I received this letter today in my college e-mail:
We all have questions about God, whether you believe in Him or not. We
all feel the need to believe in something greater than us at times,
don’t we? We may not admit it because we’re scared, or have no way to
actually get to know this ‘greater being.’ So, it’s about time that we
get all of us skeptics together and chat!
If you’re interested in learning more about God, or if you just have
some questions that have been bothering you for a while – come on over
and ask away!!!
LCF will be hosting a ‘Skeptic Group’ discussion session on
Wednesday’s from 4pm until around 5pm starting October 21st. We will
be meeting in the basement of the Spiritual Life House (directly
behind Schewel). Philip Watkins, the LCF Pastor, will be answering
any and all questions that the group may have. It can be something as
simple as “Who’s Jesus?” or as complex as “Why should I believe in
something that forces me to change my lifestyle?” Discussion will be
solely based on questions, so bring your inquisitive side!
Bring my inquisitive side my ass. I fucking hate these people. This whole meeting is aimed at trying to convert Atheists over to their brand of christianity. Oh yeah, I’m going to go. I’m going to go and defend myself. “What evidence do you have to support your god and not Zeus?” “Why will your god never heal amputees?” Etc…. How upset would you think they’d be if I sent out an e-mail about an event seeking to convert christians to Atheists? As pissed as I am now, I’m going to try and go in there calmly with cold hard questions that I know they can’t answer. I want them to see I can be as happy and confident in my lack of faith as they are with their faith.
You’ll tell us the results, right?
Yeah what happened? At university my wife got into a big discussion with some religious nuts asking her to join their Sunday service. When she defended her point of view for half an hour in front of maybe twenty bystanders the discussion ended with the guy sayin “… Ok … Now … Are you going to come and join our service next Sunday?”
Gaaaah!!!
Ha, this reminds me of this reality show going on (ain’t sure if it’s gonna be Israeli or American or whatnot, the borders between the two in my world are blurry) – in which a variety of acolytes from various religions try to convert a set number of atheists. The converted atheist would receive a free trip to the holy land of his choice…… I’m sorry, my irony meter just exploded. I wonder if those participants know of this, otherwise the “experiment” ain’t ‘double-blind’, which means any rational, however cynical, atheist would cop out of his “conversion” right after getting the prize. Hell, I wouldn’t mind a free trip to India (wouldn’t want to go to Mecca or anything. The climate probably sucks even worse than Israel).
Hmmm, I find this quite the predicament to be in. If I were an atheist I doubt I would actually go and a defend my position. There are a few things I can’t help but notice in your post. The language you use seems to be quite religious. You talk about having a “lack of faith.” This really sounds as if you are missing something. As if the “Christians” have something that you lack. Lack is generally such a negative term. We never lack and wish to stay that way. People generally want to get what they lack. Perhaps you should start using different terminology.
The second thing is the word “convert.” The “Christians” keep trying to convert you somehow. I’m not sure if I think an atheist COULD actually be converted. In my mind, converted would be changing from one form of religion to another. I think most atheist would not consider themselves to be apart of any form of religion. I actually know atheists who would argue that they don’t believe in any form of religion. So, the usage of the word convert may in fact denote that you actually believe in something. This may not be the atheist vibe you want to put out. Just some thoughts.
By “lack” I only mean “absence”, I see how “lack” can be taken with its negative connotation, that’s not what I meant. And as far as “convert”, to me, “convert” simply means to bring one to your way of thinking, in that way an Atheist could be “converted” just like a christian can be “converted”. You don’t need a previous religious state to be converted from.