I just completed another full year circle, Facebook as usual, notified my FB friends, not a bad thing , but on my facebook page, there is a very bold info that states that I AM AN ATHEIST, btw, if you are on my Facebook page as a friend or subscriber and you do not know that I am PROUDLY BISEXUAL, PROUDLY FEMINIST AND PROUDLY ATHEIST, wtf are you doing on my page?
Anyway, why do people feel the need to send me birthday greetings and prayers in the name of their God, even when they know I do not share their belief in a Sky daddy? This is simply rude!
Now, imagine you are a religious person, let’s say a Christian, and you have it on your facebook info and other social networks that you are a Christian and you also regularly make posts on your wall about how Jesus is your only Lord and Saviour, how every other god is fake because your scriptures says all other ‘Gods’ are deaf, dumb , blind and you should not worship these carved idol images, then your birthday comes up, and some ‘well meaning’ friends posts the message below on your facebook wall:
“Happy birthday dear friend, May Sango be your strength, Ogun will protect you and your family, Oya shall bless you, Osun will nurture your children, enjoy your special day in the name of Amadioha.”
Would you feel angry and/or disrespected? Would you just smile and say thanks or would you scream “Hey, do not bring your idolatry onto my page and certainly not into my life, fuck off idol worshiper!”
Well, that is exactly what I actually would love to say to those who, knowing that I am an atheist, still insist on sending me birthday prayers in the name of Jesus, Allah, Mohammed or whatever God(s) and prophets they worship. However, I didn’t say fuck off but said “Thanks” and decided to write this blog post, with the hope that this won’t happen again!
Yes, your prayers are meaningless to me, but when you insist on praying for me, YOU DISRESPECT ME. You just confirm that you are a religious bigot who wants to force your beliefs and unsolicited prayers down my throat. The fact is, such people simply confirm just how bad religion is and how it could turn a perfectly nice person into a thoughtless Zombie! You might be a well meaning person, but forcing your beliefs and prayers on me is rude and certainly not well meaning!
Society always advocate tolerance of religion and culture, as long as you are not tolerating anything that harms another, respect and tolerance is the key word. BTW, if you hold funny beliefs, do not expect people not to laugh at your belief, this is not intolerance or disrespect; funny things including funny beliefs automatically generate laughter from the discerning!
Now, listen to me, I am an Atheist, I am a human being with rights to Freedom FROM Religion, I deserve to have my Atheism respected by everyone including the Pope! Respecting my non belief does not mean you cannot bring forth logical , evidence based arguments against atheism, it only means you cannot force feed me your religious doctrines and certainly should not insist on praying for me.
If you invited a Muslim for dinner, it would be unethical to offer pork and alcohol to your guest. It would be considered religious and cultural disrespect to extend a handshake to a Muslim woman or an Orthodox Jew of the opposite sex, it would be bad ethics to wear your shoes into the house of a Hindu, it would be considered disrespectful if you entered a church an
d started pouring libation to your ancestral gods, now is it so difficult to understand that IT IS RUDE TO SEND AN ATHEIST A BIRTHDAY PRAYER? Or do you think that Atheists do not deserve to have their non belief respected?
As an Atheist, there are many things I am already angry about, with justified reasons too, what with religious people insisting on teaching the Creationist story of Adam, Eve and the talking snake as fact in public schools, religious fanatics itching to behead gays, stone women who commit adultery to death because their precious holy books say so and religious zealots influencing laws and state policies to fit with their religious beliefs…gawd, I got so many bullshits to put up with from religion and its shitty practitioners that I certainly do not need someone adding “forcibly praying for me”, to the unending lists of stupid and infuriating things religious people do to me!”.
So here are my birthday wishes and a lesson or two in ethics:
- Do not send me a birthday prayer in the name of whatever god or deity you believe in
- Do not send me prayer greetings
- Do not offer to pray for me
- Do not tell me what your God(s) have in store for me
- Do not send me a bible or any other religious books as presents
However, for a birthday present, you can deposit a huge sum of money into a Swiss bank account in my name, send the code to me and tell me GOD DID IT… I promise not to be angry!
BTW,this video was made two years ago and this post written last year. Good news is, this message got through to many on my Facebook. This year, the birthday greetings are pouring in but only very few mentioned a Skydaddy and almost no prayers, at least so far! This is great and Thanks!
Happy Birthday, Yemmi! May you have so many more as you desire, nor more nor less, and may each be more prosperous, happy, and love-filled than the last.
Also, hey, fellow-August-baby! My 47th was a few days ago too. 🙂
@CaitieCat -- Thanks a lot and a belated Happy Birthday to you too! 🙂
Well hey, happy birthday then!
There is a whole lot of this sort of disrespect, imagined as respect despite being told otherwise. Religious greetings poking at the irreligious for days of celebration or other events, for the sick or dying, or simply for “saving souls”. They always know what’s best for you. That mindset does extend beyond religion, but perhaps in a less coherent way. Some people like doing unrequested and unwelcome “favors” for others, they like to cajole people into going to social functions in which they are uninterested, and insist on making a deal out of, e.g., birthdays, when the person with the birthday doesn’t like birthday celebrations or doesn’t want any attention called to themselves.
What is it with violating other people’s autonomy or wishes that is OK?
