Unfortunately there are lots more people like her especially in the good old USA. This reminds me of a time a few months back at Easter that I told my sister that I was an atheist. She suspected that but I never told her outright. We had an hour long argument over the existance of God and the supernatural of course I’m arguing against it.

The following week she told me she was having nightmares about me going to hell cause I didn’t believe. She said she talked with God and he told her not to worry that I was not going to hell because I was atheist. I guess she put in a good word for me. lol

I don’t know how to deal with this. She obviously dreamt that up so she wouldnt have to worry about me in the afterlife. These Christians truly are scared of things that don’t exist but trying to get my sister to see reason is impossible.

Sorry for the long post. Hey Les do you have relatives like my sister. If so how do you deal with it?

She said she talked with God and he told her not to worry that I was not going to hell because I was atheist. I guess she put in a good word for me. lol

I would say thank her and drop the subject. I have a very close friend who is a devout catholic. We have an agreement (which we often break) not to discuss religion, but we are close enough to do it non-acrimoniously. Whenever she says that she prays for me, I simply thank her.

I don’t quite understand how she thinks donating to you is a scam.

Does she think you’re promising us eternal life for a $2 donation?

browneye_cutiepie.

Hmmmm.

I wonder if she knows what “browneye” is the colloquial term for.

Or maybe she DOES have an adorable sphincter.

Also, if you have children will be held accountable for the lives.  Do you actually want them to be sent to Hell? To burn for eternity??

Hmmm… If I remember the Old Testament correctly, the Almightly--in his infinite mercy (not)--prefers to punish the children for the sins of their fathers, not the other way around.

Sigh...another so-called “Christian” twit who can’t be bothered to pay attention to what’s in their so-called “holy book.” After awhile it gets kind of depressing.  Poor Gutenberg must be rolling in his grave… Not that they’d know who he is, either, mind you.

OOPS--I just realized that I read “cutiepie’s” post totally bass-ackwards b/c she didn’t make sense in that first quoted sentence. 

But I stand by my premise that Deity who holds children accountable for their parents’ failings is one effed up mofo.  And one which I see no reason to give the time of day, much less worship.  And, by extension, anyone who does worship a baby-murdering monster like that needs to be locked up for their own good and medicated until they snap out of it.

Great avatar Julian!!

Gankable. I stole it off fandom wank myself.

Sigh.  There’s one born every minute.  I just wonder, when cutiepie goes to the Great Beyond, what she will have to say to Bob, when He tells her that Christianity is a scam, and that she didn’t slack enough in her life to rate a condo on Planet X.  Who will be laughing then?

She made a couple of nice promises, but needs to actually learn something about evolution before she says anything saturated with her ignorant view on our understanding of way of life.

Sadly she is caught in a mental paradox and can’t handle not knowing all about the universe so she reaches out to god, where paradoxes are accepted as mysterious ways.

So sad.

I wish some of these people would make more of an effort to embrace their fictional afterlives.

I wonder if condemning others to hell makes her feel better about herself? Of course, she would insist that she isn’t the one condemning you and that her god will take care of that. And yet, she thinks this god should be worshiped. I just don’t get it.

It seems we’ve touched a nerve with Angel Brown Eyes. She’s replied to me with comments to all of us because it appears she’s incapable of figuring out the form to leave a comment here herself.

So, in order to help her out, I shall take the effort to fill in the form with her reply myself so that all can see it and she can be notified of proper followups.

First of all I did NOT give you permission to post my email address on your website. I did not agree to your terms and conditions.. there was no agreement, so since I’ve been “published” , then I dare you to “publish” this ...Mr. Les Jenkins. The comments are sad though! But lets get some things straight…

I am sure the reason that people like you believe their is no God is because you can not see him.... right?? Well if I was to look at you; I would not be able see your brain, so does that mean you don’t have one?????????

Lobo oh my thats cute.... I have brown eyes smarty!! LOL!!!

Xav0971 YES there are others like me… THANK THE ALMIGHTY GOD

Cubiclegrll how is God a baby murdering monster??? And if parent chooses to not take their child to church or teach them God does not exist because of their beliefs then YES they are accountable!! And No I am not saying you are going to hell if you do not go to church…

Zilch OKAY who in the world is Bob and what is this Planet X ???? Do you all believe in aliens ??? And you call me a nutcase??? When I die I would like to believe that I just wont rot in the ground till the end of time… my soul will go to heaven....

