Leah and I are now officially home owners. There are a lot of great things about owning your own home and a lot of benefits but the thing I'm most excited about is being done with the buying process. If there is a hell, for me, I'm sure it involves spending eternity trying to buy a house and also, shopping at IKEA is somehow involved.
Another thing I'm pumped about is that, as soon as Harper is old enough for me to push a large part of the responsibility onto her, we're getting a dog. A big, badass dog! Almost definitely a mutt; definitely a rescue. And it will be an inside dog, something I've never had.
Leah and I watched a documentary last week called The God Who Wasn't There, which makes the case that Jesus, not only wasn't divine, but didn't actually even exist. Its an entertaining movie and, despite some cheesy music and graphics, I liked it. Though, honestly, its more of an emotional appeal than an educational one. Ideas are presented but not backed up thoroughly. Its a feel good movie for atheists, in other words. It left me in, generally, the same place I was before viewing it. Which is to say, "I don't know."
Leah and I went to east Texas to celebrate the holidays with our families a couple of weekends ago, so we were tired of driving and opted to stay home on Christmas. It. Was. Amazing. We watched a lot of movies, cooked and ate good food, relaxed, she got some editing done, I got some recording done and also beat X-Men Origins: Wolverine for Xbox 360. My favorite thing was on Friday when we put Harper to bed and made a huge pallet on the living room floor out of blankets and comforters and watched Inglorious Basterds, which is a lovely film. Last night, my mom and dad came to town (because we bought our house from them and we closed today) and we went out to eat and got in some sweet hang time. All in all, one of my favorite holidays ever.
I've been a little annoyed with something on Facebook/Twitter lately. And its not a big deal, just one of those things. But on Facebook, especially on Sundays, you get a ton of people updating their statuses with really exuberantly religious statements. "Going to church to worship our perfect lord and bask in his ray of golden loveliness with forgiveness and mercy etc. etc. etc...."
That's all fine and good, and while I may quietly (or loudly) scoff a little bit, that's not what annoys me, really.
First, let me say that sometimes when I've told my Christian friends that I'm no longer a believer, the news is met with a sort of...I don't know if "pity" is the right word, but we'll run with it. I get the feeling that they think I've lost my faith in the same way that a little boy loses his puppy. But that's not the truth. I haven't "lost" anything in the sense that I've misplaced it or had it taken from me, I've very calmly, and very intently rejected it, least ways until that time where I'm provided sound reasoning to return to it. And I'm not sad about it. Quite the contrary. I LOVE HUMANISM. I love the idea that we can be good for goodness' sake, without the permission, direction, or threat of punishment from an unseen deity. I love the idea that humans are all in this together and I love being part of a community that I feel is a proponent of reason, equality, kindness, and scientific thought.
So, that being said, sometimes I'd love to fire off a status update about how free I feel, having abandoned religion, and how joyous that is to me, but knowing a lot of my Christian friends, I feel like a lot of them see any representation of ideals that conflict with their own as an affront to their ideals. Its a double standard, and maybe one that exists only in my head, but an annoyance all the same. Technically speaking, their status updates are an affront to my beliefs, but I don't get offended. Maybe I'm not giving them enough credit. Maybe we'll never know.
I say post the status update. It doesn't have to be over the top, but if you're into Facebook statuses in the first place and want to mention humanism, I wouldn't let others stifle that.
ReplyDeleteA few months ago I changed my status to the question, "I am wondering how many of you have been told by close friends or family that you are going to hell?". I should have left it at that but I was feeling rather annoyed & admittedly kind of angry too so I added, "Do Christians think before they speak? Seriously?"
ReplyDeleteI got close to 80 comments and had to regulate the shiz out of it all so that it didn't devolve into an all out verbal brawl. I did really appreciate the comments I got from a few Christians who had really thoughtful responses - I didn't fully agree with them but they weren't reactionary so that was good.
It does suck that to even be angry at a Christan for anything that they can tie to their religious beliefs is so highly offensive to them that you become the bad guy no matter the circumstances. It is your "attitude", it is your "separation" from God, etc. I think it is hard for a people who believe they are redeemed and who also believe that they spend their entire lives trying to be "good" for a purpose greater than anything else, to think that their actions or behavior can ever be considered "bad" when it concerns the world outside their beliefs. I say this as a former Christian who still has a soft spot for those I use to be like. I often find myself defending the behaviors of Christians while simultaneously raging about them :/ Wow tangent.
Anyway, I think that expressing your ideas or thoughts when they are contrary to Christianity is most likely going to bother someone even if you do it in the most subtle and gentle way. Sometimes it's hard to decide that you believe something and then to be open & honest about it with your general "community" - there will always be those who disagree, their reaction just depends on what degree they disagree with you and how passionate they are about it.
I seriously have no advice because I tend to keep my status updates as simple as possible to avoid angry people. In fact, after the whole "hell question" I have started doing a "word a day" and I just post a word and let people do word associations. Maybe that means I am a chicken, or maybe it means I like word play. Or both. Probably both.
I like this post, Mr. Muse!
ReplyDeleteMutts! are the best! Seriously!
ReplyDeleteWe rescued our dog, Kali, a few months before I got pregnant, and ohmygosh, she's the best. I mean it, I have no idea what kind of dog(s) she is, but she's brilliant. I love, love, love her, and I was previously not really a dog (or cat) person. I can't wait to see photos of it!
And, as far as facebook goes, I think you should put on there whatever you want to put on there. The end.
I'm a Christian and I don't give a flying flip what your status update says.
ReplyDelete:-)
Oh, and I like the title of this blog. Are you impressed that I'm commenting not once but twice? It's exciting, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteBlog post, not blog. The one about dance. There. That's 3 times.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but you're not at all the kind of person I'm talking about. Its mostly people I'm not close to anymore, like people from high school. And I'm very impressed that you commented 3 times. That's more than you've written on your own blog in years.
ReplyDelete:-)
Oh but you forget! You did have an inside dog a couple of times. A dashound and a westie! Granted their inside days were numbered but we did honestly try to keep a dog inside. It just never worked for us or more specifically, your dad.
ReplyDeleteBo, the westie, wasn't an indoor dog, and I don't think daschunds count as dogs.
ReplyDeleteNow I'M offended! I have a miniature dachshund and she is the best living thing ever in the history of everything. You Humanist JERK. :p
ReplyDeleteHA! My bad, Teresa. I'm sure that your daschund is awesome and its just every other daschund in the world that is a incessantly yappy lap dog with a Napoleon Complex. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI think I tweeted about something like this recently. I have a friend from high school who updates every single facebook status with how much she's in love with Jesus. I think it's creepy as hell. What I tweeted was, "I wonder what it says about me that I find my friend-from-highschool's constant facebook updates about faith and God incredibly irritating."
ReplyDeleteGlad to know I'm not alone. But if I tweeted just once about how happy I was to have evolved you know I'd be treated as if I was deliberately provoking them. Because not having faith in god means your beliefs do not deserve to be treated with the same respect that people demand of their religious beliefs. Uhg.
Hahaha. She isn't yappy, just vocal. She is also very intelligent, funny, loving, and weird as hell. There are a few dachshund rescues in Texas if you come to your senses. ;)
ReplyDeleteBo was an inside dog until he refused to use the bathroom outside instead of my new carpet. We did allow him to come into the tiled floors.
ReplyDelete