(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Pie [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-17 FSM pie for all my DK friends believers and otherwise... I’ve been half paying attention to all the religious pie fights on the board recently and I thought I’d throw in my $0.02. You see, I’m an atheist. Dad was an atheist. Dad is the reason I am an atheist and he was quick to speak out and denounce religion. I’m not. I understand people need their faith and I’m not going to condemn them for believing what they believe. In fact, I’m married to an Evangelical Christian. She’s the love my life. She goes to church on Sunday and I stay home and watch football, but… other than that difference we fit, perfectly. I love her in all her Christian glory and I have many friends who are believers also, though I also have many who share my non-belief. I actually prefer the term secular humanist, but I use the term atheist in public because I want people to know at least one person they can point to and say, “He’s alright for a non-believer (at least I hope so)” and, hopefully, change the way they view atheists. Yes, non-belief has been demonized, marginalized and oppressed. Yes, many view non-believers as dangerous and evil. There have even been polls showing some parents would rather have a child molester baby-sit their children than an atheist (going from memory here, no I don’t have a link). That’s okay. That’s their choice. I don’t condemn them for it. I think it’s silly to feel that way, but… Not my circus. Not my monkeys. I only have a few things I really care about. I don’t want religion used to justify laws — either ones I disagree with or agree with. I don’t want religion to supersede science and doctor advice in medical decisions. I don’t want religion in our schools — at least not in the curriculum or as an excuse to not teach science — like evolution and climate change. I don’t want religion to be used to dictate rights for people based on race, sex, sexual orientation, etc. I don’t want religion to be used as an excuse to elevate one group of believers over another group of people who believe differently or not at all. BUT… other than that, what you personally believe is between you, your family, your friends, your minister and whatever gawd you believe in. Just don’t expect me to join in. I did attend my wife’s baptism which occurred after we were married. It surprised the people at her church, but for me, it was about supporting her. It was a big moment for her, so it was a big moment for me. I will add that the only fight my wife and I have ever had was about 2 months after we started dating. I thought I had explained my lack of belief when I told her I was a humanist, but she didn’t realize exactly what I meant. When she talked to some of her friends about me and our relationship they googled me and found some articles I’d written for DK among others and they told her I was an atheist and they were very upset. She broke up with me that night, but two days later we reconciled and never looked back. She lost a lot of friends that day including one of her best friends who hasn’t spoken to her in several years and likely never will again. We did agree to take a look at each other’s viewpoints. She asked me to watch “The Case for Christ” and I asked her to watch the Neil Degrasse Tyson version of Cosmos. She isn’t anti-science or one of those people who believes the world is only 6000 years old and she’s a supporter of both LGBTQ and abortion rights. So she’s a liberal through and through. Like I said, other than religion, we fit. She enjoyed the series. I didn’t get much out of the movie, but I’ve been down those roads. I tinkered with various belief structures though the years but in the end realized a purely scientific view of the Universe worked best for me. I don’t insist everyone feel that way. I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but wanted to throw out that there’s a middle ground if anyone wants to join me. At least that’s how I see it. Feel free to ignore me and please enjoy the pie… Edit: Oh and I threw this up right before bedtime, so I’ll check back in the morning. If you comment, I’m not ignoring you, I’m… ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ… Edit 2: Just some quick notes. I wanted to add that I went to a Unitarian Church as a child and find that religion the closest to my world view in terms of acceptance. The minister at our wedding was a UU minister. Also, it was the move to fully incorporate hard right Christian beliefs into their political doctrine the locked me in as a straight party D voter. As I will say and as used to be my signature when we had them: Straight party D, ‘til there’s no GOP! [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/17/2153645/-Pie Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/