I saw that on twitter this morning. I thought it was interesting.
Yeah, it’s true that an atheist doesn’t react to god. There is no god to react to. But, that comment was not made in response to someone’s reaction to god. It was a reaction to religion, religious people, and religious texts.
People who don’t believe in god are often accused of being mad at god. You can’t be mad at something that doesn’t exist. You can be mad at the things people do in the name of god. You can be mad at that things people believe about god, or about what god thinks of other people, such as gays or women. But, you can’t actually be mad at a non-existent being.
When I told my Christian friends that I was an atheist (via facebook message – yeah, I went there), one of them sent me an e-mail saying that I was obviously in pain and having a hard time, and asking what was in my heart.
The funny thing was, I was not in pain or having a hard time. But for some reason, to Christians, not believing in god = being mad at god.
In that case, I’m mad at Santa Claus too. He never brought me any presents.
Should a “true atheist” have no reaction to god? No. God is such a part of this world, how could one not have a reaction?
God may not be real, but beliefs in him and the actions based on those beliefs affect the everyday lives of atheists. And as long as that is the case, you’d better believe that atheists will react.
Charity,
I just found your blog and have enjoyed reading the posts. This one in particular struck an emotional chord. I chose to leave the Christian world view five yrs ago as a pastor of a small congregation in Colorado. My wife remains entrenched in the scene and even more so since I left. I think she feels as though she must “tow-the-line” for our entire family (we have four young children). This creates an enormous upheaval in all of our lives.
I do not find myself angry at “God” at all. But I do spend a lot of time nursing a sense of frustration over the daily antics, badgering, etc. that we must deal with within our own home & society at large. The biggest pressure point being the hypocrisy that is so overwhelmingly present, but seems to escape their ability to recognize. I see this sort of thing in the workplace as well and it has a tendency to drive me a bit mad at times.
Anyway, wanted to say thank you for making your life experience available and how comforting it is to find people wading through life with similar circumstances. Your efforts are highly beneficial.
Thank you for your kind words, Craig. I’m glad you found my blog.