Magical forwards

have been struggling with more medical problems lately, hence the lack of written posts. Now that I have been having another bout of frustrating medical problems, the magical emails and messages have started to come and so I must do a little venting here.

Now that I have been having another bout of frustrating medical problems, the magical emails have started to come from a couple of my "devout believer" friends and family members. Apparently this god can do nothing without magical emails and special magical messages for everyone to be "touched" by this god, and in turn I am supposed to forward the magical email tIo others like some sort of Chinese telephone magical god game. This god never speaks for himself. And no one can explain how this god who never speaks for himself speaks individually to people. One on one. God talk always relies on other humans to "pass the word". God is inside human imagination, whatever the person imagines this god to be. Just like any other sort of fiction.

I wanted to badly to write back: “These touchy-feely emails are invented BY HUMANS, and passed around BY HUMANS, with a HUMAN MESSAGE. No one would even know about your religion if HUMANS didn’t go around talking about it -- all religions are alike in this way. Nothing happens without human intervention!” But I controlled myself like I always do because I do love and care about this person.

Now, back to sending religious fundie emails to sick people. . . What’s wrong with just sending a HUMAN message of concern? Why do people have to use a time people are sick to zero in to push their own version of this god crap? That is very disrespectful when the ones sending it know the beliefs of the person who they are sending it too, and doubly inconsiderate to send it at a time when we need HUMAN support and help, not some magical wishes about a magical being who I can never even believe in (and when those forwards raise blood pressure– not because of the message itself since we think it’s a bunch of hooey, but the idea of knowing why they are sending it…to try to get you while you are not feeling good. It’s very inconsiderate to take advantage of sick and injured people for one’s own selfish purposes of pushing their own personal beliefs.

I could send out atheist forwards to these people, but do not because I can let most of this crap slide. For one, I recognize that it is their right to believe however they want. But if I did send out emails telling them they need to get rid of the delusional beliefs, they would get all shitty about it and never speak to me again for dissing their delusion. Even when we try to tell them even nicely to keep their religion to themselves, it causes some of them to have an emotional meltdown, they cry, accuse me of hurting them for rejecting their silly god beliefs -- some even went so far as to shut me out of their lives. I don’t reject them, but I do reject the crap they are trying to sell me. There are millions of things to talk about, and I don't find a problem talking with most people about all kinds of things. But for the fundies, it always goes back to their own version of god beliefs. They cannot see that their beliefs are interfering with real living and relationships with others.

It’s all so unnecessary, this endless god peddling that drives a wedge between friends and family members. Most of my friends and family members believe in some version of god and yet only a few who find themselves to be more “holy” than anyone else and have “true beliefs” have the problem with respecting the beliefs or non-beliefs of others. It’s so very sad that religion also makes people change. While those people who have become more and more “devout” may say I have changed, it is not me. I have never believed in god or the Jesus zombie story unquestioningly even as a Christian. I did the church thing as a tradition when the kids were growing up, because it’s how I grew up in a country that is predominantly Christian. I now reject it, but I am still the same person that I have always been. I do not go around preaching atheism to family membes and friends. While I support atheist organizations and movements within the internet realm, and I have a blog, I rarely talk about my non-belief even when people make comments about their magical friend.

The ones who HAVE changed cannot see it. They cannot see how pious and self-righteous they appear to others. They cannot see that their religion is no different now than before. Lack of god belief isn’t causing the economic crisis, lack of god belief doesn’t cause medical problems, lack of god belief doesn’t cause misfortunes to happen. Non-believers bounce back from problems just like believers, because of human actions. Things usually get better in time if PEOPLE work to correct the problems. But if people don’t do somthing, no god comes. If people don’t go to have surgery, therapy, take medicine…no god comes. If people don’t work to pay their bills and manage their money intelligently, no god comes. If people build their house in low-lying flood areas, no god comes to stop the floodwaters when we get a freak rain. I wish the people who push their religion on others would actually stop and consider who is really in charge in their lives. THEY are.