in which i feed a formspring troll

By lizard | Published: March 25, 2010

Ordinarily I advise against troll-feeling, as it tends to validate their existence and whatnot, but this one, I cannot resist:

So, let me get this straight… You are an atheist that chose god as your username? You atheists are obsessed with a God that you do not believe exists? Why? I will pray for you, God Bless.

OK, that’s not much of a troll, as trolls go, but still. My formspring answer was brief and dismissive, but the more I thought about it this afternoon, the more I realized I really want to answer that. Why would non-believers invest a good deal of time, effort, and energy into repeatedly dismissing something they profess not to believe? Well, it’s not the non-existent god that we obsess about, it’s the things that are done in his name, and the consequences he’s used as a shield against, and the repeated efforts by his followers to break down barriers between church and state. There are actually far too many reasons to list, but this is a good start:

Catholics. When we are confronted by a seemingly endless array of horrific tales of abuse, when we read things like this: ” Murphy would call them to his bedroom in the school, or visit them in their dorm beds late at night, masturbate them and leave. Sometimes he would go on to other boys. Often he would say nothing. Sometimes when the boys saw him molesting other boys in the dorm room, they would cover their heads with their blankets, hug themselves tightly and weep.”, we are motivated to speak out against the shield that religion offers these monsters.
Fundamentalist hate groups. It’s not like non-believers can, in good conscience, sit idly by while weapons-grade religious nuttery runs amok.
Texas. In addition to the group linked in the above item (under the word “groups”), we also have a situation with Texas rewriting history, and with its textbook purchasing power, influencing schools far beyond its borders. This is just not OK. There are far too many religions to let a small faction of one of them control our educational system.
Hypocrisy: Put simply, people who believe in literal interpretations of so-called holy books like the Bible and the Qu’ran are conditioned to accept all manner of egregious behavior in their leaders, and someone has to keep an eye on y’all. See Mojoey‘s Hypocrisy Watch map.

There are just so many excellent reasons to pay excruciatingly close attention to the bullshit that religions attempt to impose upon those who choose not to follow — I didn’t even get into the horrors of Sharia law or Ugandan human rights horrors, or any of myriad other very valid reasons why atheists have every reason to “obsess” on religion.

That being said, the 281 questions I’ve answered to date as god on formspring have included very, very few pompous religious nitwits offering to pray for me, and for that, I am glad.

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PaigeBrown

I “obsess” for one additional reason. I feel oppressed, discriminated against, unheard. It is just fine for any member professing a religious affiliation to knock on the door of your home or leave pamphlets on your car. They preach from the street corner and from the House of Representatives. YOU CANNOT BE an atheist and an office holder. I “obsess” because I have some rational fears as you have listed. I fear that worse may be coming. It took far too long to release races other than white from such oppression (and worse). Atheists would likely have it worse if our difference was skin color. It is not so easy to see what one believes or does not believe. An atheist has a chance to speak before the emotional avoidance of the believer sets in. So speak I will and I will be seen with the scarlet A on my sleeve. But I will also keep one eye on that which may seek to cause me harm. It is only rational.
http://infidel753.blogspot.com/ Infidel753

Ordinarily I advise against troll-feeling,

Well, it depends what you're feeding them to.

(Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Good post. Just tell these God-nuts: “Sure, you guys don't believe in the existence of Cthulhu, but if swarms of Cthulhu-worshipers were pestering you on the street, trying to pass laws to control your sex lives, trying to dictate what goes in your kids' school textbook, etc., you'd be concerned about that.”
http://godlizard.com/ godlizard

Absolutely. That would have been my next area to explore, because it's a huge part of the “obsession” — when all the advice from religious types seems to center around how we should shut up and sit quietly with our hands folded in our laps, and everything will be a-ok.

And imagine — knocking on doors and saying, have you heard the latest scientific discoveries lately? Yeah, that'd get you shot in some parts of the country, and merely run out of town in others. Look how they act when we put up a positive, non-threatening, non-offensive billboard!
http://godlizard.com/ godlizard

I think swarms of Cthulhu-worshipers need equal time in our classrooms too! And the Flying Spaghetti Monster, whose noodly appendage touches us all! And Zeus! Not Jesus, Hey Zeus!! The god of Mount Olympus, don't fuck with me or I'll shove a lightning bolt up your ass, Zeus!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Dennis-Markuze/723761255 Dennis Markuze

you little liars do nothing but antagonize…

and you try to eliminate all the dreams and hopes of humanity…

but you LOST…

THE DEATH OF ATH*ISM – SCIENTIFIC PROOF OF GOD

http://engforum.pravda.ru/showthread.php?t=280780

Einstein puts the final nail in the coffin of atheism…

*************************************

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7vpw4AH8QQ

*************************************

atheists deny their own life element…

LIGHT OR DEATH, ATHEISTS?

********************************
***************************LIGHT*********
************************************
http://infidel753.blogspot.com/ Infidel753

This piece of spam has been posted on just about every atheist blog out there — well, except mine, which is too bad, because my comment-moderation zapper is hungry for prey.

LIGHT OR DEATH

I choose the light of reason over silly myths. As for death, it's the religious nuts who are heading there, drawn by even sillier wishful thinking about a Heaven beyond the grave. We who believe in technology prefer life.
dmab

One more time:

*******
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/FaceOff/
********

THE REAL QUESTION:

DOES ATHEISM HAVE A FUTURE?

AND THE ANSWER – NO!

Atheists

GET OUT OF MY UNIVERSE…

you little liars do nothing but antagonize…

and you try to eliminate all the dreams and hopes of humanity…

but you LOST…

THE DEATH OF ATH*ISM – SCIENTIFIC PROOF OF GOD

http://engforum.pravda.ru/showthread.php?t=280780

Einstein puts the final nail in the coffin of atheism…

*************************************

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7vpw4AH8QQ

*************************************

atheists deny their own life element…

LIGHT OR DEATH, ATHEISTS?

********************************
***************************LIGHT*********
************************************
http://dotlizard.com dotlizard

I can only imagine what sort of ugly would have to live inside a person to drive them to go around flaming like this. If you don't like it, don't come here — it ain't your universe, pal, it's my blog.
dmab

One more time:

*******
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightlin…/
********

THE REAL QUESTION:

DOES ATHEISM HAVE A FUTURE?

AND THE ANSWER – NO!

Atheists

GET OUT OF MY UNIVERSE…

you little liars do nothing but antagonize…

and you try to eliminate all the dreams and hopes of humanity…

but you LOST…

THE DEATH OF ATH*ISM – SCIENTIFIC PROOF OF GOD

http://engforum.pravda.ru/show…

Einstein puts the final nail in the coffin of atheism…

*************************************

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…

*************************************

atheists deny their own life element…

LIGHT OR DEATH, ATHEISTS?

********************************
***************************LIGHT*********
************************************
http://dotlizard.com dotlizard

I can only imagine what sort of ugly would have to live inside a person to drive them to go around flaming like this. If you don't like it, don't come here — it ain't your universe, pal, it's my blog.