People's assumptions

Before I begin my rant, let me first state that the majority of people I am referring to are my clients. I have a home based business, working out of a converted garage. The walls of my shop are lined with pictures, one section is specifically devoted to the wonders of the natural world, the golden ratio in nature, deep space shots from Hubble, and extreme close-ups of various local plants and insects, and fossilized shells. I find it relaxing to take a break from the hustle of work and reflect on...everything.

I treat every single person the same, which is to say, that I treat them better than I would my own siblings. Maybe I have something I'm not using that they need - I give it away, or I charge them less than I normally would. We talk, about kids, wives, computers, you name it. Everyone is treated as if they are a dear old friend.

This past week, a food drive was being held at the school our children attend. We made a special trip to the market and purchased roughly $30 of items for my wife to drop off the very next day. The next morning after she made the drop off, I started thinking that it probably would have been a better idea if we had given more than what she did. I sent her back to the market, you know, to hook the less fortunate up with some good stuff. She complied, and spent probably double what she did the first time. She spent the rest of the day at the school, helping to pack the boxes that were to be donated to needy families. When she returned, a customer was present, and overheard my wife recounting to me the joy & surprise the officials in charge of the food drive had when so much extra was delivered to them.
After the dear wife had went back up front, the customer turned to me and asked if we were "Christians", to which of course, I lied - I refuse to mix business with anything else but business. I told him what he wanted to hear.

Here comes the rant now.

Just because someone is capable of showing emotion, compassion, understanding, and love doesn't mean God is involved in any way. If anything, I would declare me to be a godless person and our family as non-believing.
To many people, to deny belief in god - they act as if at any moment you would slit their throat and drink their blood. If you say you don't love god, they automatically assume that you love the devil (both fictitious creatures - like if you didn't believe in one you would the other) and that you embrace everything that they believe the devil stands for.
They see my photos and marvel that I must love the creator, in a sense - yes - I do. They see my family photos and remark that I must love them dearly - yes I do. No god, of any sort, has anything at all to do with it.
Everything that I do, I do because I'm acting upon the way I feel and think. I have no fear of an eternal damnation, nor do I believe I have any "mansion in heaven". I find it the equivalent of promising a child a "super big ice cream cone" and/or "no more trips to the park - ever" when trying to entice the child to finish his/her vegetables.
I also feel that the promise of "mansions in heaven" and "streets of gold" smacks of a plot to entice people in with greed, perhaps the ones who won't or don't swallow the whole "cast into a lake of fire" gambit.

I am who I am because it is what I am. It's not Christianity. Not Buddhism. No Catholicism, no Judaism.
My lack of Christian faith has nothing to do with any benevolent acts I might bestow. It has nothing to do with raising my children, or caring for my family.
My lack of god causes me to see the world as it really is. No matter how much the fact is argued, we ARE animals. We ARE primates. We eat, bleed, sleep, blink, drink, urinate, copulate, grow, live, die - we have hearts that beat, ears that hear, eyes that see, lungs that breathe - just like animals. Mammals particularly, but I'm not splitting hairs. I see the connections that all life forms have with each other, I see the web - and it's AMAZINGLY beautiful and intricate, and it ALL formed NATURALLY. God has no place here.

When you assume that I am a Christian based upon my behavior, it IS insulting to a degree. However, I realize that for many the notion that a strong faith in god and having good morals is so deeply entrenched into the way they perceive the world and themselves that it is impossible for them to believe that one can exist without the other. I've considered it to be a bad business move to let on that my faith in god is absolutely zilch. I can guarantee you, that in the south, one of the quickest ways to find yourself isolated (aside from ripping a noxious odor from your hindparts) is to declare yourself to be an atheist.

God has nothing to do with me not littering. Nothing to do with my refusal to drink or smoke. Nothing to do with me being drug free. Nothing to do with not cheating people when I could, and they'd never know. Nothing to do with the way I treat my wife and kids. Nothing to do with how I treat other people. Nothing to do with ANYTHING at all in my life, except causing me to rant right now. The funny part about this is, the christians. They cannot tell the difference.

i agree with everything youve said here, not really relevant to goverment cover ups, but never-the-less a needed rant to some poeple, unfortunately the human race hasnt evolved to a point yet where everyone can completely deny religion and this means some poeple base thier lives around it and snuggle up to it for safety, i agree with the morals of religion but i never will agree with "God" because enough poeple have died allready in his name. Hopefully poeple will come to an understanding sometime soon, but till then we all just have to put up with religion it would seem

that has got to be the most intelligent thread ive ever read on ats!!! im of the same opinion as urself goodness comes from within and who u are....no false lord/prophet will make u what u are.....

Originally posted by ACEWARDOG
that has got to be the most intelligent thread ive ever read on ats!!! im of the same opinion as urself goodness comes from within and who u are....no false lord/prophet will make u what u are.....

Completely true, i bet some of the the best poeple out there are those without a mind shrouded by religion.