For every one out there, if there is no God then please let me know your beliefs .... How did you get here??? How did your parents get here??? How was man put on this earth??? How did that beautiful baby boy or girl, that you hold in your arms, get here?Yes I understand fertilization and the (miracle) cycle of the embryo and fetus (I am a nurse so I know science) but how can that happen without the grace of GOD???? Answer me that!!! Please!!

As I said before, I am not this crazy Holy Roller who believes in a man touching my forehead and Tada I’m healed. I am surely not perfect (not even close), I’ve had my fair share of fun and gotten myself into some trouble soooo .... No that’s not what I am about...I’m not even quoting from the bible, but merely asking how someone can not believe in God. Just look at the miracles in this world. So yes I BELIEVE IN GOD and proud to say it!!!!! Also, as people get older or they come close to death....like for instance almost dying in a plane crash, the first thing they say is HELP ME GOD or OH GOD!!! All I am asking for is your beliefs… how was man created??? How was that beautiful sky above created??? You think it just happened?? No I’m sorry, not something that miraculous.

Yours Truly,
browneye_cutiepie ---- Hugs and kisses and GOD BLESS!!

Oops, wait, there’s a followup email. Let me get that up too.

Oh and another thing for Tback, I understand evolution.  I had to study it during all of my schooling! Yes I am educated.  The modern theory concerning the evolution of man proposes that humans and apes derive from an apelike ancestor that lived on earth a few million years ago. Okay so we derived from an apelike ancestor sure.... I don’t buy it but how did that apelike ancestor get put on earth.  Was it magic?  Yeah that’s it, right? I like the theory that I came from God, I mean do you want your ancestor to be King Kong? I like Adam and Eve better.  If I am wrong about the way evolution works then I apologize, its been a while since I studied it.  Besides it’s not important. So why does everyone have to use such phrases such as saturated and mental paradox?? Are you trying to make yourself sound believable?? I know it’s a load of crap so phrase it any way you want… make your self feel better.  You all call me nutcase so back at ya!  I believe in Christianity, yes but have you just ever wondered - What if all these “nutcases” are right??? Do you actually want to play with eternity??

Mr. Jenkins, if we met on the street I promise you would actually see that I was a nice girl and very friendly. I’m not shy and would talk to anyone.  I actually like the way you dog the government.  I know it sucks, how much is the gas there in MI?? Mine is $4.00 a gallon.  My husband makes pretty good and it’s hard to support our 2 kids.  So hey I’m not totally against you.  But have you ever just wondered what if? Thanks for your time. God Bless!

Now now guys. It isn’t nice to make fun of six year olds.

I mean she isn’t even capable of coming here and defending herself.

That said:

As I said before, I am not this crazy Holy Roller who believes in a man touching my forehead and Tada I’m healed.

doesn’t really go with:

… THANK THE ALMIGHTY GOD

So yes I BELIEVE IN GOD and proud to say it!!!!!

HELP ME GOD or OH GOD!!!

Nope. Doesn’t sound like a holy roller at all.

It’s a True Believer™—enough said.

As you can see it’s the usual case of I-can’t-understand-how-any-of-this-could-happen-without-god-so-it-must-be-god false dichotomy thinking. She’s asking the same questions that are always asked, but at least she seems to have the benefit of some education behind her. She’s just unable to accept the idea that reality can be a natural process.

AE, allow me to at least clear up one misconception you have. I don’t need your permission to post your email address or your original email. If you didn’t want either published on the blog then you shouldn’t have sent it to me in the first place. At the very least you should have explicitly said you didn’t want it to be reproduced. I wouldn’t have to abide by that request, but I probably would have because while I’m rude enough to reproduce an email such as yours without asking I’m not so rude as to do it when requested not to.

Now allow me to address a couple of the questions you’ve asked:

I am sure the reason that people like you believe their is no God is because you can not see him.... right?? Well if I was to look at you; I would not be able see your brain, so does that mean you don’t have one?????????

Actually lots of people have seen my brain so your question is rendered moot from the start. I recognize the rather popular email chain letter you’re taking that argument from, however, as I’ve written about it before.

It’s a stupid question because there are easy ways to verify the existence of my brain, some more disgusting and potentially lethal than others, but easy enough to do just the same.

The same cannot be said about God. There’s no tests, no scans, no instrumentation capable of revealing God as an absolutely real entity or phenomena, as I’m sure you’re already aware what with your scientific training. That’s the difference between something being falsifiable (me having a brain) and not being falsifiable (God).

