FAQs from FANs, or Frequently Asked Questions from Freakin’ Awful Nutjobs:
This pretty much sums it up...
Are you an atheist? -Well, yeah!
Does that mean you don’t believe in ANYTHING? -Well, no!
What’s keeping you from doing bad things? -My momma and poppa raised me to love other people no matter what… I got some real good learnin’ from them.
I will expand on this later, but it is very rude to imply that I do not have morality because I am an atheist. I find this ironic for a few reasons: One, is that a supernatural being should NOT be the only reason you are kind to me. If that is true, then there are a couple of problems: The only thing keeping you from killing me or raping me is the fact that you believe in god or have a fear of going to hell. The second reason is: If you’re only nice to me because you want to get into heaven, then you’re being selfish in your kindness toward me. Either reason doesn’t look very good, and doesn’t feel very good to me!
I also happen to find that the very people who say I am immoral because I am an atheist are actually fairly immoral themselves. For instance, one gal who was VERY opposed to me told me about how she had cheated on her husband over and over. She asked me what I thought about that, and I mentioned that I’d never even cheated on a boyfriend, let alone a husband. Her response? “Well, I guess you’re a better person than me, but you’re still going to burn in hell.” She was a sweet heart, and not at all hypocritical.
Don’t you worry that nothing happens after you die? -No, not really, because I like to live my life to the fullest right now, while I’m alive. That gives me a pretty sweet life, and I’m not really too bummed there’s nothing coming after it.
How can you find beauty or meaning in the world without a god? -Well, the world and universe is full of immense beauty, and that is enough for me, I don’t need more. Meaning in the world and universe? I’m happy if there isn’t any, I don’t need to feel like I am here for some grand purpose or anything.
PS: If I can find beauty and meaning in MINNESOTA, then I feel like no one else has any excuses for not finding it where they live. 
Aren’t you sad you won’t see any of your loved ones EVER again. -No, because as stated, I live life to the fullest while I’m on this planet, so when we kick it, I’ll know that I have done every good and felt every kindness I possibly could have.
You know that you will burn in hell for those ideas, right? -Well, no. As I do not have a belief in heaven, it applies to my belief in hell also.
Are you a satanist? -No. I also do not believe in satan… Logic, people, logic!!!
Don’t you believe in ghosts/esp/other supernatural stuff? -No.
But why not? -Because it’s not real. It’s fun to watch silly TV shows or read ghost stories, and I do like that, but that doesn’t mean I think it’s real.
What about the power of prayer? -I once heard someone criticize a woman who was wiccan because she liked to do spells. I pointed out what a spell actually was: A person, using ritual, sending out their energy to a higher power, and requesting that higher power to look down on them and do something or acknowledge something. Sounds a lot like a prayer to me. And no, I don’t believe it ‘works’ no matter who does it or how.
You must be angry. -No, I’m actually quite happy every day, as a matter of fact, I get comments on it from others: “Why are you so happy every day?” or “Do you just roll out of bed happy, or what?”. Truthfully, yeah, I pretty much do! I think once you start really living your life each day, happiness is just bound to come next.
You answer my posts/emails/etc and what you say makes me mad. -Don’t send me posts/emails/etc then.
You’re too blunt in your answers. -I could spoon feed a childish, sweet answer to people, but I don’t have the patience for that. I previously had not been too fond of Madalyn Murray O’Hair, as I thought she was angry. The more I encounter other people who have hate in their hearts, the more I realize why she may have been a little pissed off…
Maybe you just don’t know enough about our lord and savior? -I probably know more than you do. I have read extensively, I’ve been to EVERY kind of church you can imagine, every denomination, I know them in and out. I have also had to go to church for work to support others in their beliefs. I have been exposed to religion very much, and even took my family to church at one point in my life.
You took people to church for your work? How did you do that? -The same way I do anything with them. If you think I love wrestling just because one of the people I support does, you’d be really mistaken, but when I’m supporting that person, it’s their life, and I do what they want and need.
