Christians Are Arfraid of Atheists

I did an internet search to see if others had already begun atheist, rational or critical testimony, but all I can find are "ex-atheist" and other conversion testimonies. For some reason this congealed a thought that has been vaguely in my head for a long time: Christians are afraid of atheists. I suppose this should have been obvious, but it hadn't really occurred to me on such basic terms.

It would explain why they react so strongly to atheists. If testimony, faith and coercion are the only tools you have to attract people to and keep them in your religion, then someone using critical thinking to challenge your faith and beliefs must be terrifying.

Perhaps that is why testimony of atheists returning to religion seem to be so popular among Christians.

By the way, the closest thing I found to atheist / rational testimony in my searches so far is this video of Ricky Gervais. It is in the spirit of my rational testimony idea.

Testify!

I woke up in a rural / small city hotel after being suddenly diverted out of town for work, and then I headed downstairs for their free breakfast. In most of my travels I find Fox News on in the breakfast area, but this time it was the 700 Club on the telly. OMFG.

When I walked in there were a man and a woman praying over letters and telling people they were healed by Jesus...yeah, go back to the doctor, and they will tell you you're healed. Then there was a story about an orphaned child in Africa taken in by the ministry mission, and he caught the African "super virus" that was supposed to give a 10-day fever. But they prayed for him and the fever was gone in a day. Hallelujah.

Then they answered a letter from a young boy who was upset that his older sister no longer believed in god. They told him it's not his job to argue with her or pressure her (I'm glad for that much at least), but it was his job to periodically share with her how god helps him in his daily life. That is his testimony, they tell him.

Ah yes, testimony. As the only evidence presentable for the existence of god, testimony is a key element in spreading the word of god. When someone wants to convert you, they ask if they can give your their testimony. Christians give their testimony when speaking in front of a group.

But the way the 700 Club guy presented the instructions stuck a chord with me. The message of testimony is a personal, positive one. Hey, isn't that what I've been whining about in this blog? My failure to promote atheism in a positive manner? Haven't I been wondering how I can do so? Well, here it is: atheist/rational/critical testimony! Through testimony I can provide personal, positive messages about how my reliance on rational and critical thinking and the fruits of the scientific method help me in my daily life.

This is still in the idea phase, but I like it. Possible venues for my testimony include a Twitter account, a blog, and I am toying with the idea of a webcast, only I would want to be anonymous. Tricky, but not impossible. I don't think this blog is the place for such testimony as this is where we come to vent and mock. I need a new, pure, happy place to share my rational testimony.