The reason I don’t believe in God isn’t because I can’t see him—there’s lots of things I can’t see that I have no trouble accepting as real such as gasses and atoms and molecules—it’s because I see no evidence to support the idea that he exists and have certainly not had any experiences that would indicate to my satisfaction his existence or influence on day to day life.

Cubiclegrll how is God a baby murdering monster???

Read the Old Testament for starters. Lots of killing by God or on God’s orders in that book. Including, as I recall, all the first born in Egypt at one point. Except, of course, for those houses that had lambs blood on the doorpost because God was big on killing baby sheep to make him happy.

But, you’re sure to argue, that was a justified action on God’s part to get Pharaoh to let the Israelite slaves go, but surely an all-powerful God could have found a better way to change the Pharaoh’s heart than killing off a whole bunch of kids. But wait, God hardened the Pharaoh’s heart so that he wouldn’t let the slaves go so that God could have a good excuse to kill all those first borns. Hmmm, now that does pose a pickle…

You’re mistaken to think we’ve not read your book. Some of us have read it extensively and still read it today. My study of the Bible was one of the things that led me away from belief to begin with. Yes, I used to be a believe myself. Baptist in fact.

Zilch OKAY who in the world is Bob and what is this Planet X ???? Do you all believe in aliens ??? And you call me a nutcase??? When I die I would like to believe that I just wont rot in the ground till the end of time… my soul will go to heaven....

Bob is the deity of a parody religion call the Church of the SubGenius. We believe in it about as much as we believe in the Christianity, Islam, Shintoism or the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

For every one out there, if there is no God then please let me know your beliefs .... How did you get here??? How did your parents get here??? How was man put on this earth??? How did that beautiful baby boy or girl, that you hold in your arms, get here?Yes I understand fertilization and the (miracle) cycle of the embryo and fetus (I am a nurse so I know science) but how can that happen without the grace of GOD???? Answer me that!!! Please!!

How can that happen without God? Quite naturally.

As I said before, I am not this crazy Holy Roller who believes in a man touching my forehead and Tada I’m healed. I am surely not perfect (not even close), I’ve had my fair share of fun and gotten myself into some trouble soooo .... No that’s not what I am about...I’m not even quoting from the bible, but merely asking how someone can not believe in God. Just look at the miracles in this world.

When one starts looking at reality with a critical eye it becomes rather easy to not believe in God. When one expands their education to the point that they develop a basic understanding of how a lot of stuff works, such as Evolution and how the human brain perceives reality, it’s not hard at all to see how God belief can come about and persist without there being an actual God.

It’s as easy as not believing in leprechauns or the tooth fairy or Santa Claus. The latter two of which, I might add, have presented a lot more evidence for their existence in my life than God ever has.

The miracles you claim to see in this world aren’t miracles. Most of them are natural processes and the rest are likely people engaging in confirmation bias and self delusion.

So yes I BELIEVE IN GOD and proud to say it!!!!! Also, as people get older or they come close to death....like for instance almost dying in a plane crash, the first thing they say is HELP ME GOD or OH GOD!!!

Some do, but not all. Usually it’s folks who already believe in God who call out to God at those times. Nothing surprising about that.

All I am asking for is your beliefs… how was man created??? How was that beautiful sky above created??? You think it just happened?? No I’m sorry, not something that miraculous.

Yes, I think all of it just fell into place and we’re lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to enjoy it.

I do always love it when folks like you suggest that the odds of that happening are so high as to be impossible when surely the odds of their being an actual entity that could make all of it happen by simply deciding it should happen are astronomically higher still. Playing the “odds are impossible game” to prove God’s existence doesn’t work in your favor.

Oh and another thing for Tback, I understand evolution.  I had to study it during all of my schooling! Yes I am educated.  The modern theory concerning the evolution of man proposes that humans and apes derive from an apelike ancestor that lived on earth a few million years ago. Okay so we derived from an apelike ancestor sure.... I don’t buy it but how did that apelike ancestor get put on earth.  Was it magic?  Yeah that’s it, right?

You obviously haven’t studied the theory enough if you think it ends where you leave off here.

I like the theory that I came from God, I mean do you want your ancestor to be King Kong? I like Adam and Eve better.

Yeah, cause it’s so much better to come from two mythical people who are responsible for all the sin in the world than it is to be from a mythical giant ape who’s only real crime was that he fell in love with a woman.