Do you tell people at work what you think? -Because of the delicate nature of my position, no. I am there to support other people in their own lives, and to tell them what my personal beliefs are could lead to a bias for them which I do not want.
Does your family know you’re an atheist? -Some do, most have a good idea of it, some do not. I’m not about to give my grandfather a heart attack over it. He just found out there are black people in the world and some of them could become president, one more notion out of his comfort zone will push him over the edge.
So you’re a liberal? -No, I vote for basic human rights at all times, that’s all.
I think I just read that you do charity work? Why would an atheist do charity work? -Well, because most atheists are also humanists. We happen to care about humanity and making the world a better place. Think about it- if I don’t have anything happening after this life in this world, then I would be wise to do my best to make this life and this world a great place for everyone. And yes, I am very involved in charity and volunteer work to an exhausting point, but it’s something I really love doing. I also do a lot of work for religious organizations, though they do not know it’s an atheist sending them money or volunteering their time. That’s not the point.
Definitions:
Fundagelical: A fundamentalist evangelical. If you don’t know if you are one or not, you’re not.
Religionut: It’s a crazy religious person. I like it because it reminds me of astronaut, as if it’s a profession or something.
Want more FAQs from FANs??? I’ll write more as I get them, or think of them! Keep ‘em coming, you crazy FANs, you! I know there are a ton of christians that continuosly troll for atheist blogs, so the well will never run dry.
Thanks for checking out my blog!! If only most “religious people”were as kind and open-minded as you! I am so down on organized religion…I think it is one of the biggest problems we have today on this planet. Notice I said “religion” and not “spirituality”. Atheists are also spiritual in their own way (while you may not believe in God, you do believe in helping people, which is a big part of the spiritual picture which many religious people ignore). I have to chuckle when the self-righteous religious question how other people can be moral without religion – it is the funniest thing I’ve ever heard in the light of how so many of them behave!
HEY! Satanism is not about worshipping Satan it’s about worshipping yourself! The only reason us Atheists have to not believe in it is because they use magic to get some things done (bad AND good).
You should add one about why does God only speak directly to old men and did so only 2000 years ago.
Hi, just happened along here while exploring WordPresses (presses?) growing blogs. I’m not an atheist, but I do find it interesting to read about other people’s viewpoints, so I hung out and read for a while.
I wondered from the cartoon if you’ve felt like Christians have been thwacking you over the head with the cross, or a bible or whatever. I am really opposed to thwacking, in general!! I don’t know why Christians find it necessary to be belligerent about their beliefs, especially when it’s clear that someone holds very different beliefs. I have a couple of atheist friends who are lovely people and I can’t imagine that whopping them upside the head with my beliefs would be all that helpful. There’s enough sparring going on between my children that I get my daily quota in easily. (not that I enjoy it, mind you)
Really gorgeous party dress – and the rings are so cool. Hope you have a fabulous fall wedding!
I would say I don’t feel like they’re ‘hitting me over the head’. What I feel the cartoon illustrates:
Religious people say these awful nasty things, such as ‘you have no morals’, or ‘why should YOU be thankful for anything’, or ‘you must have an awful life’, or ‘you really need to educate yourself’. These are all things that have been said directly to me. I would say that if anyone said them in any other context, they would understand how rude these statements are, but they never stop back to think.
What happens is, when I say something like ‘Thanks for sharing your opinion, that’s part of why I’ll never be religious’, they get VERY offended and tell me I’m being rude.
So, the whole of it is, religious people can be as rude and nasty as they’d like to be, but as soon as we stand up for ourselves, even in a polite way, we are deemed the ‘rude’ person… I literally see it happen at least once a week, if not more. It is really confusing, because anytime you throw a statement back at them, such as ‘What if I said you don’t have anything to be thankful for? How would that make you feel?’ I have noticed that more than any other group I’ve ever encountered, NONE of them so far have had the skill to be able to say ‘Hey, you’re right, that’s a pretty mean thing to just spout off to someone I don’t even know.’ Not a single person. So to me, why is it that the majority of vocal religious people have zero empathy for their fellow humans? It just seems odd.
