Bumper crop

While out shopping the other day I saw a beat up old car that had a bumper sticker on the back of it that read, "Christian Bashing: It's the last acceptable form of hate in America." I laughed about it but then as I walked on into the store I thought, "Son of a bitch, that person is serious!"

It never ceases to amaze me that some Christians, and remember here folks that Christians are in the majority in this country, and for that matter the world over, love to play the victim and the martyr. If the whole world was Christian except for one person then some Christians would say, "Ack! That non Christian is persecuting me by not believing in what I believe in!" Personally, I'm tired of it and I don't buy it.

Are Christians being persecuted in some parts of the world? Yes. Are Muslims being persecuted as well? Yes. Are Hindus? Yes. Are other people of other faiths? Yes. But you know who is the most distrusted and despised group of people the world over? Atheists. That's right, atheists. It's almost as if we atheists unite people of all other faiths in their hatred of us. Which to me is strange because I don't try to force my non belief on you, yet some of you constantly try to get me to believe in what you believe in. But what most of you who try to "save" me and others like me don't know is that we've already been exposed to your religions and we simply decided that they are not for us. We've looked at the whole shebang coolly and rationally and what made more sense to us was we'd rather believe in things we can see, feel, touch, and taste rather than something that we can't and when you admit it, you can't either.

I'm not saying you're wrong or that you need to stop believing in what you believe in, nope not at all. If you like to believe in all that stuff you go right ahead, just stop trying to make me believe in it. And stop saying that I'm less of a person than you because you buy into that stuff and not me.

But you know, I could be wrong. Maybe Christ is actually the son o' God and he will be coming back some time or another. If he does, then a shit load of people are going to be screwed. And I don't mean us atheists, I mean you rich Republicans who placed more emphasis on growing your bank accounts rather than on growing food for the poor. It's going to be quite a sight watching people who did nothing to save the planet, or to ease people's suffering, or didn't lift a finger when others were being oppressed, try to justify why they shouldn't be sent to hell. It's pretty clear to me that Christ left a pretty good blueprint of how to live in your Bible but most Christians and their leaders don't follow it.

And if I am wrong and heaven is a place where Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson and Ted Haggard and Benny Hinn and Oral Roberts and the rest of those snake oil frauds will be spending eternity, then heck yeah, send my monkey ass to hell.

Just so we're clear, I don't hate religion, it's just not for me. I don't hate people who believe in various religions, I do hate religious hypocrites. I don't want to be converted, I just want to be left alone. I don't want to persecute anyone over their beliefs, and I don't want to be persecuted for my lack of belief. I don't try to "save" you, so stop trying to "save" me.

And now with the holiday season in full swing, I hope all of you