F [is for failure to emerge]-
Nothing. It is not OK at all, unfortunately many are yet to get this important memo.
Happy belated birthday, Yemmi.
Sorry for misspelling your name. I noticed it just as I hit “submit comment”.
^////^;
…and on a post about people being rude too.
@Jackie: The COLOSSAL TOWERING VAGINA! -- Thanks! 🙂
Happy belated birthday, Yemisi! I promise never to pray for you unless I have a schizophrenic break from reality and become convinced that a nice lady like you could somehow be endangered from me not praying for you. That’s unlikely to happen, so, otherwise, the promise stands.
In my family, all non-christians get Bibles for Christmas. I like Christmas, but I would also like Unicornmas to be added to the list of non-work holidays. Also, because it’s Christmas, we must turn our looks of chagrin into painful smiles and say, “Thank you,” and not tell them that we will be giving said Bibles away as soon as possible to the next unsuspecting fool, like the library.
Happy belated birthday.
Hoped you enjoyed your day.
The code is in the mail. LOL
U all are bunch of fools psalm 10
@Cocobutter You are obviously out of place here, Take yourself to a place where common sense is not needed, I am sure you will be more at home there. Bye. 🙂
@Yemisi Ilesanmi Christians respecting your atheism doesn’t allow you to ridicule us, we do have common sense like everyone else, we’ve come to it cause we wonder about our origins. By the way, saying God doesn’t exist is not common sense, is not rational, it’s already some sort of faith. And also, people saying I’ll pray for you aren’t cursing you and you aren’t allowed to tell them to f**k off, and if you refuse prayers, they won’t tell you anymore, but they’ll pray anyway ; they won’t care about what you think if you’re full of hatred, and they will be right.
@Selliauoip -- Asking bigoted believers not to force their beliefs down my throat is not about ridicule, it is about ethics and common sense. When bigoted believers like you insist on praying for atheists, especially on special occasions like Birthdays, it is not about goodwill, it is your bigotry shining through.
Also, it sounds like you do not understand the meaning of atheism. No, i do not think when believers pray for me, they are cursing me. Curses are as useless as prayers; they are wishes believers want Santa Claus or an imaginary man with horns to grant.
Grow up, this isn’t Disney land. BTW, you are free to live in your imaginary world, just don’t force others to acknowledge, interact or worship your imaginary friends and skydaddy. If you think this is too much to ask, constitute ridicule or hate, you need to grow a brain.
@Yemisi Ilesanmi Listen, you have to stop being so scornful, “bigoted believers like you”, “it is your bigotry shining through”, how dare you say, have you met me, do you know my life, what I’ve been through to be Christian today? And a bigot is not someone who simply says ‘I will pray for you’.I don’t think you’ve ever met me, that’s why I may ask you not to talk about me because you don’t know anything about me. “you do not understand the meaning of atheism”: come on, I’ve been an atheist for 20 years, I sure know what it means. I may even understand it better than most atheists, because I’ve seen it from both points of view. And also “Curses are useless as prayers” and “imaginary world, imaginary friends”, that’s what you think, starting from the idea of a purely material world without spirits, but you have no proofs. I know you will tell me ‘you can’t prove that God exists’, but you can’t either prove that God does not exist. And don’t think religious people are stupid and intolerant, some of them are, but not all. It was my decision to become a Christian, everybody in my family is atheist, I’ve never been to church before 18, and I can’t let you say my brain disappeared when I made that decision, I bet you didn’t say that to any Christian you know, because it’s insulting. I respect your belief, respect mine and the one of others, if you don’t want people praying for you, tell them gently, but it’s not a reason to be aggressive. And don’t ask me to grow up, I grew up myself, I don’t receive orders from someone who attacks others for no reason. Atheists are not martyrs, at least not in the Western world. Best regards, hope you’ll understand.
Selliauoip- Grow up, your crocodile tears are pathetic. You came to my space to tell me you and your Christian brethren have every right to pray of me even if i explicitly said no. You affirmed that telling believers like you not to pray for me makes me a hateful person. I called you out on your bigotry, which was and is still shining through all your ignorant, bigoted comments and you play the victim card.
You think asking a religious believer not to pray for me is aggressive. lol! You should research what religious fanatics subjected Atheists to for centuries, and you might begin to understand the meaning of persecution.
If your idea of proving that you have common sense is to come on my space and insist you have the right to pray for atheists even when they’ve told you not to, you actually are doing a poor job of it. You obviously lack common sense and ethics. In addition, your sense of entitlement and bigotry is not helping your misguided cause.
Now dry your crocodile tears and listen up. Believers who force their beliefs down people’s throats are not the victims; they are the oppressors. Atheists do not need your prayers; we just want you to stop forcing your God down our throats.
You’re finding your life here and are going to lose it forever! But whoever loses their life for Jesus name sake will find it!! For what does it profit a man if he gain the world and lose his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
Set your mind on things that are above, not on things on earth.
The fool has said in his heart ‘there is no God.’
this post is so disrespectful. i understand not wanting to be prayed for etc. but as an atheist myself i still find this so disrespectful to all religions. saying “skydaddy” is mocking all religions beileving in a god. and your saying to respect your atheism. it doesnt make sense. also i am bisexual and genderfluid so you cant say “its because theyre homophobic” also if some of them were that doesnt give you a right to disrespect a whole religion