Hope that helped explain it. No cartoon should be that deep to anyone, really!
lol.
You’re totally right – it is rude, and it’s not helpful or loving. Very unlike the Christ many claim to follow. I would say that none had the conscience or the decency to admit that they’d been serious jerks. It makes me wonder, too – why WOULD people do that? Completely goes against my beliefs for sure. And makes me feel sad that folks are out there abusing people, calling themselves Christians. Oh well, people are messed up, you know?
You explained it perfectly. I think it would do a world of good for some people to hear/read what you wrote in response. People need to understand that it’s one thing to share what they believe . . . and it’s another thing to rudely, nastily jab someone with it!! ; )
Thanks, I’m glad I explained it okay!
The way I figure it, is yes, I can be a little snarky on here, because it’s my atheist blog, but it’s not like I go around hunting for people to be rude to. And I certainly wouldn’t say anything rude to anyone, on the internet or in person, it’s not for me to say! 
Unfortunately, the people who act like this won’t listen to reason, and won’t take a good look at themselves. I think that’s part of their major problem in the first place, it has nothing to do with their religious (or not) beliefs!
There are people like that of all faiths and non-faiths, so I guess it’s just something we all have to live with and know that we just need to react kindly to others.
Hey there… me again
I have a corollary to your “You know that you will burn in hell for those ideas, right?”, as excerpted from my response to FriendlyAtheist’s short-answer project:
“What if you’re wrong about God (and He does exist)?”
Then everyone who did believe in *and* everyone who didn’t believe in the particular god that does exist (and it’s not necessarily Yahweh) will be subject to the rules (if there are any) established by that god.
If it ends up that Yahweh exists, then I will be undeservedly punished for eternity.
If the actual god is one that values rationality and abhors blind faith, then I’ll be handsomely rewarded for passing the test of religion.
The god that does exist might not care at all what I did while alive, and he might not even have made us for everlasting life. We might still just die.
So what is your idea of “Good” & “Evil”?
Hey Camper:
Well, I think ‘evil’ for sure is a religious concept, I don’t consider much evil. (That doesn’t mean there aren’t people in the world doing the wrong things, unfortunately.)
Morality is always objective, but for the most part, I consider wrong that which hurts another. In basic day to day life, that is good enough to get by and live well. So I would say my ultimate definition of ‘good’ is not hurting other people.
‘Evil’ is much more difficult and takes a lot longer to explain. I don’t feel that people are born evil, or are naturally evil, or are even inclined to be evil. When people do wrong, I would say it is most likely due to an imbalance in the brain, and I do hope someday that can be treated.
One of the worst things is, no matter what philosophical or religious road you take, there will most likely always be people in the world doing things that are not ‘right’. There isn’t a whole lot of guarantee no matter what that people will treat others well or not. That is one of the main reasons I subscribe to atheism/humanism/existentialism, though: I only have this world, and so I must be good to others while I’m here, as it’s the only chance I have.
I found lots of interesting information on sunnyskeptic.wordpress.com. The post was professionally written and I feel like the author has extensive knowledge in the subject. sunnyskeptic.wordpress.com keep it that way.
I feel compelled to apologize for the ridiculous questions and reactions you’ve gotten from so many Christians to you and your blog. The internet gives way too many people who shouldn’t say anything a voice. I’m a fundagelical Christian, but it is clear to me that you’ve heard the gospel enough times and rejected it enough times to not need another self-righteous so-called Christian threatening you with Hell (not that I would otherwise). I love discussing morality and Christianity and atheism and philosophy in general but one can only take so much right? Anyway, thanks for the blog, its been insightful and helpful for my own understanding.
Peace,
Seth
Wow, thanks, I’m shocked! Much respect to you, thank you for visiting my blog.