Atheist Meditations: The Adventures of Johnny Apostate, chapter 1

Monday, February 13, 2006

The Adventures of Johnny Apostate, chapter 1

"So, like the thing is, if your right and I'm wrong, than when we die were both dead and
I lose nothing. But, if I'm right and you're wrong, than I get eternity and you lose
everything. See what I mean?" Her confidence radiated out of her like the love of Jesus.
Her friendly brown eyes gleamed and her braces danced in her smile.

Concern darkened his brow, "Drew, where did you hear that dirty little thing?" His voice
was soft, yet carried a betraying timbre of his rising interest.

"Um, like what do you mean. . . "

"That pseudo-logical little collection of words you just laid out for me? Where did you
come accross that? Can you tell me who's responsible for exposing it to you?"

"I saw it on this website about `Is God Real?', like, I don't see what your getting all
worked up about?"

"Look," and he paused for a momentary meditation on the essence of patience, "What you
just said about losing nothing or everything is a nasty snare. It's like, . . . um, it's like they
are a really bad man and they're about to throw a hood over your head. See, look how it is
set up, what it tricks you into accepting without justifying anything. They tell someone
that,'if I believe in this fantasy, and you are right and it does not exist - I lose nothing'.
That's the lie right there. But then they do the little bait and switch comparison to say
that if they're right they get super fantasy land, and you get nuth'n. Maybe you get
tortured forever by demons. You follow me?"

Drew cautiously nodded.

"The comparison has to be goofy, since the rewards they get for being right are based on
their fantasy world. They want you to think about all of those magical rewards, doing that
engages your imagination and people like to doing that. A lot of the, I hate to say cultist,
but this is definitely a cult trick, let's just say religions that are willing to use little tricks to
get their claws into kids. Some say that if you do what they say you'll get wings and live in
the clouds, some tell young boys that they'll have a thousand girlfriends in the afterworld,
some say you get to see all your favorite pets when you die- some say you don't. They want
you thinking about all of these possible good things, if what they say is true, on one level
enjoying the stimulation to your imagination and associating it with his side of his
illogical arguement."

"He was just trying to convince me," with a bit of the young generation's exasperated
sarcasm. "What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that what they are doing is about the same as me saying 'Hey, look! ain't
that teen hearthrob Marky Mark dropping his trousers?', then, when you turn to look; I
steal your wallet and blame it on Little Richard. Keep your eyes on your wallet and think
about the first part of his arguement, the part he wants you to repeat and accept without
thinking about it too much. If I'm wrong and you turn out to be right, then we're both
dead when we die and that's it, We're both dead, so I lose nothing by believing in my
fantasy world."

"I think that's where the bullshit starts getting annoying," He continued, "Because look at
the fantasy worlds that they pull people into. And I'm not just talking about the wacko
cults where everybody buys nikes and then commits suicide, although I don't want you
dealing with those people either. Let's just take the standard evangelical world. They put
your mind and your imagination in a box. How they do this involves the fact that once
your 'on fire for Christ', you are almost constantly surrounded by others who voice
opinions and reinforce prejudices that are all pretty much the same. Most of the books you
read come from the printing presses they own or recommend, that's what your friends are
reading and talking about. The radio and all the music those crazy kids dance to these
days is created out of this same fantasy world. It reinforces the same opinions and
prejudices of evangelicalism. Soon, most of the words your hearing on a daily basis are
arranged in an order; the order their church says. See the freedom and the liberty they are
losing?"

He gestured with frustration, "Argh! I just think it is so terrible. So unnecessary and
limiting. The worlds they just thow away. So many, many incredible people have lived on
this planet, all the books and stories you can read that come from so many
different lifetimes, not just the lifetimes that are 'on fire for Christ.' My favorite topic is
the whole, 'Meaning of Life Thing', so many folks have had so many fascinating thoughts
on that. So many guys have twisted around in the winds of insanity dwelling on that stuff.
I think it's awsome. Evags only get their one or two takes on that whole thing, how
boring."

"There are more reasons than just that, my sweet girl," he continued, "Particularily for a
young woman. The fact is that such a fantasy limits your options. In a dangerous and
ever-changing world, the last thing you want is to limit the options that are available to
you."

"Well, whatever," the pitch in her voice matched her falling interest.

# posted by Aurelius : 13.2.06