Atheist Grace Before Meals
March 29, 2013 at 1:45 pm
(This post was last modified: March 29, 2013 at 1:47 pm by Quid.)
So a few Thanksgivings ago my grandpa asked me to say grace before the big family meal. I was very uncomfortable because I am the lone atheist in my family, and since my grandpa is such a sweet old man I couldn’t say no.
I said something to the effect of "I would like to thank all the farmers and ranchers, whose hard work has made this meal and our livelihoods possible." I never mentioned God, and this sent two of my uncles into a rage, saying that it was God alone that made the meal possible and that without God there would be no food at all. I was distraught to think that they would reduce the very people their lives rely on to pawns of some invisible being. God did not make the food magically appear on the table, God did not breed the turkey or grow the potatoes. It was people who live and work on farms, who have some of the hardest and least rewarding jobs in the world, that provided us with the food. Even after I explained this, I was still belittled and shunned by those family members who are willing to deny other’s livelihoods in favor of a god that has literally done nothing.
To this day, every time I sit down to a meal I think in appreciation of the farmers and ranchers, the REAL people that made my meal and lifestyle possible, and not some invisible being that steals all the credit. I consider it my version of grace before meals.
Do any of you other atheists do this?
I said something to the effect of "I would like to thank all the farmers and ranchers, whose hard work has made this meal and our livelihoods possible." I never mentioned God, and this sent two of my uncles into a rage, saying that it was God alone that made the meal possible and that without God there would be no food at all. I was distraught to think that they would reduce the very people their lives rely on to pawns of some invisible being. God did not make the food magically appear on the table, God did not breed the turkey or grow the potatoes. It was people who live and work on farms, who have some of the hardest and least rewarding jobs in the world, that provided us with the food. Even after I explained this, I was still belittled and shunned by those family members who are willing to deny other’s livelihoods in favor of a god that has literally done nothing.
To this day, every time I sit down to a meal I think in appreciation of the farmers and ranchers, the REAL people that made my meal and lifestyle possible, and not some invisible being that steals all the credit. I consider it my version of grace before meals.
Do any of you other atheists do this?
"I never got that show, 'Les Mis'. It’s about this French guy, right, who steals a loaf of bread, and then he suffers for the rest of his life… for toast. Get over it." - Darius.
