Your belief system doesn’t give you ultimate authority over others

Every day, my Facebook feed is filled with more than a dozen posts related to Jesus and Christianity. The posts tell me that I can’t do anything right in the world without him, that he chooses the outcomes of sports, and that, if I’m feeling down or struggling, I just need to pray. Hey, that’s great, if you believe such things. However, not everyone does. 

If you’re like me, you just scroll past these posts. They aren’t meant for me. They are likely meant for the poster who is trying to make their day better and these posts are their way of attempting to get through some kind of struggle. I do it myself with introvert memes.

I do, however, get tired of the posts. When posts drone on and on about how a god did some amazing thing, particularly in a sports ball game, and that is all I see for hours on end, it gets annoying. At some point, I’m going to say something.

When I do, you can either scroll on by, or maybe understand why I’m writing. You don’t get to monopolize the conversation and then try to bully me or put me down for my thoughts and demand I respect your beliefs.

When my Facebook feed was filled with the plight of migrants families being separated at the border, no one complained when I made a post expressing my anger, disgust, and general distaste for the entire situation. Now, however, these same people are upset because I made a post in the same manner and tone, but I expressed an opinion contrary to the general beliefs of people that follow me.

I was told I was a terrible person and that I was trying to take away their belief that there was some divine intervention in a sports ball game. Not allowing me to express my opinion because it differs from yours is called a double standard and there’s no way in hell I’m going to back down from that.

I did not take away anyone’s beliefs. I stated facts of what likely happened. If that affects your beliefs so much that you want to unfriend me, well, quite frankly, that’s your problem not mine.

Also, I posted this comment on my own Facebook feed. I didn’t brigade anyone else’s. I placed my opinion on my feed. If you choose to read it and comment on it, great. Let’s have an open dialogue. Are you really ready for that?

Listen, I didn’t even know your sports ball game was on when I logged into Facebook Saturday. I was bombarded with thirty-one messages about this game and how the Christian god did some kind of magic to make the only scoring be field goals because a kicker from each team was killed in a car accident a couple of years ago. Within the first five minutes of logging on Sunday morning, I saw another seven. I left. That’s thirty-eight messages to my one, yet I’m the one being singled out.

Do you even understand how aggravating that is? You all believe the same thing, yet, because I don’t, I’m somehow taking something away from you because I provide a contrary explanation for what happened.

I find it both hilarious and insulting that I must put up with the constant religious quotes, memes, and beliefs as well as the “witnessing” to me and telling me how I should think, speak, and behave simply because I said something contrary to your world view.

While I’m disappointed in the public and private messages, I don’t dislike any of the people who commented and I don’t think any differently of them because they hold to a belief system that I do not ascribe to.

What I find disheartening is religious people, particularly Christians, always want me to bend to their will, to follow their norms, and to not upset their apple cart. How about once you see it from my point of view?

For the record, I do not accept the existence of a god not because I am angry or the god of the bible is an evil person or any other reason. I do not accept the existence of a god because there is no credible evidence for one. I spent more than a decade researching this and all evidence points to the non-existence of such a being. The universe is doing just fine without us and without a god mucking about in it.

For all the trials I have been through in life, to simply whittle it down to an unknown, unseen, malevolent entity causing it to happen is bollocks. This god did not get me through any of it and certainly did not set any of my life into motion. To say so reduces my strength and courage to continue on to nothing. It reduces me to an entity that is beholden to the whims of some supposed deity.

My life is at once special and mundane. How I live it is what gives it meaning. The universe doesn’t care about me. When I die, the atoms that make up me will be recycled into something else, probably many other things.

If you’ve read this far, thanks for reading. I truly don’t hate you. I am a bit disappointed that so many people made assumptions about me and who I am. Go enjoy your day at your church, your synagogue, your temple, your mosque, or other place of worship and think about the words you use to belittle others solely because you think your belief system is the right one.