Should I?

[Vendredie]

So earlier today I found that my sister Bible-spammed my MySpace bulletin. Twice. She knows I'm an atheist (she's the one who told my mother) and so by posting the bulletin she KNOWS that I, one of the many people on her friends list, will see it. And click on it, because the subjects were " : )" and "delete her". So I considered a rebuttal, but there are going to the the following kinds of responses: A) yeah I know, and it sucks an attack C) tl;dr (I typed it up in Word and it's 2 pages long ) and D) nothing at all.

 

so here it is...

How come it's okay

for an atheist to post an article about evolution or the non-existence of God?

 

For an atheist to post passages from "God is Not Great" or "The God Delusion" or "Origin of the Species"?

 

For an atheist to be elected into office and impose their beliefs on every American?

 

For an atheist teenager to start an atheist club at school at the expense of a Bible study group?

 

For an atheist to circulate chain letters saying "don't believe in God and you'll be protected"?

 

For an atheist to preach hatred and bigotry "love the sinner, hate the sin" while their religion says to love everyone?

 

For an atheist to contradict themselves, or even make things up to justify their beliefs?

 

For an atheist representative to scream at a Christian activist and tell him "it's dangerous for your children to even know you exist!"

 

 

Wait a minute... it's not okay. Can you imagine the gigantic storm that would arise if any of the above were to happen?

 

If an atheist were to post an article about evolution or the non-existence of god, many Christians (NOT ALL) would be offended and try to convince him that Genesis is true.

 

If an atheist were even campaigning for office, there would be a huge controversy. In fact, one survey says that more Americans would vote for a gay or Muslim president than an atheist president. (Funnily enough, we've had Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Lincoln, and Taft who did not believe in Christianity, and were either Deists or agnostic[not necessarily atheist]. So where are the gay and Muslim presidents? Was Eisenhower in the closet? Did Truman secretly worship Allah and read the Quran?)

 

If an atheist were to attempt to start and atheist club in their high school, no doubt that many Christians would feel threatened. Never mind that the Bible study group is most likely already allowed. May I point you to <omitted to protect privacy> High School? The Gay/Straight Alliance caused a LOT of controversy, and though it was allowed, non-curricular clubs weren't allowed to put up posters... though "See You At The Pole", a Christian prayer group, is allowed to keep their poster up in the front lobby. Non-curricular clubs aren't allowed to do many things, unless they complain about it.

 

If an atheist were to pass around chain letters saying "don't believe in God and everything will be okay"... how many more chain letters would they receive saying "Believe in God or go to Hell"?

 

If an atheist were to preach hatred and bigotry, Christians would shout them down immediately. Not all atheists hate Christians. I certainly don't. I don't mind that anyone believes in Jesus as their Savior... I don't. If an atheist were to preach bigotry, even other atheists would be offended and upset. Just like many Christians are when Fred Phelps or Pat Robertson do the same thing.

 

If an atheist were to contradict themselves or use faulty logic when attempting to "win souls", how many Christians would point that out? But many Christians do the same thing "God is our loving Father in Heaven, but if you do not believe in Him He will send you to Hell." Well geez... nice guy isn't he? And how many atheists get blasted for simply mentioning the contradiction?

 

 

If an atheist representative were to stand up and scream at a Christian activist "it's dangerous for our children to even know your philosophy exists!" there would be a HUGE outcry and it would be nationwide, even if it were a state representative from Chicago rather than someone in the national House of Representatives. But when Illinois Representative Monique Davis (D-27th, Chicago), a Christian, says the same exact thing to atheist activist Rob Sherman, it receives little media attention.

 

 

Most Christians would say "it's not okay for a Christian to do that!" well, it isn't. But it's less of an issue than if an atheist, a Muslim, a Wiccan to do it. Is this because the U.S. is mostly Christian? I don't see Christians being attacked for it, unless they go to the extremes. So how comes it’s okay for Christians to do it, while atheists would be shot into space for it?

