What do you do when people offer to pray for you?

Usually I thank them, if they’re expressing genuine concern for my welfare. If it’s more of a threatening statement – like some believers will make when they find out that you don’t believe – I’ll ask that they not bother, and spend their time praying for the sick and hungry instead.

If it’s someone I know fairly well, I’ll say something humorous in response, such as “…and I’ll think for you!” But only if they’ll know right away that I’m joking and not being a jerk.

Does your family know that you are an atheist?

Some of them do, and the rest probably have their suspicions. The subject doesn’t come up that often between myself and two of my siblings, but the other one – my oldest sister – knows about my atheism for certain, and we frequently talk about it. For the record, almost all of my relatives are Christians of one sort or another.

I have mentioned this in an earlier post, but it applies here as well, so I’ll repeat it – When my mother was alive, I was much more secretive about my atheism. She was a devoted Catholic, and was very concerned about the fate of both our souls if I did not follow the Catholic way. In the interest of making the latter years of her life as calm and peaceful as possible, I never told her about my lack of faith, and I was as evasive and deceptive as I could be when the issue came up.

Yep, I lied to my dying mother to make her final days more comfortable. Just another example of vile atheistic depravity.

I recognize how fortunate I am in that I have no worries about my lack of belief becoming a problem for my relationship with my family. The same cannot be said for many people who are atheists, unfortunately. Many atheist teens have been kicked out of their homes by believing parents, and in extreme cases, people have been disowned by their families because they don’t share their belief.

While this is certainly not the case for every believing family with nonbelieving members, it is a sad reality for many.

I have a new blog!

I’ve created a new blog in response to a very short-sighted comment that was made on a popular horror/drama TV show.

It’s called A Field Guide to Atheist Parasites, and you can have a look right here.

Check it out, and let me know what you think!

How did you spend your Saturday? (09/11/10)

Sundown Friday to sundown Saturday is the Jewish sabbath, and I’m afraid to say that I broke it quite a bit.  Last night, my partner A. and I watched Religilous, Bill Maher’s documentary on religious beliefs and how ridiculous they can be. To do so, I needed to turn on both a television and a DVD player, both of which are forbidden during the sabbath.

The movie was pretty good, but I kept wishing Maher would have asked some tougher questions.

Today, the family and I went to an outdoor festival in a nearby town, met with a lot of our theatre friends, and talked about painting some more sets, and bringing my kids to an upcoming audition for the Christmas show.

The sun has set now, which means no more sabbath, and all of the keystrokes I’m making right now are completely kosher.

You make have noticed that the blog has been lacking updates lately. That’s because I’m out of questions! I’ve covered so much in the last year and a half since I started this blog – even with my frequent absences – that I can’t really think of any other questions that believers have asked about nonbelievers.

But I’m certain there are more things to discuss. If you have any suggestions, please post them in comments, and I’ll answer them in future posts! Thanks!

How are you spending your Sunday? (09/05/10)

(Atheists have Sundays too, we just tend to sleep in. Almost every Sunday, I post about how I plan to spend – or just spent – my day.)

I’m writing this entry on a laptop that a friend donated to my oldest daughter, who just started high school last week.  It’s a gorgeous day outside, so I’m on the back porch now, taking advantage of the fresh air while I’m installing programs and setting passwords and such.

Thankfully Hurricane Earl, which was threatening to tear up the East Coast, left us with clear skies, cool breezes, and lower temperatures instead. Which means that I can finally get back to cutting the grass. That should make the neighbors happy.  A bit later this afternoon, the kids and I will head to the theatre for rehearsal of the new children’s play that we have parts in. Tonight, I have some work to do on a huge bag of peaches that we bought from the local orchard – some of them have started to get a bit soft, and I want to cut them up and freeze them for potential pies.

I was thinking about these Sunday posts the other day, and how they may come off as a little discriminatory. Not everyone celebrates Sunday as a holy day. All Jews and some Christians recognize Saturday (or sundown Friday to sundown Saturday) as their sabbath day, while for Muslims it’s Friday.

While I offer equal time in not recognizing either of these days as holy, I haven’t really been representing this in the blog. To correct this, I may start doing so from time to time.

So, don’t be surprised if you start seeing “How are you spending your Friday/Saturday?” posts in the future.