Imagine you heard a lecture on a topic, let’s say gravity. What amount of utter hatred would you suppose you’d have to build up inside about gravity and its entailments to write hate mail to the lecturer? A little nutty, right? Yet, something similar has happened to me with regard to this blog. I got an Atheist hate mail resulting from a post on the Contingency Argument for God. I don’t get these often but this one struck me extremely odd.
I decide to ask friends and acquaintances how commonplace this was for them to receive hate mail from Atheists. Roughly half of the people I polled had also received similar hate mail. How does one deal with such mail? From my own experience that was confirmed almost unanimously by all those who had received such mail, it was clear the one option that was off the table immediately was responding directly to the individual. In fact, the content of the response would be largely irrelevant in itself.
Here’s the way I decided to deal with it – by writing a blog post and demonstrating the seething hatred and utter disregard for rationality on the part of this Atheist. There are many reasons why I opted for this option, one was to demonstrate the public perception of Atheists as bastions of unemotional rationality is not as widespread as one may think. To be respectful of this individual, though it’s arguable whether they deserve it, I’m going to avoid mentioning any names. Suffice it to say that this is likely the biggest benefit skeptics will have when dealing with Christians – it’s far more likely to receive unmerited grace (it lies at the heart of our belief system) from a Christian than anyone else they may insult.
Now then, let’s get to this Atheist hate mail. This is the message I received verbatim:
“Youre only sore because when others tell you not to impose your misguided bullshit onto them that also means you cant share your *truth* WHAT IS TRUE FOR ONE IS NOT TRUE FOR ANOTHER and it would be best if your religion would die out or maybe if you would die out because christians are the bane of a healthy society. All Abrahamics are. Go play in traffic. Loser.”
I’ve left in all the grammatical and spelling mistakes to demonstrate a point. I realize that not all atheists are this inept at communicating a point. However, this sort of drivel is quickly becoming way too common to ignore. Unfortunately, from my experience, anti-theists are on the rise, and this is but one of many similar loving messages I’ve received in the past. My main intention here is to demonstrate the sheer irony of an atheist riding a high horse on a saddle of absolute nonsense and hate. Let’s take this bit by bit.
“Youre only sore because when others tell you not to impose your misguided bullshit onto them that also means you cant share your *truth*”
I’m not sure what to make of this. Keep in mind that the article which prompted this message was the argument for God from contingency, which is a very non-personal, non-confrontational, and somewhat abstract. For a person to take offense to that on such a personal level is quite odd. It’s one thing to object to an argument with reasons to the contrary. It’s an entirely different thing to launch into such a tirade. I know it’s popular these days to speak of imposing beliefs on people but do people really impose beliefs? People certainly share beliefs with one another during normal civil conversations but no one forces another to embrace their beliefs. As far as the label of “misguided” goes, whether or not some claim is misguided requires the opposer to provide reasons why it is so. A just so claim is like blowing smoke in the wind. We continue.
“WHAT IS TRUE FOR ONE IS NOT TRUE FOR ANOTHER”
How sensible is this really? If this were the basis of any argument, one could easily repel reality in favor of one’s own preferences. ‘Yes doctor, I know you are the fifth doctor to tell me I have cancer, but that’s just your truth!’ How ridiculous! I’ve written extensively about truth as that which corresponds to reality. I won’t belabor the point here. It should be immediately obvious to any thinking person that one cannot have one’s own truth. There are certainly subjective truths that correspond to the internal world of each individual. But we also share an objective external world, and that world cannot be limited to everyone’s own truth.
One additional amusing fact is that based on the statement itself, the person making the statement cannot reality argue against any view since, on their own view, truth is relative to each individual. Consider the irony of the argument attempting to besmirch a view by claiming that all views are relative to the individual. Self-defeating assinine fatuity!
“it would be best if your religion would die out or maybe if you would die out because christians are the bane of a healthy society”
Contrary to the popular ignorant cultural morass of today, Christianity has been a force for good throughout its history. It’s been responsible for the first hospitals, universities, orphanages, etc. The Christian ethics of love, grace, and justice are the very bedrock of a moral society where people flourish. Ironically, the Atheistic quandary of moral relativism has allowed and even prescribed such horrendous evils as genocides and mass murders; in the 20th century alone, the Atheistic worldview (and its entailments) has been responsible for the deaths of over 100 million people. See WWII for reference. Again, the irony is quite intriguing.
“Go play in traffic. Loser.”
If the previous few ridiculous sentences did not compel you to reflect on the level of hatred and anger this person has in her heart, I certainly hope this one does. Consider that for this person, it would be best if people who disagreed with their own views would be better to be dead. So much for tolerance. So much for coexistence. So much for mutual respect regardless of differences in our views and opinions.
In the end, we make our own beds, pave our own destinations. While I feel a bit sorry for this individual and their compulsion to write this Atheist hate mail, I must confess a level of exasperation and anger as well. No human being should have to go through life with so much ignorance and such contempt in his/her heart.
If not for my exasperation, I would not respond to this Atheist hate mail. Parading and touting a strawman in the streets may be a temporary psychological victory for the mind of the radical skeptic but the truth is hurling at breakneck speeds toward the prideful arrogance and will prove one day to be an enormous shock. Pride, after all, does come before the fall.
