Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Justified Anger

I just finished the book “WHY ARE YOU ATHEISTS SO ANGRY? 99 Things That Piss off the Godless.”By Greta Christina. I was inspired to keep writing in my blog and to keep talking about my lack of belief and let others know the reasons I am ANGRY too! This book made me feel justified in my anger. As most readers of my blog know, I have dealt with a lot of anger in the process of writing this blog and coming to terms with the fact that I no longer believe in a god. Of any kind.

As I read Greta Christina’s book I realized that I have not been vocal enough yet about my feelings toward religion and the harm it does to people. So, even though I may be repeating things that other atheists already say so well, like Greta Christina, I still need to say them too! So I will continue to blog!

Here are the thoughts I have about the book:

1) I don’t need to feel guilty anymore that I have a lot of anger toward churches, religion and the way I was raised. I can take this anger and channel it toward something useful. I can let others know how harmful religion can be. Great Christina points out that this anger is justified- and I agree- and says that we should use this anger to, in her words, “become a political force to be reckoned with.”

2) My anger will help me to be more active in other social movements as well. Like LGBT, feminism, race issues, women’s reproductive rights, etc…

3) I realized reading this book that I do NOT want to be one of the kinds of Atheists who are just like the fundamentalists and take a drastic approach and not allow people the right to free speech and a voice for their beliefs. I am going to try to be a more respectful person when I debate people. I find that Greta Christina is very convincing, in a very respectful way.

4) I am not an intolerant person when I voice my views against religion! I have been told this so much that I was starting to believe it! If someone says, “There is a magic sky daddy and he is my heavenly father and my family and you are hurting me for not believing in him” (well, maybe not those words, exactly, but someone said this to me on Facebook recently) I can say back to them, “Prove it! If you have an extraordinary claim, YOU have the burden of proof, not me!” People, please stop asking ME to prove that there is no god. If you claim there is one, you have the burden of proof. Great Christina says so! Also, when people tell me things like, “You have no absolute basis for morality without God, The Bible or religion, I can tell them that I AM a moral and ethical person and I am an atheist! I will also continue to do awesome things and show people that atheists ROCK!! Anyone who knows me knows I am a very compassionate, kind and helpful person who does far more good in the world than some conservative Christians who sit on their asses and judge me. I can work circles around them all! (Ha!)

5) I think it is really awesome that Great Christina mentioned that many atheists are not only angry for ourselves but that we are angry at what religion does to other people. We are angry when we see the harm that religion and religious leaders have done to their followers. She says, “Atheists are angry because we have a sense of justice. Atheists are angry because we see millions of people being terribly harmed by religion, and our hearts go out to them, and we feel motivated to bloody well do something about it.
Atheists aren’t angry because there is something wrong with us.
Atheists are angry because there’s something right with us.”

Exactly! Thanks for always saying it so very well Greta Christina!


Here is my own personal list of top 10 reasons I am ANGRY.

1) I am angry that women are being taught by their church leaders every day that they are “less than” and are beneath men simply because they have a vagina. Grrr

2) I am angry when I think about children in my life that I love and adore being told they will go to hell and burn in the lake of fire forever if they don’t believe in the Christian God.

3) I am angry that the principal at Clay Hill Elementary School (Right down the street from our house) thinks it is okay to allow a local pastor to come on public school property and ask kids and parents to meet him at the flagpole for prayers. This is a clear violation of the separation of church and state. If these people were Buddhist and wanted to lead prayers at the flag pole these very same people would pitch a HUGE FIT. Details of story here
4) I get angry when people tell me there is no way I can be a moral and ethical person. Some of these people KNOW me and know that I AM a moral and ethical person!!

5) I get angry when I find out that my ex-girlfriend’s mom said that she would never allow an atheist into her home- like we are some kind of demon or something.

6) I am angry that I calmly read Christian Bible verses and religious crap all day on Facebook and either ignore it or hide it because I love the people who post it. But when I want to post something about my atheism or being bisexual, I get told I should not put that on Facebook, or that I should focus on other things, or that I should consider giving their “god” a chance. Blah blah blah They have a right to say it. I have a right to get angry and say what I want back on MY FACEBOOK PAGE DAMN IT!

7) I am angry that I feel cut off from my parents and some siblings because I don’t believe in their god/religion. I miss feeling close to my mom and dad.

8) I get angry when I hear people use the Bible to hand pick verses that justify their hatred of LGBT people. I would rather hear someone say they hate gay people than to hear them say, I love the sinner and hate the sin kind of bull shit that comes out of the mouths of so-called “Christ-followers.” (p.s. either way, I get angry lol)

9) I am angry that for the longest time, I have felt guilty about sex, and have had a difficult time coming to terms with my sexuality simply because I was raised to be ashamed of my body, to hide my body and to feel like I need to cover my body.

