Conversations With christians - Beth 4 - OMG WTF?

More from Beth today. It seems the "friendly" tone has diminished a bit, or maybe it's just my imagination, I'm not sure. At any rate, I must confess to some frustration. I am posting this in its entirety without a reply because I have a splitting all-day headache and can't muster proper answers.

Does anyone have any tips for how best to tackle this? Your ideas, suggestions and replies to the below email would be greatly appreciated. I'm really not a debater. So I am putting this out to you for your input.

I will never agree with you that I am "cherry picking" as I am not. In fact I was discussing it with another person of no faith and they even wondered how you drew such a conclusion. The Bible, as I stated in earlier messages, is nothing more then a compilation of documents put together by men. As we both concurred, the Holy Book is not without fault and was subject to being edited wrongly. Therefore I turn to history and science to determine what books are authentic and which are not. I do intend to look at what you suggested. I've honestly never come across it before. It will definetely be an asset to my research.

The Jesus Myth, as it is titled, is a contention that is absurd. I told you this is not a debate, however, so I won't go into details as to why unless you really want to. I am convinced this man existed. Thus far, according to what I have studied, nothing points to this Jew not being real. I have read many arguments, most insisting that the documents that refer to him are forgery, but I have yet to see any of those claims to be backed by facts. Now, I realize that you did not just decide there was no Jesus without reason, so please, I encourage you to link me to any sources you may have that refute his living.

A Happy, Frustrated Atheist

Hey everyone! First, let's catch up.

• Comments: Thanks for the great comments recently! I promise to reply to each of them but I am falling behind. I realized some of them really require a post devoted to them instead of just a reply. So please don't think I'm ignoring you. I will comment soon.


• Computers: It's true. Ask my poor long-suffering husband Butch, I am missing the Patience gene. My computer has been doing strange things since I reinstalled windows (which I do every 6 months to a year to keep things fresh and in working order, as every past geek friend of mine has recommended) and I found out through Lifehacker that Windows 7 beta is freely available for download. Well, of course I had to do it. I have waited as long as possible, but the ADD, Shiny-Loving Geek in me had to have it. I'm such a sucker for the shiny when it comes to geek stuff. (Luckily for Butch, I couldn't care less about diamonds and that kind of nonsense. Unfortunately though, I need gadgets and computers and stuff like that.) It's my kryptonite, I guess. So I just had to have windows 7, and now, of course, I'm having problems with the virtual memory. Sigh. So bear with me, it's taking me quite some time to try to figure out the issue and see if I can find a fix. On a completely unrelated note, I'm interviewing geeks to be my new BFF. Please apply within. :P

Ok, now, I want to talk to you briefly about happiness. Are you an atheist? Are you happy? This lingering idea keeps wandering around that all atheists are curmudgeonly, grumpy, miserable, fatalistic and depressed.

I've been an atheist for 9 years, and for many years before that I was basically an agnostic. I have to say, I think discarding religion was a huge relief. I think I felt better. Once I finally learned to think critically, I think I started really seeing rationally and really appreciating the natural wonders of the universe. If anything, this process has left me more happy, more fascinated by the world of science and discovery. I think I'm happier and calmer, yet always eager to learn and grow.

But I think I probably come across under certain circumstances as a furious cynic. Why would that be? Which is the real me? The happy atheist is who I think I'd identify with best. But my bullshit meter has become increasingly sensitive. So when someone says something that screams of ignorance and a total lack of thinking for oneself, I just tend to get irritated, frustrated and grumpy.

It seems that wherever I go I'm surrounded by sheeple people who let others think for them. They spew forth the rubbish and lies that had been told to them by people in some strange version of authority (whether that be their minister, the pope, the government, or a slick marketing campaign) and that's good enough for them. They wallow in their ignorance like it was some sort of universal remedy. Thinking is endangered and that pisses me off, and worries me.

Anyway, other than that, I'm quite a content person overall. Are you an atheist? Or a believer? Are you happy and content? Or are you angry and bitter and curmudgeonly? If you're happy, do you still get really angry over certain things? I look forward to your comments! Oh,and have a great evening! :D