I'll Fly Away, Oh Glory

Today, in the United States and in primarily Christian nations around the world, we celebrate a major Christian holiday: Easter Sunday.  According to the “good” book, on this prearranged day on the calendar, we celebrate the rise of Zombie Jesus three days after he was publicly crucified on a hill with other criminals by those damn, dirty Romans.  My information claims he did this so that the human race, hateful sinners that we are, could be saved from what his father, Capitol “G” god, would do to us if we weren’t.  That’s way more interesting than some silly fertility festival that we obviously borrow quite heavily from.  Although the Catholic church doesn’t openly support the practice, willing participants kick off Easter weekend on Good Friday by reenacting the gruesome details of the crucifixion in communities all over the world.   

Here in the American Southeast, Good Friday is a bank holiday and plenty of businesses take the day off.  The good God Fearing folks have been gearing up with Easter Baskets, egg hunts, bunny rabbits, and that special Easter church service.  Notice how many of those things actually have to do with their specific brand of faith and not the actual Pagan traditions they stomped over in their quest for world domination.  Churches make a big spectacle of Easter in order to bring in new bodies and temporarily drive up membership.  Dropping Easter eggs from helicopters and other types of media-driven sensationalism aren’t unheard of.  Christian Holidays are big business in the church community because they can be used to introduce individuals that don’t regularly attend church to your congregation and turn them into new members.  It’s a nice artificial inflation of members and funds.  Because of this, the service is usually carefully planned to showcase their specific beliefs and appeal to potential new members.  Music, prayers, and especially the sermon need to follow the service theme. 

As an atheist, and therefore a typically non-church going individual, I do receive many offers to attend other peoples churches during this and other Christian holidays.  I will say that there is a way to go about asking an atheist to attend your church.  For me, as long as the offer is polite, genuine, and coming from someone whose character and reasoning I trust, I don't necessarily mind a heartfelt invitation.  It’s not like random folks telling me they’ll pray for me or saying have a blessed day.  Both of which get on my nerves because I believe prayer and positive thoughts are just a way to make yourself feel better/more important without actually bothering to do anything.  I consider friends who just wish to share their beliefs with me and understand mine in return to be a different matter.  Because of this, I occasionally take friends or coworkers up on their invitations to attend church with them.  Realistically, I enjoy an excuse to dress up as much as the next lady.  

I haven’t accepted an invite in a few years after an awkward and uncomfortable experience I had the last time I wandered into an Easter service.  Yeah no, to all the pastors/preachers out there, it is considered inappropriate to go on an unplanned, off-topic rant about any controversial topic in the middle of your Easter service.  This is especially true of atheists and the World Trade Center Memorial.  You definitely want to cause an issue during one of the most attended services of the year.  A service frequented by first-time attendees that you’re hoping to turn into new members.  This happened after I was invited to a local church by a coworker who was also the pastor's wife.  She was a lovely lady but after that, I never thought much of her husband.  

As an atheist, I receive everything from curiosity to scorn from the religious people in my life.  I try to take a fairly relaxed view myself.  While I don’t agree with organized religion or religious beliefs, Christian or otherwise, those same opinions aren’t applied to individual religious people.  If I took true offense to such things, I wouldn’t have very many people to talk to now would I?  I believe the majority of individuals follow the system of beliefs that best allow them to make sense of the world.   I try to accept and respect both them and their belief systems.  I only wish that more of my community could take the same stance toward my atheism.

  

Back when I was newly deconverted, I tried to use others words to help me articulate my feelings.  Because of this habit, I can describe my basic worldview to you quite simply with one quote by Douglas Adams, atheist, and freaking awesome author.  In the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, he wrote, “ Isn’t it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it, too?”  The world is beautiful and humanity can be wonderful but I don’t need any higher being to thank for that and neither do you.  I hope this has given you, dear reader, a sneak peek into Easter in the South.  Please feel free to subscribe and comment.  I am also present on numerous of the social media sites for you to follow.

 

Thanks for Reading,

A Southern Atheist  

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Tumblr
Pinterest