Amusing, in a headdesky way, or headdesky in an amusing way?

[tree_and_leaf]

Dawkins and Sherine back bus ads reading "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."

.... yeah. Atheist says: stop thinking and take my word for it!

(Actually, that's a little unfair, because the ads are intended as a response to a series of evangelical ones threatening non-Christians with hell-fire. All the same, the fear of hell is not exactly integral to the faith of most of the religious people I know†, and I cannot say that a sudden loss of my faith would improve my enjoyment of life; quite the reverse.)

On a side note, buried in the article is the information that Dawkins supports a Tory humanist group. I didn't know he was a Tory, but for some reason I'm not entirely surprised. (ETA: see comment from lizw below; this appears to be a misunderstanding.

† The only sense I can make of Hell is total alienation from God, and therefore all that is good, of becoming lost in myself and in hatred, which does indeed scare me quite a lot, but I suspect that's not the sort of thing Dawkins et al think I'm scared of.

Comments

[sacred-sarcasm.livejournal.com]

The problem I have with the Alpha posters aren't the 'asking questions' aspect - it's the strongly-hinted 'we have all the answers' aspect!

As a sort of Anglican agnostic (I'm an Anglican, but I couldn't tell you I'm certain there's a God - I don't think faith deals in certainty anyway, but still) I really do heartily dislike the suggestion that I'm a) worried b) 'can't make my mind up' (which I've had levelled at me by believers and atheists).

I've also been told that someone would have asked me out were I 'stronger in the faith'. Lucky escape for me, though I didn't have the heart to say that to his face.

[tree_and_leaf]

the problem I have with the Alpha posters aren't the 'asking questions' aspect - it's the strongly-hinted 'we have all the answers' aspect!

Oh, I agree. They're better than the hell-fire type, but I wouldn't go so far as to say they're good.

I really do heartily dislike the suggestion that I'm a) worried b) 'can't make my mind up' (which I've had levelled at me by believers and atheists).

Yeah, that's offensive (and stupid) - and really, any believer who doesn't have moments of doubt is almost certainly doing something wrong.

I've also been told that someone would have asked me out were I 'stronger in the faith'. Lucky escape for me, though I didn't have the heart to say that to his face.

Bastard - still, you clearly weren't missing much.

[sacred-sarcasm.livejournal.com]

The assumption that I'd have said 'yes' was pretty nauseating, anyway!

His current plan (he is at the moment 'called to be single', which in this case does actually mean 'can't find a girlfriend') is that he'll meet a woman (he says 'girl', which tells you a lot) at church, God will tell him she's the right one (hopefully communicating this to her, as well, I presume) and then he'll invite her out for coffee and propose. The engagement period is when they get to know each other a bit (but NO KISSING! because that could lead to lust) and then they live in wedded bliss with him as head of the household until death does them part.

So overall, I'm not so sad I'm missing out on that.

The advantage of having Christian friends who run the spectrum between crazy fundamentalists and high-camp church Anglicans, taking in folk-mass-and-guitars Roman Catholics is that at least I can invite them all round at once and then watch the fireworks.

[helflaed.livejournal.com]

Oh dear. Well you did have a lucky escape.

He's in for a heck of a shock if he does get married.

[tree_and_leaf]

Clearly, there is absolutely nothing that could go wrong with that plan. I didn't think anyone actually bought that idea (especially the kissing†) outside the pages of 'Christian romance'... Still, I suppose if his plan is to propose to her, rather than to her father, it could still be worse.

The advantage of having Christian friends who run the spectrum between crazy fundamentalists and high-camp church Anglicans, taking in folk-mass-and-guitars Roman Catholics is that at least I can invite them all round at once and then watch the fireworks.

Sounds like a recipe for a memorable evening, if not necessarily a good one.

† Am inclined to think that if the kissing doesn't lead to lust, you shouldn't be getting married, but clearly I am a wicked liberal ritualist, and thus probably doomed anyway....

[el-staplador.livejournal.com]

I met my fiancé at church - well, chapel. He's an agnostic.