After further thought and pondering upon some of the responses, I'll add the following:

We aren't nearly as evolved as we think we are. Our brains are the same brains our ancestors had nearly 100,000 years ago. Back when the world was a frightening place, when our only strengths were our thumbs, large brains, and the strength we gained in numbers. Sharpened sticks only work if you have time to arm yourself for the impending danger. Our campfires pushed back the shadows of the nights, but we knew the beasts were there, lurking and waiting for someone to get careless - for someone to stray too far or drop their guard for a moment. With natural selection working in the background, it wasn't long before the survivors were the ones who had been the most paranoid. The ones who saw danger in every dark corner, the ones who jumped at every sound. The survivors....were the ones who were afraid of "ghosts"
It's all because of their extra careful nature that any of us are here today, none of us stand a chance against a wild animal. Face off a fingernail against a bears claw, pit your canine against the canine of a large feline and see which one comes out on top. Get into an armwrestling match with a chimpanzee. Our fear saved us, and it's rather hard to shake.
I feel that much the same principle is in effect today - a lot of the religious people go through the motions of their religions, maybe enough to make them believe that their participation is enough so that their immortal souls aren't in jeopardy. And yet deep down, they have the burning notion that maybe, just maybe, it isn't true....but just to be on the SAFE side they'll keep on believing. Just as our forefathers learned...build a bigger fire, have more spears handy...paranoid people DO have fewer surprises.

Back when I was a church-going person and even up to when I was a god-fearing one to some degree is when I had most of my troubles. When I was younger, I did. I lied, I stole, I drank, I did drugs - and not just a little of any of it either. It was the norm, because....I could ask for forgiveness. God would forgive me, and thus - what did I have to feel guilty for? If he had wanted me different, he would CHANGE me and make me feel differently than what I did. My morals were shambles, and yet I prayed. It wasn't until AFTER I had god out of my life that ANYTHING changed at all. By losing religion, I found myself and instantly knew what it was that I had to be.

Now, I must go and spend time with my wife in a most non-christian manner.

Peace.

Wife time is up - yet after a few hours of thought scrambling television I still have the urge to sit and pound out my thoughts, regardless if anyone out there is still paying attention to me.
I've got to vent on this religion deal. Recently, a new client (red hair and large hips) and her mother brought me some work to do and after it was completed on their return visit the mother made sure to mention on how much this was appreciated to further her daughter's *ministry*. The keyboard before me only allows so much, it's unfortunate shortcoming is that I cannot press a key and have it inflict the same tone in the word that the mother used. It was spoken in a manner that would be reminiscent of the way some guy in a movie who's trying to influence the ladies would say "Lamborghini" if he were saying "Who wants to go for a ride in my new....."
I swear I could almost feel the chimichanga I had for lunch creeping back up on me as she started talking about this "mission of god", fortunately the phone rang and I was saved by the figurative bell.
I was rather taken aback, as talking religion with anyone has about as much appeal as does reading ten year old pamphlets comparing car insurance companies.
Once more, I pondered this. There are several types of people who go to church, well...a lot of them actually.
There are those that go because that is all that they have ever done. That's all they know. You eat, you sleep, you shower, you work, you go to church.
There are those that go because they are insecure, and church lets them "be" somebody. Absolutely NO qualifications at all beside being able to read and bam, you're a teacher.
There are those that go because they are feeling guilty, and think they will find the answers to their troubles bellowed from the pulpit, and that by attending they are earning brownie points in their favor. In this I'm including alcoholics, wife-beaters, partiers, and even cheaters.
Then there are those that actually think what they are doing is helping others. They feel it is their duty to "shepherd" and guide.
There are some who do it for the money. It's a job. Church after all, IS a business. Salvation IS for sale.

What no one seems to realize, is that nothing of a supernatural nature can hold up under scrutiny. When you put the magical under the magnifying glass it simply can not stand of it's own. If there IS a god, if there ever WAS a god who created this planet we are on then WHY did he make it where EVERY single thing upon it can be explained by natural forces? Why would he make himself so hard to see? IF he created everything, AND is all powerful - WHY did he cover his tracks so well? Why WOULD he make it so where careful examination of his creation would show only natural forces behind it - nothing supernatural? AND THEN threaten to BURN us, or completely wipe us out if we fail to believe, after he hid it from us and then covered his tracks. Mere mortals, trying to outwit or second-guess an almighty omnipotent being.
What the churches don't want you to know - what they don't want you to see, is that the key to everything is right before you. You have the power to make accomplishments, YOU have the power to overcome whatever it is. What you have to do is what they don't want you to do - and will threaten you with eternal damnation for even mentioning. Lose the religion, and LOSE the fear. See life for what it is and everything will become new. You will find strengths you never dreamed of having, and will lose baggage you didn't even know you were carrying. The cosmos created everything. You are the cosmos. You are god. Live up to your expectations and take responsibility for your actions. Do what you should do and fight for what's worth fighting for.

Now. I am done.

I wish more people would be like you. No matter what their belief is.

Thank you . !

I've added you as a friend. Nice to meet you... ( sort of ).

Sincerely

~ Sinter

Very well said

Its a common, and usually religious based misconception, that us that are atheists or agnostics have no compassion and live immoral lives. Im glad that Im not the only one that had thought that. One of the best threads Ive seen on BTS over the last few months