My Voice Matters, Too

The true believer may conjure in his mind all sorts of excuses, projections, and rationale with which to assuage his own inner concerns as to why any person would willingly choose to leave a particular faith that so many have come to embrace as eternal and abiding truth, and although in many cases it would be correct to apply such justifications, such generalizations are generally misguided and cannot address the core questions as to the veracity of any religious or supernatural claims, nor do they address the very personal nature of heresy.

It is generally the support system i.e. peers, family, etc. that keeps many of the faithful in line. That is the most basic form of social control. It is only the most intellectually and emotionally courageous who are willing to risk it all and leave the relative comfort of the world they know for the other world they want to discover. Maybe it was a pretty girl that opened his soul to the possibility. So what? People of faith interact with beautiful people all the time and sometimes even on an intimate level and don’t leave their entire religion because of a sexual encounter. How weak is your belief system that a mere roll in the hay can brush it aside? Sexual desire is not an adequate reason to leave a religion; there has to be something much deeper going on. The purpose of any evangelical, were he worth his weight in Bibles, would be to find out what exactly it is that drives some people away. Yet, too few really do that.

The internet affords one an open line of communication and a rare opportunity to get to know the inner workings of those who have already left that faith. I know that the religious faithful wonder aloud amongst themselves and talk about us, though usually in a jocular or condescending manner, but seldom does anyone from the religious world talk to us as equals. I feel sometimes like the elderly person in the nursing home, listening in on a conversation regarding his care, and hearing himself being referred to in the third-person while standing right in front of the participants.

Heretics and apostates are not mentally ill or emotionally stunted. Most of us, no matter what faith we were raised into or what stimulus caused us to rebel against the training of our youth, make our decisions to stay or leave based upon normal, every-day human concerns. It is accurate to say that our personalities do not take kindly to random and mindless conformity, and our ability to think ideas through and recognize truths and falsehoods that emanate from that conformity, does engender a social handicap of sorts. Many of us hold a natural dislike for the common, provincial mindset. We are likely to be at odds with any number of cultural or national trends. That makes us no less human, however. Every religion began with someone doing something radical and unpopular.

It is also assumed by the flock of the faithful that their leaders possess some kind of ‘gift’ for understanding the world, people, and God. This ‘gift’ takes many forms and is considered both the ‘voice of experience’ or ‘divine spirit’. Either way, the spiritual leader is somehow endowed with the schooling and a miraculous form of grace to become infallible and all-knowing in the eyes of his followers. Some even call themselves ‘doctors’. If these evangelical leaders are, in fact, spiritual doctors, then it behooves them to listen to their patients and not treat them offhandedly. It is a classic case of ‘god-complex’. Literally.

We heretics are not your enemies either. We are not out to destroy religion or to stop others from believing or worshipping as they choose, as long as that faith doesn’t demand the eradication or oppression of those with differing viewpoints. I bear no hopes of ever changing anyone’s mind. I do not believe that believers are any less human than I or any less devoted to the things any person would love and enjoy. I have no interest in converting anyone to or convincing anyone to accept the tenets of Naturalism or Atheism. I do, however, take a very personal interest in communicating my own perspective, and not have my side of the story told for me by others who don't know me at all. My voice matters.

If evangelicals believe that the endeavor to bring this heretic back into the ranks of the holy faithful is an Act of Kindness; then they must manifest that effort in a kind manner, and drop the deflection, condescension, and superiority complex that widens that divide. It’s not doing them one bit of good. In return, I will do my best to treat them with the same deference and respect that both their religious faith and my naturalistic ethics demand we bestow upon other human beings, regardless of belief.