My fellow atheists, how do you do it? (priest, Christians, blood)

[irish_bob]

Originally Posted by raison_d'etre

I feel like I am going to scream. Just the other day my fiance and I went to get our marriage license for next weekend and they asked us if we swear to god that we are telling the truth. I told him that I don't have a belief in god and so it would be wrong for me to swear my marriage to it. He just looked at me like.... I think he didn't want to give us the license. I told him that if he wanted me to swear to god that I was telling the truth, it would be a lie, because to swear to something I lack a belief in.

Finally he gave it to us, but seriously...

I hear it everywhere I go. How do you not just start going off on people? Even on this forum. The mental capacity of some people still astonish me.

How do you go through the day listening to all the willful ignorance and misconceptions that people have and not say something?

why get into an uncomfortable debate with someone for whoom religon was important , why not just fake belief

i had to swear on the bible in court a few months ago , didnt cost me a thought

people who think they must always be brutally honest and make political points annoy me

[peppermint]

Originally Posted by PoppySead

It irritates me the most when it's the president. Now that it's election time again I imagine I'll be irritated a lot while trying to sift through the God Bless this and that to hear the issues. They tend to hype up Gods involvement during election time.

My second is any awards show. I have to hear all that God Jeanie has bestowed on these humans like millions of dollars and fame. The only part I agree on is how mysterious Gods ways are. lol Giving someone millions at the same time letting the homeless guy freeze outside on the street in front of the awards theatre. Very mysterious indeed. It's' pretty gross. IMO.

Oh, forgot to add the hospital. When my friend was dying the nurse said I'll pray with you. My friend said, I don't believe in God. The nurse then looked her in the eye and said, well then, maybe you should after reflecting on your situation and why this is happening to you. That was another gross one. Like she might have been able to avoid death if God had been around. Weird.

I am dealing with this now. My mom has cancer, and she's been experiencing complications from the chemo - partial kidney failure and, most recently, congestive heart failure. We are actually in the hospital now.

I always thought it was not permitted for hospital personnel to talk about religion. Clearly, I was wrong. I have never been so furious or so annoyed with fanatical Christianity until my mom was admitted to the hospital. The first time she was here 3 days, and we didn't have any issues. The second time she was here 12 days, and she almost died. At first the nurses and staff gave her the classic "God bless you", "God be with you", "He's got a plan for you" BS. One of the people from her hometown came and prayed for her "Lord, we ask you to heal ___, if that's your will, and if it's not, your will be done." Um, excuse me? I realize how zealous Christians interpret this phrase, this request, but my mom was lying in a bed, unable to walk, with IVs coming out of her chest and arm. She was suffering from a potentially lethal bacterial infection in her blood with malfunctioning kidneys, and you say "if not, your will be done"? I was really angry. I said nothing because I care more about my mom than spouting off.

This last visit to the hospital made me even angrier. I rushed her to the ER when she couldn't breathe. The ER doc said she had fluid in her lungs and needed medications to get rid of it (turns out it's congestive heart failure). He was talking to her about future chemo treatments, which he knew little about. His tone was pessimistic, and he asked, "Is your heart right with God?" I know my eyes shot sparks. Mom looked at him blankly and muttered, "Yes". He went on to talk about God's miracles in his life, etc. I was so, so angry.

Despite the fact that my parents live in the buckle of the Bible belt (Mississippi), I do not think medical personnel have any right to evangelize or preach or threaten or guilt or scare life threateningly ill patients with religious BS. I think these people should be fired. I really do. I don't give a crap about their sincerity or their good intentions; they should never put their patients in this position. Once my mom's out of here, I plan to write a letter of complaint.

