...about my last post.
crackerlilo made an important comment after my post about belief that i think i need to respond to.
i said: wow; even the atheists are asking why bad things happen to good people.
and crackerlilo replied: Is this really such a surprise? It's *the* question all us humans have, I think.
and then she sent me hugs.
no, crackerlilo, it isn't a suprise and i should have phrased that better. i never meant to imply that atheists don't care about why bad things happen. in writing my defense i allowed myself to take what was a cheap shot to make a point and that's not me.
what i believe about God also affects what i believe about how i'm supposed to respect others and their differing beliefs. while i don't agree with atheism (and to be honest it does frustrate me) i also respect the fact that there are many who don't believe and i also respect the fact that they don't (even if i wish they did.)
and that is actaully the long and short of it... to be honest i do wish that everyone else believed exactly what i believe (it would make my life SO much easier), but that would be a boring life where blogging wouldn't be nearly as much fun.
we should all struggle with what we believe, even if the belief is about a lack of belief. just like there are times that i wonder, "what if there isn't a god?" i would hope that i could be the kind of person who would prompt others to ask themselves: "what if there is a god?"
the question about why bad things happen IS a human question that should prompt us to ask... "so, how can i make things better?" and that's a question for believers and atheists.
thanks for the hug and the wishes for my bad to turn better, crackerlilo... and for your gentle reminder to preach and practice what i believe.
2 comments:
She can be pretty powerful with her words, can't she?
Thank you, honey.
A lot of people have negative stereotypes about atheists. I'm not an atheist; I'm the very opposite, a polytheist Pagan. So I know how it feels to be a religious minority. However, my wife is an atheist (who uses the label "agnostic" because the one thing she's sure about is she can't ever be entirely sure--back to your paragraph on struggling!), and so are many of my friends.
L'Ailee says things like "Since I can't pray, I need to find another way to help them" and "Because I believe we only have one life, I have more of a motivation to stop smoking and make this life as good and long as I can." I have been frankly amazed. There are so many kind atheist and agnostic hearts, I've discovered.
I believe that if someone wants to be cruel, they can use Christianity or Paganism or atheism to justify that, and if someone is trying to be the best they can and give the world something, they'll find inspiration in just about any belief or non-belief, too. I believe there are a lot of ways to try and make sense of the world.
I chalked the comment up to you having troubles and thinking hard thoughts, because you've e-met some caring, thoughtful atheists at Blogzie's. I've been known to be less than perfectly sensitive during those points in my life. Sometimes I can be just plain *mean* and forget that other people feel too.
So I still want to extend *hugs* to you. I still want the bad in your life to turn around toward the good, and quickly. And I hope you give me the gentle nudges when I need them, too! Sometimes I *really* need them.
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