argument, there was some other girl that came back with a rebuttal. i smiled; what she said merely proved my point. the only defense she had was "i agree with these lines... bla bla bla... god has always been in my life... bla bla bla... without god there would be nothing... bla bla bla... without god nobody has anything to believe in and therefore has no reason to do anything... bla bla bla... god has made me what i am... bla bla bla bible bible blah..." and so on and so forth. WEAK ARGUMENT.
and then opened forth the gates of every other christian in the room... >:-\ results are as follows:
- because atheists and agnostics don't firmly believe in god, they don't believe in ANYTHING
- they don't believe in god... therefore, they have no morals
- there's nothing in an atheist's life that dictates what is right and what is wrong; good and bad don't matter to an atheist
- if an atheist wakes up in a particularly murderous mood as opposed to a christian, the christian has more reason not to go commit a crime because they have god in their life and the atheist has nothing keeping them from murdering someone
- an atheist lives an empty life; they don't care about much
- truths don't matter to an atheist: they have no god to base reality on
- atheists don't value life because they don't have any afterlife or goal to work towards
- work an atheist is hollow because they aren't doing anything in the name of god
- the list goes on and ON
thank you, everyone arguing the above points in friedman's class: you have confirmed and solidified my dislike for bible-bangers, the religious "elitists"
[tone: sarcasm] i just love sitting through an entire class period being told that i'm a worthless human incapable of compassion and good deeds and conscience, that my thoughts aren't good enough. my hand was in the air the entire time, and mr. friedman looked me directly into my eyes and wouldn't call on me. that's what really got me... all i wanted was an objective chance at defending my beliefs, because all i'd endured through that entire thing was christian after christian after jew to defend and spread their takes on the subject. i never got a chance to defend myself.
it saddens me, the vast generalizations people make on things they know nothing about. all i wanted to say was that it doesn't matter what you base your beliefs on, it doesn't dictate the quality of person you become. religion does NOT equal conscience. my non-religious friends are the most open minded and giving i've ever met by far, and i am by no means a worthless human being. i value life and truth above everything else. i think on a much higher level and depth than most of the people i see on a daily basis and am far more accepting than the vast majority of people 'round here. just look back on this very site: you can see i take advantage of every possibility life has to offer, and i am by no means missing out on anything.
i don't like religion. i can say this, because i've been to church. i've listened to what people have to say. i've thought about it and considered these views. i used to be a lutheran. i've taken the objective approach; i am by NO means blind in saying this comment. i have decided to take my own outlook on religion and spirituality, the alternative way of seeing the world. i don't expect you to agree with me. i don't ask you to. all i expect is for you to keep your opinions and beliefs to yourself; DON'T IMPRESS YOUR BELIEFS UPON ME.
i will say this, because it's MY livejournal, it's MY rant, and it's MY opinion:
you say you want friends and partners with a relationship with christ. me? i don't want anything to do with bible-bangers in the long run. i don't want their mindset, their "iamright" attitudes, and all that jazz.
(*duh, i know frank's a catholic. i love being with him. we've discussed this. i'm not ruling him out for his beliefs, as he's not ruling me out for mine. we don't see us being *us* FOREVER, and you know what? that's ok... i'm loving his presence right now ^_^)
lastly, i close on one of my new favorite bumper stickers i saw just the other day (it's MY livejournal. u don't like it, deal with it!):
don't pray in my school, and i won't think in your church.