Do you even see how ridiculous your argument is?

If I am wrong about the way evolution works then I apologize, its been a while since I studied it.  Besides it’s not important.

Don’t apologize, go study up on it. You’re a nurse for chrissakes, you should definitely consider it important. Do you also dismiss the Germ Theory of disease? There’s an awful lot of evolution in that theory these days. How do you function as a nurse with that attitude? Do you just pray for each patient that comes in and then send them home hoping God will make their boo-boos better?

I’m betting you don’t. I’m betting you make use of a science in the course of your job. The fact that you do so without understanding it is a credit to your teachers I’m sure.

I believe in Christianity, yes but have you just ever wondered - What if all these “nutcases” are right??? Do you actually want to play with eternity??

Ah yes, Pascal’s Wager. We’ve discussed that one to death as well. It’s another false dichotomy.

Mr. Jenkins, if we met on the street I promise you would actually see that I was a nice girl and very friendly. I’m not shy and would talk to anyone.

I wouldn’t be surprised if that were entirely true. You’d probably find that I was affable and pleasant as well. None of what you’ve said makes you a bad person in my opinion, just a bit self-deluded.

actually like the way you dog the government.  I know it sucks, how much is the gas there in MI?? Mine is $4.00 a gallon.  My husband makes pretty good and it’s hard to support our 2 kids.  So hey I’m not totally against you.  But have you ever just wondered what if?

Gas has been around $4.05 to $4.20 a gallon here as of late.

Do I ever wonder what if? Yes, about a lot of things that aren’t real. It’s often an amusing and enjoyable thought exercise to ponder the possibilities no matter how far fetched they might be.

The idea of an all powerful God who loves us and watches out for us is very appealing indeed and it’s not hard to see why so many folks cling to it. Wishing something were so, however, doesn’t make it so no matter how much you want it to be. I’d rather confront reality head on no matter how uncomfortable it is than to live in a happy fantasy.

Xav0971 YES there are others like me… THANK THE ALMIGHTY GOD

Unfortunately, many of your kind voted for Bush.  ‘Nuff said.

Cubiclegrll how is God a baby murdering monster??? And if parent chooses to not take their child to church or teach them God does not exist because of their beliefs then YES they are accountable!! And No I am not saying you are going to hell if you do not go to church…

In addition to Les’ mention of Exodus, let us not forget God murdering David and Bathsheba’s child to punish them for adultery (like Bathsheba had sooooo choice in that matter).  Similarly, I find it very hard to believe that with all the sex going on in Sodom and Gemorrah, that no one was pregnant at the time that God destroyed them.  Or that no one outside of Noah’s family was pregnant at the time of the Flood.

Or, how about this little gem from the first Book of Samuel:

Thus saith the LORD of hosts ... go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

Granted, God’s not directly committing infanticide in that one, but He’s definitely calling the shots.

So, you are worshiping a baby-murdering b@$+@rd.  You can cherry-pick your religion to be as warm and fuzzy as you like.  Most folks seem to manage to find what they were looking for in just about any so-called “holy” book of any religion, Christianity being no exception.  But you’ll excuse me if I find the talk of “God’s love” to be complete bull$#!+.  A truly loving God would just forgive our sins out of hand, rather than insisting on one last human sacrifice (a.k.a. Jesus) for old times’ sake.

Oh, and AE - why do people say “Oh, God”?  They don’t mean it literally; it’s just an exclamation.  Just like when you say, “Oh, shit!” you don’t actually plan to take a dump (or expect anyone around you to do it).

It’s an empty word.  It’s a placeholder for an idea that wore out a long time ago.  You can cling to it if you like, but you’ll become a much more responsible adult if you let go of your fantasy.

Les- thanks for posting the Church of the SubGenius link.  I agree with pretty much everything you said except this:

We believe in it about as much as we believe in the Christianity, Islam, Shintoism or the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Hey, I believe in Bob much more than any of those other myths.  After all, what other deity promises you Eternal Sex in the afterlife?  Harps, pasta, or even seventy-two virgins just don’t cut it.

Angel Eyes- I, too, am a pretty nice person, especially during a terrific thunderstorm with grape-sized hailstones, like right now here in Vienna.  Yippee!  Actually, although I like debating about God, I don’t really care what people believe, as long as they behave nicely.

