I will argue and debate religion (so long as my adversary is not prone to quoting scripture as an answer for everything) till the cows come home, but in a friendly good natured way. Neither converting or being converted. But if I get preached at or the have you let Jesus into your life? Here are some pamphlets that may help then I will feel free to play the game to the max, and try my hardest to convert the ‘would be’ converter. It’s only fair, is it not?
I once had the enjoyable good fortune to be stopped by a young fella from the Mormons. He was engaging people by the means of a questionnaire that purported to be something connected to the BBC but turned out to be a way for him to gauge my theological leanings and then lead me to God or congratulate me for already being there In this situation I believed him to be ‘fair game’. I feel I had him on the ropes by the end of the conversation . He had tried his best, I’ll give him that, but he did seem to be showing some distinct signs of distress before this amazing old lady, who happened to be sitting in the there, let him of the hook with some deeply moving stories of her humanitarian work in some really rough foreign places (claimed to know the BBC reporter Kate Aidie) though my little Mormon friend got short shrift from the Lady when he spouted some glib religious platitudes of the mercy of god and his ineffable wisdom, as she claimed she had seen precious little of that out there and she had been looking. I know that may seem cruel and heartless to have taken any satisfaction or enjoyment at his distress at my arguments (as Mormon blokes ‘have’ to go out preaching to finish their indoctrination), but if someone puts themselves in a public place with a mind to preach and convert, then any discomfort they encounter when they meet a mind strong enough to forward a strong argument against theirs deserves no sympathy. As I would expect none if the situation was reversed.
It’s not normally worth trying (in earnest) to convert someone. I don’t really want people trying to convert me to theism and most people would take umbrage at me preaching Atheism at them. Fair’s fair. It’s only when both parties are up for a discussion on this subject then a true dialogue can begin. And if one party’s goal in this dialogue is the conversion of the other then they should not be surprised if the other person actively starts to ‘convert back’ rather then simply fend off the conversion attempt.
I personally envy some of those who derive great emotional warmth and comfort from their faith because I would love to bask in that warmth. But I can’t. Before now I have been desperate to stand up and claim to want to let Jesus into my life but have physically been unable to do it.
I was at a Christian camp (Dare 2) for the sole reason a Christian band I quite like was playing (Eden Burning). I was sitting there with my good friend Paul (a Christian and fellow fan of EB) listening to the music of other groups and the occasional speaker. Just before EB came on this fella came up on stage and started taking about faith and it’s strength and joy and all that. The crowd were being whipped up into a frenzy of adulation and proclamations of their faith. We had been sitting down waiting and during the talk this bloke had encouraged those who had let Jesus in to their lives to stand up and wave their arms and proclaim this good news, also he urged that if we hadn’t then now was a good time to stand up and proclaim that that we wanted to let Jesus in to our lives and if this was the first time then after wards there were people in these tents over there who could guide you through what this meant. The joy happiness, warmth and rapture around me flowed and pulled me. I wanted nothing more than to stand up and proclaim yes this is what I want more then anything but I couldn’t. There was nothing on this earth that could make me stand up at that moment. I remained seated whilst all around me stood and proclaimed their joy in their religion. All I had to do was stand and I could be a part of that. It was that simple, that easy. Despite wanting to be a part of that I could not stand. My limbs were like lead my head hung. Time seemed to slow as ecstatic people jumped , clapped and whooped their joy around me. I was getting more and more angry with myself but I knew it was useless. I knew the reason I couldn’t stand. I knew if I stood it would be a lie. For the sake of the warmth, security and sense of inclusion I so wanted I would have to betray everything I believed to be true. I would become a lie. Before that day all I had done was profess not to believe in god/s and all that. But that weekend, that day, that very moment I realised, for the first time I truly BELIEVED my Atheist views. I turned and , half crawling, ran from that arena out across the camp till I came to rest against a big yellow skip and sat crying with my frustration at not being able to simply stand, and in the realisation that I had just become a confirmed Atheist.
It is quite something when someone is granted such a fundamental peek into themselves to truly know what they believe. I know I truly and deeply believe in my Atheist views. They are a core part of me and are part of my strength and being, so if I ever, simply through strength of argument, managed to turn someone from theirs I would feel a deep sense of sadness for their loss. I know this may seem contradictory to my comments about my Mormon friend earlier, but didn’t turn him from his faith. I may have rocked it a bit and if he went a way and thought about it all seriously and thus grew as a person because of that (irrespective of whether or not, upon quiet reflection he kept or lost his faith) then all well and good, that’s what I want. If he had simply crumpled and said, utterly crushed what have I been doing wasting my life on this? and walked a way from his faith on the strength of my argument then I would have wept for him. What right do I have to do that to any one? (Whether they ask for it or not). What right does any one have to do that to any one else?
Yes it’s always important to know the truth but what is the truth?
Are there benefits form being Atheist? Who knows? Possibly but there are down sides too. For one 95% and more of the world’s population think there is something wrong with you how can you NOT believe in [insert deity of choice]??!!?!. But hey at one time around 100% of the people in the world thought the world was flat, thought the earth was the canter of the universe.. and so on. If the great majority can be wrong about that then what else can they be wrong about.
The biggest benefit of Atheism is there is no Dogma, there is no Heresy no banned knowledge, and thus the atheist is free to look at all sides and views and positions and data to reach an informed intelligent conclusion free of dogmatic bias and spin. Whether an atheist reaches a conclusion that IS free of bias and spin is a totally different matter.
Anyway I’ve waffled on WAY too long..
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