10) I get angry when I realize that I live in the Bible Belt and there are not many people who live around me that feel this way. Or are there? Come out!!!

If you have not read Greta Christina's  book, buy it today! It is so well worth the read and I am going to keep it on my Kindle on my iPhone so that when I get into a religious debate, I can whip out that book and say, “Well, Greta Christina says….” SO THERE!!

Here is a link to a video introduction of the book.

Here is a link to Amazon where you can buy the Ebook




By the way, I am aware I  have other "angry" lists and a blog about my anger. I wanted to write another one. Just call this blog my angry rant update.











8 comments:

  1. Makes me want to read the book! Much of my anger has dissipated since leaving the faith, but there are things that put me back at square one... especially the #5... What religion, faith, churches and religious politicians/people in power do to other people. I have to remind myself again and again that even children forced into unhealthy systems of faith can and do grow stronger and leave all or the worst parts behind. The Former Fundamentalists group I organize is very helpful in realizing that many ex-Christians... and some current Christians... can move past the unhealthy parts of their former beliefs... and that is always very inspiring to hear.

    Something I've learned about embracing anger, acknowledging it, voicing it, is that becomes more manageable... and one can learn to balance without flipping out or suppressing it all the time. So I'm going to have to read the book. I especially like to see Women voice and acknowledge their anger, because we are taught that anger, no matter how legit, is either "cute", "annoying", "crazy", or "hormonal"... and that to own anger as a woman, much less an ex-Christian, may threaten and scare some, but in the long run it can be used to create healthier women and citizens who are not ignored because of their powerful voices.

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  2. Just downloaded the e-book!! Can't wait to read it!! As a 46-year-old woman, I too am breaking away from church and from "god" and I could not be happier! My 71-year-old mother has tried to convince me to "get back with God or face hell", but it's not going to happen..I've been Christian all my life and now after doing a lot of soul searching and reading blogs on people leaving Christianity, I know that I am not alone! Since I've been free from the chains of Christianity, I now support gay marriages, go to Pride Parades in Chicago, and go to LGBT events as well, even though I am a straight woman! :)
    Like I mentioned earlier, I am going to read Greta's e-book! :)

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  3. Christine, that is a good point about anger in women. I think many of us are taught that it's negative emotion and we feel guilty for having it. That is what I got from the book; Anger is a normal emotion! I agree that once we can voice our anger and acknowledge it, it does become more manageable. I can see this with my blog- the more I write and get out, the less angry I am.

    Debbie, I am glad you got the book! Thanks so much for reading my blog. :) Thanks for supporting LGBT!

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  4. Hi! I was raised a "super Christian" and became an antheist about a year ago. I was so sheltered, this is the first time I have ever read a "blog"! So far, I love it. I just wanted to say you aren't alone! I am ANGRY. I thought maybe it was wrong to be so angry at Christianity, but you are right! We have reasons to be furious. But we can also be so happy. I'm so thrilled we aren't victims of this sadistic religion any more. I'm glad you found your way out. Keep writing!

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  5. Thanks for stopping by Anonymouse! I plan to keep writing. :)

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  6. I really enjoyed reading this post. It's natural for ex-religious people to feel anger over their former belief system, and I'm glad that Greta Christina has written about it.

    Speaking for myself, when I left Catholicism, I felt anger over being tricked into sacrificing so much. I lived in fear of hell, suppressed normal feelings, devoted hours and hours to prayer and ritual, obeyed mindlessly ... all to find out that it was all for a lie. The meaningless sacrifice and the betrayal create anger for other people who have left religion, I'm sure.

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  7. I have a lot of angers against the religious attitutes of people, of institutions, of establishments, of the power elites behind...

    I am also angry against God, because I still believe that he has to be real, but maybe, just maybe somehow I can't see his words come true in my life due to the len through which I used to see things?

    What if a lot of things are bad, but the Bible is true? What if we as the observers are wrong?

    Even the Bible itself condemn the religious people, and what if Hell is real? Becuase from what i know a lot of people deserve it, and even atheists would wish that on some very evil people of this world.

    I honestly can't find someone who isn't capable of being very dark and evil, including myself.

    So I can't get myself to freely hate everything Christian, yet.

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  8. Hi Lori, great to read your blog. I am a Norwegian ex-Christian woman (35), and I left the Christian faith eleven years ago but have only recently "come out of the closet" to the world. (It shouldn't be difficult in Norway, a European country which is overall more secular than the US, but it is.) I have started a blog myself, you could try to Google Translate it;) http://sliksomegvar.blogspot.com. Before I started the blog I talked some with a friend of mine who also is an ex-Christian and he told my I would need to go through a period of hate. He had anyway. I'm not there, I still feel mostly love for my family and my Christian friends but there definitely is some anger waiting to get out. I'm a bit afraid to let it, that's all. Have a nice day and good luck with everything!

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