Congrats to my atheist friend

Last night I was procrastinating which took the form of me on facebook chatting. I don't usually do this because it takes up a lot of time and I usually end up talking to people who I probably will never actually see again. But time had to die so I ended up chatting with the president of the SSA and she came out of the theist closet this weekend in regards to her parents. I suppose until then they thought she was just a slack christian.

It could have gone better for the poor gal. Her mom starting crying followed by arguing with her daughter about how God must exist because the flowers and cats of the world are so lovely (I suppose the idea that evolution can't create beauty...). But that was tame compared to her dad asking her how could she be atheist and then yelling about how atheists had no morals and just did whatever they wanted. Afterwords, they calmed down and watched Fox news. I'm not joking, she told me they watch it religiously, that's just the type of family she comes from, ultra christian and ultra conservative. I listened (I suppose I actually "read") her story and then commented back that though it was tough on her, I was proud of her.

That's probably the first time I ever said I was proud of someone. Usually I keep my pride for myself. But that was an immense fear she met and dealt with, I feel like she deserved any and all recognition. It wasn't odd to me that I praised her on her admission to being an atheist though. While I may prefer her to be christian (not much preference though to be honest), overall I really prefer her to be what she says she is. Truth is what she upheld though it was hard for her. That's admirable since I get the feeling sometimes that there are a lot of christians who just go through the motions and don't believe a word of it. So why do they do it? Fear.

Being atheist means being ostracized by the theist world in most cases. Or being befriended only to be challenged. Some just don't want to deal with it (especially from their loved ones) so they just say they're theists. That's not honest though, that's dodging the repercussions of your beliefs. True she started an atheist organization and became president of it before she even admitted it to her parents, but at least she did do it. I also think it's healthy for her to see that not all christians see such a thing as bad but rather as freeing and good.

We are all trying to figure out what's true in the world and if any religion has any weight but none of us truly know. That's why faith and belief are emphasized so much. So that makes it so important to certainly question, but above all respect, the beliefs of others. Because we are all really guessing here.