Part 2: Jesus

14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

This passage always sticks with me. It’s the fact that Jesus proclaims the reason for his ministry and it’s not about pseudo-spirituality. It’s not about people going to church on a specific day or saving souls from burning in hell. It’s not about saying the right stuff and adhering to a narrow list of dogmas and large list of doctrines. It’s not about being made to feel guilty if you don’t believe the ‘right’ stuff. It’s about helping and freeing the poor and the oppressed.
I’ve rejected the church and Christianity because, quite honestly, I can’t stand a lot of the people. The self-righteousness and arrogance that they’re right and anyone who doesn’t believe is wrong, makes me cringe. I reject many atheists too who arrogantly and smugly act like anyone who believes there is a god is a fool. On both sides I find these views distasteful.

But I’ve particularly walked away from the church because I can’t see how I would ever want to mix with most of the people who go. There are a small number of people who I love dearly, who are part of the church, but the majority I couldn’t care less if I never saw them again. The detachment from reality and ignorant views they hold has no connection to my life. Singing bland songs and listening to bland preaches do not appeal. The culture of church is bizarre because most people have no idea what it all means. It is alien and full of back stabbing and politics. Been there and tried it; don’t need to go near it again.

Jesus though, he’s a different story. I doubt his divinity and am very unsure about the resurrection, but this radical man sticks with me. He hated the pompous ceremony of religion and he despised the self-righteous behaviour of many leaders. He mixed with the people who didn’t have all the answers and were messed up and full of doubts. He befriended people with short fuses and would have no idea what it means to be PC. Basically, he mixed with the likes of you and me. He was brutally honest at times and he said some difficult things. He never apologised for the way he was though. This is me, take it or leave it and many people did just that.

Jesus will always be a significant hero of mine because he treated people as human and loved them just as they were. That’s the type of guy I want to be like. I may not believe he is alive and is the Almighty God, but I do find him a man with an almighty character.

Part 1: Why So Serious?

The American Atheists Alliance has created this billboard:


Now, I think they’ve missed the point a little bit. I can understand in America you’re dealing with very vocal Evangelicals and televangelists, so getting your voice heard over them all takes some effort. It seems though, that atheist movements are simply following the culture of many Christians though. A billboard at Christmas about Christmas being a myth seems pointless. It won’t convert anyone to atheism (and the advert does seem to want to convert), just as Christian posters won’t convert anyone.

It’s all so serious, when it doesn’t need to be. Obviously atheism has many nuances, just as other religions do. My own atheism (and yes, I am an atheist, regardless of how many people say I’m not) I feel can co-exist with religion quite easily. I don’t want to convert people to atheism and bang on about the evils of religion. I also think atheist movements are rather naive to think they will see a mass conversion to disbelief. People find spirituality comforting and interesting. Many people aren’t dedicated believers in god, but they will still be certain there is one. They look rather bewildered when I say I don’t believe there’s anything spiritual. “What, you don’t even believe in ghosts?”

I do not see belief in god as an issue. As with any community, group, movement, the concern is how society is impacted. It’s the churches which beat you over the head about how you’re going to hell, but fail to do anything to engage with their community that I have a problem with. Just as I have a problem with atheists who like to point out all the injustices of the past, but do nothing to help the less fortunate.

It appears to me that there are a growing number of atheists who are so caught up in proving they’re right, they forget a lot of people simply want to ‘be’. I don’t want to convince others about what I believe, I’m simply trying to be human. I’ve taken myself too seriously in the past and don’t need to do that anymore.

Ho Ho Ho

The season of good tidings and all that nonsense is upon us. I'm rather confused as to whether be excited about it or get a semi-automatic rifle and shoot down all the Christmas lights in the town centre. Don't get me wrong, the excessive spending, causing loan sharks to hover round people's homes; the gorging of food, causing millions of women to cry into their Xmas pudding that they're fat; the dodgy presents which, by now, we have mastered the pleasantly surprised look; the, please cut out my ear drums so I don't have to listen anymore, Christmas music. They all weave their magical wand over this time of year.

Christmas brings so much pressure to have fun and be happy. It causes families to force each other to sit in the same room for 8+ hours, when usually 8+ minutes would cause domestic disturbance reports. I wonder if there is a spike in violent crime on December 25th? If you fear for your own safety on Christmas Day, make sure you slip a valium into everyone's drink, so the day is nicely chilled out.

I don't hate Christmas, but I do find it hard to embrace it. It's a bit like New Year's Eve. When it hits midnight, some people seem to think their lives will magically change. It's a nice thought, but why bother holding out a whole year for things to change? Wishful thinking doesn't tend to have much of an effect on anything. It's like me staring at a picture of Natalie Portman and hoping I will get home one day to find her in lingerie on my bed. Again, there is pressure for January to suddenly be a really positive time of year, when it will be the opposite. Everyone's skint because they bought presents for some unappreciative sod; the weather injects as much positivity as watching Schindler's List and you didn't get that snog at midnight.

I'd say we should approach Christmas with cynicism, so when the day arrives we're pleasantly surprised. After all, if you think it's going to be dire, everything will be a bonus. And you'll actually be amused by the dodgy jumper someone got you and probably wear it on New Year's Eve; because it won't make any difference to your chances of a snog anyway.