OP, it's so difficult to keep my mouth shut with this nonsense flying all around. Even in the elevators, it comes up. Example 1: I was in a packed elevator heading back upstairs to my mom's room after getting lunch. A man entered and said, "Well, I'm a Baptist preacher, and I don't know if I can miss an opportunity to preach to a captive audience." I thought, Mr., I will throw my tea on you. Example 2: Two women carrying Bibles were on the elevator with another woman. The third woman walked off, and I walked on. The women with the Bibles were talking about things they should have said to the third woman to "encourage and uplift her". Again, I thought, Best not start with me, ladies. They didn't and I got off. It's just constant in the hospital. I freakin' hate it! I have never been so glad that I escaped this religiously fanatical state, and I hate it for any non Fundy who can't get out. It's awful here. I think a Southern hospital has to be the most fanatical, religious prison on earth.

[rifleman]

I'm shocked at your confession, Ilene! Here I thought I'd hack-tracked you down and found this picture of you on the 'net!

Google Image Result for http://www.celebritylifestyleblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Beauty-public-relations.jpg

I guess I'll just have to do better at sleuthin', huh?

Oh, but PS: just to keep 'em guessing, perhaps you should show up to a family dinner event made up just like in this picture some time, and ask mom if your "new look" is "right" with her.... (tell her it came to you in a waking-dream visionary and prophetic moment, just as you touched your old bible...)

You can't damn a girl for tryin' after all, eh?

Keep it up, drln!

[phone man]

I just brush it off and not really give it much thought. To me it is just a commonly used phrase. I'm not offended by it and I honestly think it is absurd some people make such a stink about it. While atheism is probably growing in populairty the fact is the majority of our country subscribes to some for of Christian beliefs, whether they practice it or not. Now in Christians were the numerical minority in this country then maybe it is a different story. Hell I don't believe in any of it and I got married in a Catholic church to satisfy my wife's belief system.

[hiker45]

Originally Posted by phone man

Hell I don't believe in any of it and I got married in a Catholic church to satisfy my wife's belief system.

Did you have to sign a paper promising to raise your children Catholic?

[Ceece]

You play the game to make your life easier. Seriously, I would just be laughing inside.

[raison_d'etre]

Originally Posted by Ceece

You play the game to make your life easier. Seriously, I would just be laughing inside.

Why would anyone do that? If everyone did that we would still think the earth is flat.

[Lilac110]

Originally Posted by raison_d'etre

I feel like I am going to scream. Just the other day my fiance and I went to get our marriage license for next weekend and they asked us if we swear to god that we are telling the truth. I told him that I don't have a belief in god and so it would be wrong for me to swear my marriage to it. He just looked at me like.... I think he didn't want to give us the license. I told him that if he wanted me to swear to god that I was telling the truth, it would be a lie, because to swear to something I lack a belief in.

Finally he gave it to us, but seriously...

I hear it everywhere I go. How do you not just start going off on people? Even on this forum. The mental capacity of some people still astonish me.

How do you go through the day listening to all the willful ignorance and misconceptions that people have and not say something?

I'm sure it's going to be fun when I have jury duty later this week.

"Excuse me. Excuse me? I'm an atheist. May I just affirm instead, please?"

If I'm lucky, both attorneys will be religious, take an instant dislike to me, and excuse me from serving.

[LargeKingCat]

I scared away some Baptists who came to my door once and started reading the Bible to me. I pointed out that what they were reading was not written by "god" but was written by Paul, who was a known nutcase. I mentioned Thomas Paine and deism, and pointed out that how futile their religion was. They left speechless and never returned.
In public, I lived in Dallas enough to learn to just ignore people. Seriously act like they are not even there, they cannot preach when they do not have an audience. Which is how I usually address these religious types in public, I simply act like they are not even there.

[phone man]

Originally Posted by hiker45

Did you have to sign a paper promising to raise your children Catholic?

I had to fill out a long questionaire about a lot of topics. I just answered how I thought they wanted me to so it would not cause any trouble. I even tried to attend mass with her in the early days, but it was painful and it made me cynical and bitter. Now I stay home while me family goes to church and everyone is happy. I tried not to preach my beliefs to my kids and neither did my wife. They formed their own opinion and 2/3 have bought what the church is selling. But since it is their own doing I say nothing.