“Our” God
Our God is Your God
On some level, perhaps subconsciously, theists inherently feel silly believing in the seemingly impossible and must feel part of the whole in order to quiet their latent insecurities. I doubt there are many who would have the courage to maintain their faith openly if they were to wake one morning and find themselves standing completely alone in their beliefs.
Religion is supposed to be a deeply personal thing, but theist love to publicize their belief system and paint it upon everyone else. They use words like we, us, and our in a very cavalier manner when it comes to expressions of what should be very personal religious beliefs:
The Lord Our God
Our Lord and Savior
God Give Us
Strength Heaven Help Us
Even though the ancient superstition has long since been abandoned, theists look at us like we’re being rude when we don’t acknowledge one particular biological function, a fucking sneeze, with a polite response:
God Bless You!
Of course I’d like to know why farts, hiccups, belches, and coughs aren’t acknowledged, but I digress.
Theists, specifically Christians, have even institutionalized references to their god:
In the Year of Our Lord
In God We Trust
Such arrogance!
The Year of Our Lord? This year is no more yours than it is mine.
In God We Trust? Who exactly is this we you’re referring to, Kemosabe? Who exactly are you speaking for? I have tons of money but I don’t share your beliefs, so why are they forced on me?
Show Me the Money
Tell me, which of the many gods that are honored in this country (of over 313 million people who don’t share the same beliefs) do we all have this great trust in? Allah? One of the Hindu deities perhaps? The Mormon father god who lives near the planet Kolob? Why don’t you name this god who’s on everyone’s money and then explain why he’s there?
And because you’re incapable of even a morsel of intellectual honesty that might soil your position you’ll refuse to admit that this makes your blood boil:
Yeah, it does piss you off, you lying sack of shit. Just remind yourself of 9/11 and further deceive yourself that this isn’t offensive.
If you’re a Christian you’re most likely oblivious to the history of this motto, so here it is as told by the people who actually make our currency and coin. Pay close attention. This is what our money looked like before 1956.
Pledge of Allah-giance
I wonder how accepting Christians would be if the Pledge of Allegiance ended with …one nation, under Allah, with liberty and justice for all.
What? Are you inclined to argue that we’re a Christian nation? Fuck you. No, we’re not. We’re a nation of immigrants of all and no religions. Our Founding Fathers were clearly deists who founded this nation under the notion that we are all free to reject and be free of god as we are free to embrace the one of our choosing as a personal and private matter.
And by the way, the pledge (which was written by a Baptist minister) didn’t contain any reference to god until 1954. This is a clear violation of Separation of Church and State which guarantees atheists the right to be free of any such allegiance.
And even if we were a Christian nation, please remind yourself that (even an imaginary) god holds no borders.
Why Christians Speak for Everyone Else
Seems to me that this kind of theistic “we” bravado exists to provide intellectual safety for those who believe in the Judeo-Christian god. And quite unfortunately, they represent the majority here in the United States.
The majority won’t stand alone in its faith simply because with its numbers it simply doesn’t have to. I’ve been an atheist all my life and have never felt compelled to speak for anyone else. (Hmm. I wonder why?) I don’t, never have, and never will use words like we, us, or our with regard to atheism – even though there are approximately 30 million non-believers (of one label or another) in the United States alone. (By the way, there are 10 times as many atheists as Mormons in this country.)
The bottom line is that people with true faith and conviction aren’t afraid to use words like I when referring to statements of personal belief. I have enough faith in my beliefs to stand alone, so why can’t the majority? (Pssst. Because they’re cowards and they’re weak.)
Hey, who really likes eating alone anyway?