They Wouldn't Care
If We All Went To Hell
M. W. Hardgrove
From: "M.W. Hardgrove"
To: "Positive Atheism" <editor@positiveatheism.org>
Sent: February 13, 2002 11:56 AM
Dear Editor:
Thanks for the Positive Atheism site. I searched something that took me to your list of letters. I read how much offal was sent to you by those who claim to believe in the water-walking Jew. I found very little compassion in their epistles. Not surprised. A compassionate Christian is rarer than a one-armed juggler.
I'm a conditional Buddhist. I don't believe everything most Buddhists do, but that's what I like about Buddhism. Buddha said, "If it offends your reason, don't believe it." I live in the buckle of the Bible Belt, Oklahoma, and I try to deal with Christians with a sense of humor. After all, aren't they just grownup children who need a sky-daddy to make them feel significant, to make them feel secure, and to comfort them when death frightens the bejesus out of them? I try not to dwell on the insensitivity that Christianity writes in the Christian heart. I remember reading of a man who was hanged in England long ago. He tongue-lashed those attending his demise and called them a bunch of hypocrites. He said that if he, even a villain like himself, believed that someone he didn't know was going to burn in hell forever if they didn't believe in Jesus that he, the villain, would crawl across a desert of broken glass to get to that man or woman. I could walk up in front of any congregation of Christians in the world and put a cigarette out in my hand and they would all jump to their feet in alarm and rush to keep me from hurting myself further, but none of them really give a fuck if anyone in their town goes to hell. It's all a sham. No one really believes in that crap.
An opinion,
M. W. Hardgrove
From: "Positive Atheism Magazine" <editor@positiveatheism.org>
To: "M.W. Hardgrove"
Date: February 14, 2002 1:12 AM
Regardless of what I think of the beliefs that they hold within the privacy of their own thoughts, I must assume that they have valid reasons for believing the way they do. It's only when their behavior impairs my quality of life that I will respond. Even then, I limit my response to their behavior. Though I can and do sometimes conclude that it's the religion that makes them this way, that it's the religion that makes the difference between them being nice people and them being bigoted, I nevertheless cannot and will not tell them what to do. I will not pretend to have the answers for their life. I will only ever respond in the context of their behavior and how it impairs my quality of life. And if they leave me alone, I have nothing to say!
Cliff Walker
Positive Atheism Magazine
Six years of service to
people with no reason to believe
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