Stupidly Hilarious Arguments

[Thor]

Obviously my mother doesn't see it that way. She goes to AA, depends on her belief in god for a lot of things, especially when things get tough. She thinks that believing God in your worst time is the only way to deal. I can understand the feeling, it's appealing and it comforts her.

Yes, I can understand how the belief that there is somebody out there looking out for you can be appealing and comforting. But doesn't it matter if that comfort is grounded in reality? For example, someone could have terminal cancer and the doctor can give the person comfort by lying to them. That may give someone comfort, but it's a false comfort.

She just doesn't understand that you can't force belief, that not believing in God when hell is all around you that it can be a clarity. Knowing you need to depend on yourself, be responsible and do what you can to get out of that situation, not pray.

Yeah, prayer is really going to help you. I once had a believer tell me that he would pray for me. I told him, "Go ahead and pray for me if you like. You could also dance naked around a bonfire under a full moon and sacrifice a goat for me. They're both equally effective."

I see my non-belief as a strength, she sees her belief as a strength.

Now this is interesting. I see belief as a weakness. Because I know when I get through a difficult time I did it on my own. But a believer will tell you that he made it through a tough time with "God's" help. In effect, the believer thinks he didn't have the strength to get through it on his own and he needed help. I would ask, which is the stronger person? The one who swings the bat on their own and hits the ball? Or the one who hits the ball with dad helping them swing?