 

I’m not doing this to attack Christians. I don’t hate Christians. I don’t care if you are Christian, I don’t think any differently of you. I really hope you don’t think any differently about me, since I’m an atheist. I respect your right to say I’m wrong. I just want you to respect my right to say you’re wrong. But at the end of the day, is either of us right anyway? I don’t go around telling people how they’re wrong or how they should stop believing in God. I have had several chain letters tell me to pray, and to believe in God, and to accept Jesus. Please don't send me chain letters and tracts telling me to, they are really not wanted and you would likely be upset if I handed you the same thing, whether the message be atheistic or Christian.

 

And no, this is not a chain letter. I did not copy-paste this from another bulletin. I typed this up myself. If you want to discuss it with me in a mature matter, you’re more than welcome. If you want to evangelize or attack me, I’ll block you. My beliefs are just as valid as yours. I am not a criminal or a lunatic, I am simply someone who does not believe in Christianity.

 

well? What do you think? if there's any facts I got wrong (like the one about the presidents) please point them out. Do you think this will convince her to stop spamming me?

[♦ nivek ♦]

Vend,

 

 

Remember this little editors axiom please:

 

"People is like carp, they don't 'member shit past ten seconds ago. Keep it short and to point."

 

Your note where it has tons of interesting info is about 95% too long to make any impact that will stick in someone elses mind.

 

Think "sharp poke in foot with nail" OR " slight rub on heel with tight shoe".

 

Trusting immediate sharp pain will cause the most reference and memorable thoughts.. If your note is to point, quick, and has a powerful message they can't ignore, that in turn does its work for you better than an awful lot of annoying information they will scan over and ignore, quite possibly not bothering to finish to end of your note.

 

Think two or three sentences, maximum, for the most effective "punch".

 

Can take all the time you'd like later to discuss the differences you may/might have, but for your first response, short, sweet, to a sharp harsh point.

 

kL

[alpha centauri]

Vendredie,

 

I'm not sure if it would stop her from spamming you (she appears to be using the internet to follow the Bible-driven admonition to proselytize — or "go unto all nations" spewing the lies of Christianity, to paraphrase Matt. 28:19). But it would send a message that you aren't going to take her religious messages lying down, without a response.

 

Of course, she probably believe she is doing "God's will."

 

So you might peruse the Skeptics Annotated Bible at http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/ and compile a list of selected nonsensical and repugnant verses to send back her way (such as Malachi 2:3) whenever you receive similar posts from her.

 

Good luck to you!

 

All the best,

 

Alpha Centauri

[Vendredie]

Okay.

 

*is horrible at short sweet & to the point*

 

I'll try to shorten it up to a few seconds, but I don't want to sound whiny or flamey.

[The-Captain]

I think your original was good

[bellsybop]

(((taking notes from Skip n Church)))

[Dhampir]

You should probably make a summary of that, to get people interested, and those who are piqued, can find a link or something to the full article you wrote. That way, you're more certain to grab a lot of people, and disseminate all your info.

[Mongo]

Sorry I didn't read your potential reply (too long) but you asked about options.

 

So why don't you delete her from your friends list?

 

I don't get it??!!! She acts like an ass and doesn't respect you. Why do YOU allow her to spam your stuff and get away with it???

 

People who don't show a modicum of respect don't get to play in my sandbox.

 

So after suspending/deleting her you can write a very very very very very very short update on MySpace to advise your friends that your sister has been "suspended" from your site for a short time to learn to respect your "space" and stop using your "space" for proselytizing. This has additional benefits as people will see you as not being a doormat for them either.

 

Don't merely ask for respect, expect it and punish those who violate it.

 

Note: punish could mean a simple verbal reprimand or suspension of interaction. Don't debate respect either. Ask for it, demand it and if necessary, enforce it.

 

Folks... did I miss the bus?

 

Mongo