How to Cope when Everything is a Spiritual Battleground.

I am the kind of atheist who does not believe in a soul. I don't believe that there could be anything to consider a god. I don't buy the bible even as a history book. I dispute that any of it is divine, or holds any moral lessons. I am a thinking rationalizing atheist. I get my truth from facts, and nothing less.

But how do you deal when everything is a spiritual battle ground? My mother is one of those Christians who believe that nothing bad will happen to you as long as you think positive. She is convinced that everywhere around her are spirits listening to her thoughts. Some places would label that as schizophrenia. Here we call it religion. These beliefs are so ingrained into her that she does not dare to listen to a word otherwise. She is not alone though, and that is what scares me.

It is hard to talk sense and rational thoughts to people who refuse to listen. It does not matter what side of the coin you are on. We can all be a little stuck in our ways, and mostly this is harmless.  But there are times when it is not. Like when children are put at risk for death by parents who refuse to medicate their children. Vaccines are down, and old diseases that were almost wiped out are on the rise.

We are supposed to be a society run by adults. Ones who have the skills to know what we are doing, and think before we act. Yet is seems lately religion is in the throws of touting ignorance, and propagating fear. They are in another set of hysteria brought on by the idea that the world will end. Last year thousands of people stopped paying their bills, and gave away their things, because they really believed the world was going to end. That is sad, when these are supposed to be rational adults. Our laws are made by people like this.

It is sad to see when we have people believing sex between two homosexual adults causes earth quakes. Okay the sex was good, but was it that good? Were bouncy boobs to blame again? If I wear a tank top is god going to destroy the world? How do you rationalize with people who believe these things? It is difficult at best, and impossible at worst. Really, religion is probably responsible for the collapse of many societies. Rational men made the world a better place, and then religion brought it to its knees. That is because the irrational spooks and ghouls that religious people seem to fear keeps them from being normal humans.

I know that we are hardwired to be fearful, and to create patterns. But god and floaty spirits is not rational. I remember as a kid wondering about how many angels could exist, and why. I wondered what god would be doing keeping an eye on me. After all I was just a kid, and not in need of floaty sky people. But I too had bought into the dogma. I just could not keep it going because I questioned too much. So where is that mentality in those who are supposed to be leading by example in our society?

I am tired of hearing how the world will end on a certain date, and how gay marriage will destroy the world. I am tired of listening to irrational thoughts about vagina, and women. I am tired of hearing how god is punishing us for what we do, and then the avoidance when you point out little kids who have done no wrong and are dying. I am tired of the ignorance, and it being repeated as if it were fact. I am tired of the denial of evolution, even though we have tons of fossils and facts. It is not easy to talk to people about the truth who swear they have walked with god.

I had dreams as a kid about Jesus , or who I thought was him, but it was just a dream brought on by  exposure to an idea. I can accept that, but can you? I want to see us being guided by facts. Not by emotion and senseless behavior. Darwin is not my god, his words are not my religion. So don't point it at me and say it is. Until you don't believe that someone is in your head listening to you, don't throw accusations at me. It is time for the religious to grow up. Time for people to understand that reality exists. And time to stop relying on fantasies to save the day.

I really applaud the people who profit from the poor, while they put on a show calling for the registry of atheists. Asking that we be sent out of America. Saying that we are bringing down society and blaming all of the woes on us, and on women in general. It is getting old to sit and listen to how god will punish me in the day of my death. If he has to wait till then he is not all powerful.

I am not impressed by the god of disasters, or his emotional war. I will not be submitting  to any spiritual whackery. I don't believe or buy into it.