Part 4: Fear 2.0

Dear Internet Diary,

He is my purpose my ALL! With out Him I would be nothing…

You say that you're glad I believe in God, because otherwise I'd be a psychopath, but my question to you is: if you don't believe in God, why aren't you a psychopath?

I believe in God because the destructive effects of godlessness on individuals and entire societies are sadly evident. These effects include lack of purpose, moral decay, crime, substance dependence, and a major deterioration of society in general.
-- Hector Hammerly

This entry is about fear, but I wanted to focus on something specific. "I believe in God, because if there weren't a God, it would be terrible." "I believe in God, because otherwise I would be terrible."

What's the fallacy on that? Slippery Slope? Begging the question? I'm not so up on my Baloney detection, but my bullshit meter is in the red.

"Without Him I would be nothing." Spoken like a true bashed wife. Truly in submission to a sadist. You know He has special powers, but you're not sure just what he's capable of, and the littlest thing could set Him off. But He loves you. No room for self-esteem in this belief system. The problem here is that in Chritsinity, you are nothing. We're all sinners, and we all deserve to go to hell, if not for the glorious mercy of God. Thank you, oh Lord, for not killing us. As the Pythons say:

O Lord, please don't burn us.

Don't grill or toast Your flock.

Don't put us on the barbecue

Or simmer us in stock.

This is not why I don't believe in a god, but if this god existed, I would be something, just like anyone else. I'd just be terrified, cursed, and enslaved. Just existing, not living, and waiting for The End. God is love!

So, why aren't I a psychopath? Well, because as far as I know, there is nothing afflicting my brain. I haven't physically hurt anyone. I'm not quite sure why this particualr fellow thinks that not believing in his god would make me insane. I imagine that his ego cannot accept the idea that he won't live forever. Maybe he doesn't like the idea that his personality isn't so astronomically important that is simply must go on forever. Not very Zen of him. Remember the part in Hitchhiker's Guide about the chamber where, when one enters, his insignificance in the universe is revealed to him? I remember reading some Buddhist teaching that suggested that the person who can go through that experience and not fly into a spiral of despondency is truly enlightened. I agree, and whoever can retain a sense of connection to the universe whole realizing how small he is is more "spiritual" than a stadium full of believers, Benny Hinn, the band and the choir.

The good professor here believes in God because atheists commit crimes and are probably gay. I can't say it for sure about the prof, but when someone speaks about "general moral decay," it takes a couple of seconds to find out he hates queers. And probably feminists, and dirty words on television. A few seconds online can clear up the confusion about the correlation between godlessness and crime. The truth is, it's godfulness that contributes to crime. It's godfulness that is the cause of purposlessness. It's godfulness that contributes to intolerance, xenophobia, sexism, homophobia, and sexual repression. Chritstians,Muslims, fundamentalist Jews and others have values in spite of their religions, not because of them. Doctor Hammerly is simply another voice in the chorus that believes because of hate. And hate comes from fear.

Thanks for listening, diary