I recommend mutual respect for each other’s religious views, or lack thereof, and suggest we move on.

Go see Beowulf tonight, and later we can talk about 6th Century Anglo-Saxon legends instead…

Cordially;

Once you’ve seen a Southern Baptist preacher lay his hands on the helmets of the local football squad each Friday night, and listen as he prays them to victory before a game, how can your view of that particular faith not be sullied? (And don’t tell me I’m generalizing - this happens across the South every Friday night.)

At one time I was a religious person. Sometimes I wish I still had faith - it would allow me to remove some of the burden of this world from my shoulders. But, alas, I can’t pray for rain - I have to try to work to stop global warming. I can’t pray for an end to this hideous war - I have to do what I can to convince my representatives to stop it.

I’m glad your prayer - and that of others - gives you comfort, and I truly believe it can have a placebo affect that can improve one’s health. But placebos can’t help the real problems of the world.

And asking for supernatural help when you’ve ignored the signs of what paving hundreds of square miles of north central Georgia would do to the state’s climate and watertable is some combination of arrogance, stupidity and hypocrisy that I don’t have a name for, but it’s been a hallmark of the White House for the last 7 years, too.

When I was in the Navy slim, one of my best friends was a Jewish fellow, whose parents lived in Brooklyn. We used to go to New York on Friday night, crash at his parent’s place and do New York all night long for the weekend.

I made a careless comment once, whining about some trivial ill or another, and Russ’ little Jewish Mother shook her finger at me, and told me “God gives us burdens, but he also gives us shoulders.” I’ve never forgotton the message in that simple lesson, and the Faith of a little old devout Jewish woman has sustained me for decades.

Getting to know a Southern Baptist is much different than understanding their faith, and it is beneath you as a person to demean anyone because of their belief in Jesus Christ. Just as you have the perfect right to your athieism, we Christians have a right to our beliefs, and it really isn’t necessary to sling barbs at one another over that.

Being an atheist doesn’t keep you from getting to know people. Almost all of my friends are believers of one sort or another - that’s just the way it is when you’re in a minority.

I was baptized (Catholic) and confirmed (Episcopalian) before I was old enough to think for myself and discovered my atheism. By that time I had many Southern Baptist friends, I’d been to their churches, and I continued to grow up in their company. Brother Bob was often a topic of conversation around our dinner table - he was our local baptist leader and firebrand. Back then I disagreed with nearly all of his pronouncements (even before I discovered my atheism), and if he’s still at the pulpit I’m sure our differences will not have changed much in the intervening 25 years.

It’s OK that you don’t believe in God, slim, because he still believes in you.

I’ll pray that you redeem yourself before it’s too late.

For a governor in America to be praying for rain is ludicrous, both because we are a secular country and because if there was a God, and he wanted Georgia to have rain, you think he’s actually waiting for Sonny Perdue’s prayer to make it happen? That’s a pretty petty god you’ve got there.

And you would have no issue with a state’s governor sponsoring state sanctioned prayer? I know it’s probably too complex for you to comprehend the nexus between the Republican Party, cheap Oil, and Right Wing Evangelicals, so I’ll just suggest you read former Republican Kevin Phillip’s book American Theocracy to get up to speed.

This blog post isn’t denigrating anyone’s belief system, it’s just pointing out some inconsistencies with those who try using religious fervor for political gain. But it is pretty ironic that those who voted for Republican climate change deniers are now praying for the precious rain that eludes them.

If you cannot find something relevent to say that doesn’t denegrate My Country, or any major religion, than I would politely invite you to STFU.