Happy 2009! Things are looking up, what with Barrack Obama’s inclusion of ‘non-believers’ in his inauguration speech and his review of funding for family planning projects around the world. Rational government may have finally returned to the U.S.
On reflection of Obama’s speech that was also peppered with ‘god bless’ statements throughout, isn’t it a sad state of affairs where the most powerful man on the planet has to pander to the masses by including them? Certainly he would have been crazy to make any statements that ridiculed or contradicted the majority belief system (however much I imagined he would have wanted to) but he couldn’t just leave them out. He couldn’t just ignore the insane belief that if a deity existed he or she would bother to identify himself or herself with one nation.
My only grumble is the realisation that in this, the 21st Century, we are really no closer to ridding our species of the mental illness that is the ‘cult of religion’. Oh, that’s one of my resolutions for this year - to stop making excuses for mainstream churches and religions and just call it for what they are - they all are. Cults. The best definition of the word is ‘followers of an exclusive system of religious beliefs and practices’ and how is catholicism less of a cult than scientology? It isn’t. How is the belief in human sacrifice and virgin birth any less crazy than atomic explosions in volcanos and thetans who must be ‘audited’ (at huge expense of course) out of us? I also refuse to capitalise the names of the cults (or their members) to prevent my giving them any credence or status other than what they all are - other human beings who can’t - or won’t - think for themselves. Oh ok then, I will agree to one capitisation then - Sheep. Baa.
Another resolution is to refrain from using the word ‘atheist’ to describe or define myself. I am a ‘free thinker’ - pure and simple. The term says it all - free thinkers consider evidence and make rational informed decisions about our world view. We don’t ‘believe’ in any dogmas or orthodox ways of thinking. We think for ourselves, freely and without being told what to think. The word ‘atheist’ is a label that simply make us a target for the religious loonies.
Christmas passed (and was much enjoyed by all) last year without any religious arguments or problems for our extended family. The few religious among us were simply fully included in all the holiday festivities and to their credit didn’t make any attempts to hijack the event. I know that for many though, the season is often fraught with unpleasantness made by those who seek to push their beliefs down the throats of others. It seems that this (and Easter) is one of the few opportunities they get to do so.
I just ignore them now and refuse to engage or facilitate their attempts to tell us what to think.
It really is kinder to just let them be and not upset their fragile, tenuous hold on reality.
Tags: atheists, churches & cults, religion
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