And you transatlantics have it good- gas is currently around €1.40 a liter here, which is over eight and a half bucks a gallon.  Mind you, it should be even more expensive, to cover the real cost of environmental destruction.  But I guess Jesus will take care of gas prices when He comes back in a year or two…

I am pretty taken with browneye_cutipie’s view that we can choose to believe whatever we like about the origins of life. And it will be true if we choose to believe it.
She says she doesn’t like the idea of a common ancestor for apes and humans, and she prefers Adam and Eve. Ergo, Adam and Eve must be true.
There are dozens of creation myths that she could choose to believe over evolution, but - despite being unconstrained by any need for evidence - she picks the rubbishy Adam and Eve one.
How uninventive is that?

There are dozens of creation myths that she could choose to believe over evolution, but - despite being unconstrained by any need for evidence - she picks the rubbishy Adam and Eve one.
How uninventive is that?

Eh.  With all the cheeses of the world to choose from, I still go back to Velveeta for “comfort food” mac-n-cheese, just ‘cuz that’s what I was raised on.  I suspect the same thing’s going on with cutiepie…

I had to study it during all of my schooling!

Obviously you didn’t though.

Yes I am educated.

No, you’re not.

The modern theory concerning the evolution of man proposes that humans and apes derive from an apelike ancestor that lived on earth a few million years ago.

Not just proposes, demonstrates. That’s why all of those scientists are excited when they find transitional fossils.

Okay so we derived from an apelike ancestor sure.... I don’t buy it but how did that apelike ancestor get put on earth.

From its mother and father, just like you. Eventually you’ll also be a transitional fossil, or at least someone like you, like us all. We’re not stable enough in our genetics to rule out things like eye color from one generation to the next, that you can’t grasp that those same forces over the course of millions, and billions, of years could create larger, more profound changes is a failure of your imagination.

Was it magic?  Yeah that’s it, right? I like the theory that I came from God,

You want to mock evolution because you’re not educated enough to understand it, so it appears to be magic to you? And you want to exchange it for the mythological of “God did it?” Come on, don’t be coy. You might as well blame everything on peanut butter.

I mean do you want your ancestor to be King Kong?

King Kong is just as real as God, and more entertaining.

I like Adam and Eve better.

I always found it sort of misogynist, like the rest of the Bible and most of the Bible’s followers.

If I am wrong about the way evolution works then I apologize, its been a while since I studied it.

It’s all right, it’s clear you didn’t do a particularly bang up job studying it the first time. Considering the rest of the things coming out of your mouth, we’re all pretty used to people like yourself coming across like a startling condemnation of the public school system.

Besides it’s not important.

It is if you’re going to try to argue why it’s wrong.

So why does everyone have to use such phrases such as saturated and mental paradox?? Are you trying to make yourself sound believable??

If we wanted to sound believable to you then all we’d have to do apparently is shove our words into a two thousand year old book originally written by semitic goatherds and finalized by political committee in Italy. If an expanded vocabulary bothers you so much, it probably explains a lot why you slept through those biology courses.

I know it’s a load of crap so phrase it any way you want… make your self feel better.

Really? You know this because you obviously also paid a lot of attention in English class too, right? I’m not going to bother with going over your message with the obvious red marker or anything like that. Suffice it to say, when grown ups are talking don’t assume that you’re equipped to debate them on vocabulary.

You all call me nutcase so back at ya!  I believe in Christianity, yes but have you just ever wondered - What if all these “nutcases” are right???

What exactly are you proposing? Charles Manson could actually be a prophet? Warren Jeffs could actually be ordained by your God to molest underage girls? Witches should be burnt? A woman’s place is at home obeying her husband and having children? Shellfish are unholy? Blowing yourself up is a good way to collect jailbait in the afterlife? Blood sacrifices upon the altar of the Temple of the Sun promise victories over your enemies?

There are a lot of you nutcases. You’re all the same.

Do you actually want to play with eternity??

You’re the one claiming an eternity. It’s a lot of rubbish, like your “education” on evolution. You’re obviously not understanding the whole concept of time on Earth here properly, but you want to play like you’d do better with infinity?

What’s your mythology teasing you with? “If thou art so stupid as to believe in me, I shall promise you plenty of time to regret it hanging out with other losers like yourself for a fucking impossibly long time.” I don’t think it would take a thousand years, much less eternity to be tired of that particular tea party. A few thousand years more and you’d all be praying to atheists to storm your mythology and rescue you.

I promise you would actually see that I was a nice girl and very friendly. I’m not shy and would talk to anyone.

Sounds like a stripper.