I appreciate the apology! I believe that you were not intending any harm and you may have reacted more emotionally out of concern for having done something you didn’t intended to do. I appreciate that more actually because it’s sort like the kind of thing I would do.

>Nothing I say or do has any baring on you & your life experiences and I certainly shouldn’t allow what you say and write have any affect on mine.

Any time someone injects religion into my life, it has baring. I have to tell it like it is to get them to stop. Their stuff isn’t harmless to people who don’t believe it. You should allow yourself to be affected by my words because you’ll learn nothing from any experience if you aren’t willing to let the information in. Without change there can be no progress.

You could have said it softer or not at all which is what people like me actually want. The post was to tell people who may be thinking that their prayers are welcome in my life that they are no longer welcome. I’ve never understood why this bothers people so much.

There’s a good chance that you’ll improve the quality of your friendships with atheists if you really take the time to consider your actions here and your replies to my words. If you really have the intention of wanting to help, open yourself up to the fact that not everyone holds religion and god in a high regard and when they are at their lowest they really don’t need or want to hear this stuff. This doesn’t make your views wrong, it just makes them irrelevant to that person.

My error in this is that I wasn’t more clear about being an atheist and what this means to me.

Thanks for reading and posting!
Pat

There are nights and songs in these experiences and I’m looking forward to hearing what Des comes-up with, and having a few drinks with you all the next time you head north!
Pat

The only person I know is me….and what my intents are….my intent was certainly not to come across as EXACTLY the type of Christian you are writing about or the self righteous person I am appearing to be from this one reactive response to your post.

Anyways, with that said let’s agree to disagree…..and let it go at that. Nothing I say or do has any baring on you & your life experiences and I certainly shouldn’t allow what you say and write have any affect on mine. We don’t even know one another.

I think because Kate is one of my best friends I have gotten to feel like I know you by extension which is obviously a mistake because I have way overstepped the boundaries. Another apology given for that mis-step.

Take care

When I learned of your father’s fight, it was difficult for me to find the appropriate words of comfort, as we share many of the same views of this world we share. Your brother and I have spoken of these topics late into the night, after the music finally died down, and real, heartfelt talks swirled like smoke tendrils around the table.

I feel the pain for your family, and I am sure some asshat will state that feeling that pain is not consistant with the atheist’s views of comfort and love as purely chemical reactions, but the truth is we still care about the people we care about, regardless of whether or not those feelings supposedly come from a magical deity in the sky.

The truth is, my feelings of love, comfort, hatred and ire do not come from, nor are they excused by or levied against others behind the veil of a collection plate- and the implied sanctity of a dwelling in which some mythical creature visits when the time permits, or when the pot of gold is full enough.

My thoughts are with your family. Not someone else’s rented thoughts from within the stained-glass factory of bullshit and scare tactics.

My own thoughts are with you and D and the rest of the family.

I found this a few years ago when confronted with a similar situation, and I felt that this doctor hit it on the head. I can hope that some of your father’s colleagues, friends, and well-wishers can borrow some of this knowledge, and give your father and your family their own comfort.

Not whathisname’s

~k

***************
Comfort for the dying Atheist
As a physician I have seen my fair share of death and dying. Unlike the death scenes we see in movies death is often a prolonged and agonizing process. Could there be any stronger evidence for the lack of a loving or merciful God? Every hospital I’ve worked in, even the most secular of institutions, has a chaplain or other clergyman standing by to comfort the dying person and his or her family. These clergymen are almost invariably Christians who come to the deathbed armed with the purportedly priceless gifts of salvation and eternal life. Is it any wonder that the Church grows richer every year? But what does the Atheist have to offer a colleague or a friend who is about to die? Perhaps more than one might think.

1). A hand to hold. Not just any hand but a hand connected to a brain that thinks rationally.

2). A reality check. Cognition and memory tend to fade in our final hours and the resulting confusion can be frightening. Remind your friend that ghosts, goblins, ghouls, devils, purgatory, hell, and other bizarre figments of religious mythology do not exist. Reassure your friend that Christian threats of eternal punishment are both primitive and absurd.

3). Immortality. The Atheistic belief that we cease to exist at the moment of death is almost certainly true. But in the greater scheme of things we do, in a manner of speaking, have the opportunity to live on after death. If our ideas and actions have advanced humanity, even in a small way, then a part of us does live on. Remind your dad of this fact.

4) Peace and tranquility Clergymen and evangelicals know that there is no better place to proselytize than the deathbed. But for the Atheist the same unwanted appeals to savage thinking that have always been annoying may be unbearable in the final hours. Screen visitors and politely but firmly insist, No, your dad does not want to hear about Jesus.

5) Gratitude. The Atheist who gives to Atheistic, free thought, and other rational organizations has changed the world for the better. Unlike the individual who leaves money to a Christian church in a misguided attempt to buy salvation, the Atheist expects nothing in return. Thank the dying Atheist for this unselfish act and for helping to make the world a better place for future generations

If you read this blog at all you’ve realized that I will post any narcissist’s rant (my own or others) to expose nonsense, troubled problem solving, and antiquated beliefs.

Yours is above.

You’ve read my blog, so you are in more of a position to tell me how small my world is and how my thought patterns are hateful and belittling. I know very little about you so I can only assume you are more worldly, more educated and more entitled to know what’s appropriate for me and my life. Assuming you are an expert is all I can do when I have nothing to vet you on.

When one reply in moments, emotionally about to blog like today’s, I’m not certain they’ve got the judgment to be considered an expert on me.

Just saying Lisa.

You say…..that because I believe “When your cancer comes considering looking at it as a punishment for these types of things because you caused it with your self-righteous anti-science religious agenda.”…and yet because you & your family don’t believe your dad’s cancer is ” It happens to people as they get older because the body slows down the fight, recovery and repair of all the stuff that goes wrong or happens to the it. The science here is very sounds. There’s nothing they can really do to fix it, that is clear from the MRI.”

Amazing that in your mind the same illness comes from two different places based on a person’s belief. So in my case it’s a punishment and your situation is unfortunate but a natural progression of things for some people. Very hateful.

I am sorry about your family’s situation…I would never wish on anyone what you are all going through.

I am also sorry your world is so small because you can’t accept that not everyone is going to think like you, or agree with you and that with us being human we are bound to do things that make you feel frustrated and uncomfortable because it doesn’t jive with how you perceive things.

Mostly I am sorry for the offer of prayer and offending your sensibilities. I am sure my response to your post won’t see the light of day but I have said what I wanted too.

Take care Patrick…..I wish you & yours well.

Lisa