RE: Being an Atheist Teen is hard...
October 1, 2012 at 10:18 pm
(This post was last modified: October 1, 2012 at 10:20 pm by will_alltogether.)
Nick, I have some advice, and I hope you take it, because it's good.
Forgive me for taking my time getting to the point...
Christianity boasts a powerful advantage over atheism: it is fundamentally forgiving, nurturing, loving, kind, accepting, etc. Because this is part of how the world sees Christianity, "good" Christians can make the claim when "bad" Christians act like huge dick-heads that they're practicing Christianity wrong. And they're right! Jesus ordered his disciples to be perfect. Paul (I think, can't find the passage...) wrote to someone or other saying to be dignified while spreading the gospel so people would see his example and want to follow it. Of course if everyone who tried to spread the "word of god" was an asshole, nobody would buy it, even if God was real. So when "christians" go around treating you the way they do, they're fucking wrong according to their own ideology!
So, my advice is to use their own principles to benefit your atheism. Be the nicest guy around. Smile, say hi, ask how people are (and really care), don't complain about dumb shit, work your ass off, be humble. All the things you expect of good human beings. Be a better person than they are. That way, while they're acting all superior and condescending because they've got an omniscient imaginary friend that you decided to leave in a box in the attic with the rest of your childhood memories, the fault lies on them. Eventually (and it may take a while), they'll begin to realize that their religion is doing a shitty job at making them a better person than you. This will either shake their religion or inspire them to become better people. Both are good.
Another way to put it is "Always forgive your enemies. Nothing annoys them so much." - Oscar Wilde.
I commend your courage. If you ever need to talk non-nonsense, or need some encouragement or motivation, hit me up.
Forgive me for taking my time getting to the point...
Christianity boasts a powerful advantage over atheism: it is fundamentally forgiving, nurturing, loving, kind, accepting, etc. Because this is part of how the world sees Christianity, "good" Christians can make the claim when "bad" Christians act like huge dick-heads that they're practicing Christianity wrong. And they're right! Jesus ordered his disciples to be perfect. Paul (I think, can't find the passage...) wrote to someone or other saying to be dignified while spreading the gospel so people would see his example and want to follow it. Of course if everyone who tried to spread the "word of god" was an asshole, nobody would buy it, even if God was real. So when "christians" go around treating you the way they do, they're fucking wrong according to their own ideology!
So, my advice is to use their own principles to benefit your atheism. Be the nicest guy around. Smile, say hi, ask how people are (and really care), don't complain about dumb shit, work your ass off, be humble. All the things you expect of good human beings. Be a better person than they are. That way, while they're acting all superior and condescending because they've got an omniscient imaginary friend that you decided to leave in a box in the attic with the rest of your childhood memories, the fault lies on them. Eventually (and it may take a while), they'll begin to realize that their religion is doing a shitty job at making them a better person than you. This will either shake their religion or inspire them to become better people. Both are good.
Another way to put it is "Always forgive your enemies. Nothing annoys them so much." - Oscar Wilde.
I commend your courage. If you ever need to talk non-nonsense, or need some encouragement or motivation, hit me up.
