My heart is both warmed and broken…

As my family and I were leaving our local Wal-Mart (Don’t hate me, I shop where my wife says to shop) we stopped at a canopy-covered table where two women were getting people registered to vote.  I had been meaning to reregister as I didn’t want to keep voting at the place near my parents’ house.  As we were talking I noticed that they were both wearing buttons proclaiming that they were proud democrats.  This was a bit of a relief for me as the Central Valley is one of the most conservative parts of California and especially because most of the people who hang out in front of our Wal-Mart are extreme right-wing crackpots.  I felt freer to talk since they obviously weren’t the typical Tulare County resident.  In the course of the conversation I made mention of being an atheist.  The woman I was talking to questioned me further about it to make sure she understood me correctly and I confirmed that I don’t believe in any gods.  What she did next caught me off guard.  She asked me to stop talking about it.  She did it not because I was offending her, but rather because she was going to cry.  She was so worried about me, a total stranger, going to Hell that it caused her real emotional distress.  She didn’t condemn me for my lack of belief or say that I was a bad or immoral person.  She didn’t pass any judgment on me.  She was simply worried for my well-being.  This was a person who genuinely cared for the welfare of her fellow man.  This encounter left me with mixed feelings.  I was happy that she accepted who I was and didn’t judge me for it, but I was also moved by her concern for me.  I only wish more Christians would follow her example and truly love their fellow man for who they are: black, white, man, woman, young, old, believer or atheist.  I hope she took comfort in the fact that she showed a committed atheist that some Christians really do care about others no matter what.

An atheist’s creed

This is, quite simply, beautiful.

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An atheist’s creed

I believe in time,
matter, and energy,
which make up the whole of the world.

I believe in reason, evidence and the human mind,
the only tools we have;
they are the product of natural forces
in a majestic but impersonal universe,
grander and richer than we can imagine,
a source of endless opportunities for discovery.

I believe in the power of doubt;
I do not seek out reassurances,
but embrace the question,
and strive to challenge my own beliefs.

I accept human mortality.

We have but one life,
brief and full of struggle,
leavened with love and community,
learning and exploration,
beauty and the creation of
new life, new art, and new ideas.

I rejoice in this life that I have,
and in the grandeur of a world that preceded me,
and an earth that will abide without me.

-P.Z. Myers

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 Starbix

 

“Don’t Panic”

-Douglas Adams