If No Other Explanation Exists,
Why Not A Huge Banana?
Göran Andersson
From: "Göran Andersson" (Sweden)
To: "Positive Atheism" <editor@positiveatheism.org>
Subject: Positive_Atheism_Letters_Section -- "Scary description on Atheism"
Date: December 28, 2001 4:33 PM
Hi, I just wanted to say how much I enjoy your site. It's a great place to reflect on your own thought. I am an atheist, and I have been for quite some time. I did believe in God when I was young, but then again I believed in Santa to.
I hope you'll answer my mail.
Yesterday, when I was checking out an Atheist forum when I stumbled over a link to a Christian zealot's description on atheism. And I must say it scared me a bit.
http://www.hom.net/~angels/atheism.html
Things I have learned from this message ...
1. I will burn in hell, no questions about it.
Apparently everyone that thinks different than the one who wrote this deserves to die. But why stop there? Why not throw all people of different ethnic background or skin color in that category, it's not a big step.
2. God is an evil overlord, but we must love him anyway.
We are all slaves.
3. Atheists can not possibly be moral.
The only type of morality he mentions is belief in god. Apparently the law was created by atheists and doesn't promote true morality.
4. Atheism was invented by the devil.
This I never understood, if the devil really existed why would he be an atheist? It doesn't make any sense. He would absolutely not be in form of a Satanist either. He couldn't possibly do any big damage if he walked around with horns in his forehead and an evil smile, trying to make people sin. Seeing what religion can do to people and the kind of tribal "good against evil" mentality that causes wars, bigotry and hate, I would rather think he would be for religion. How many innocent have died in the name of the devil? and How many innocent have died in the name of god?
5. Atheism and Satanism are the same.
If you are not with god you are against him and therefore with the devil. If you are against the devil, you are with god. This is a typical bigoted Christian though. "If you are not with one side, your with the other" Maybe we are neither of Satan's or God's side. Some people can't grasp this kind of thinking.
6. Atheists hate god.
How can we hate something we don't even believe exists? It's like saying "I hate Santa Claus."
7. Humans are but toys.
Toys that god can toss around, burn, kill and give plagues. If we fail to live up to his idea on how a human should act, think, believe, and say we don't deserve to exist. (Hitler wannabe?) In god we trust. This may have been the worst "fact" of all those I found at this site.
8. If no other explanation exists then God exists.
This is a thought that has troubled me: Why god? Why not a huge banana? One of the best defences for theism is the existence of the soul and the unexplained territory (like afterlife). In every place or issue where science can't explain certain phenomena, God exists. It seems like "God" is a definition of "the unknown".
9. Don't have atheist friends!!!
"When you trail the path of atheism, you travel a suicidal path" Sounds a bit like Star Wars, don't join the dark side of the force! Apparently we atheists try to lure faithful Christians to commit blasphemy with our satanic charm that we inherited from Satan himself. You know, that big bad monster with horns in his head. (The monster in the closet)
10. Atheists are extremely immature thinkers.
We are immature because we don't see how incredibly wonderful and almighty god is, a Santa Claus for adults that gives us presents if we are nice.
11. If a school bus full of innocent children blows up it's Adam (the atheist's) fault.
The children deserved to die because Adam ate an apple. (Does that make sense to you?)
12. Types of evil that all atheists commit and all Christians are against:
adultery, pornography, murder, blasphemy, children who curse their parents, cruelty, abortion, homosexuality, incest, rape, theft, the devaluation of human life, vanity, the chicanery of science, evolution, violence in schools, fornication, and all other forms of evil. Apparently you can't sin in any way if you believe in God.
There are even more of these accusations in the text. It's quite amazing and scary that some Christians believe these things. Of course Christians aren't the only ones with fanatic god-belief. We all know our friends, the Talibans. Is 6000 people really enough to enforce their beliefs? How many have Christianity killed to enforce their beliefs throughout history?
And how many has atheism killed?
Is religion nothing more than a cancer of the mind?
I would like to think "NO"...
Believe me, I would love to.
But I don't.
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