*If you are an atheist, but do not mock Christians then this letter is not directed at you. I do hope, though, you will read it too.
Last night I was on Twitter when I came across a gentleman with an obvious affection for sarcasm. Naturally I was drawn to read more as I too am fluent in that language, but as I perused his tweets I was reminded how sarcasm can be used as a cruel mockery of people who are different from yourself. Indeed as I read along I was taken aback by his blatant and unnecessary ridicule of Christianity in his numerous, 140 character-long sneers. At least every fourth or fifth tweet was a jab at Christianity, and I wondered why?
And the thing is I see this a lot. A lot more lately. It’s pretty common on social media to see those who do not believe in God poking fun of those who do, but I typically stay quiet on the issue. I allow their comments to slide as I know arguing with a stranger on Facebook won’t usually end with me offering the plan of salvation to an open heart. Plus on the flip side my heart hurts when I see fellow brothers and sisters in Christ attacking nonbelievers in an air of judgement with a snide remark of “hope you like it hot.”
But I suppose a tender heart breaking for humanity can only take so much pain, and a warrior for God’s kingdom can only remain complacently silent for a time. With the vast array of emotions within me I felt the need to put it down, and here is what I would say.
Dear Atheist Brother,
I suppose you noticed the brother part, right? Well, I address you as such because that’s honestly how I see you, and although you don’t believe that God is our Father, I do. Just because you don’t acknowledge our family tie does not mean it doesn’t exist for me. So in my belief of Christianity, and the fact that I believe you to be my brother, I have a special love for you in my heart. Because my Father loves you, I love you also.
But I want to explain that love a bit. It’s not a flowery, emotional love that I have for you. In fact realistically it would be near impossible for me to have a love for someone who ridicules me, and I cannot honestly tell you it’s similar to how I love my spouse, my aunt, or my best friend. It’s not the same, and loving you is harder, but because I try to see you as Jesus sees you I can ascribe that your life has worth. As a creation of God I love you, even if you don’t believe in such a foreign kind of love. And though you may not believe me, that you may in fact think I’m just using words I’ve been taught to say in my Christian faith, I can tell you this. I have never been more sincere in my life. I love you.
I suppose that’s what makes it so hard when you mock me, when you ridicule me, or when you hurl your cruel insults upon my family name. Because of that I have to make myself love you all over again, but I do it because He loved you first.
I feel so many emotions when you laugh at something I hold so dear, and one of the first thoughts I have is always to question why it is necessary for you to pour out your scorn on me. I mean, if you don’t believe in God then why do you keep talking about Him? Why do you take up so much energy to make fun of me that I do believe? Why are you so concerned with what you call my “imaginary god” from a “fairy tale book” that you wish to point out to me how false you think my beliefs are?! Are you that concerned for your fellow man that you need me to see things your way? If so you’re going about it all wrong.
Now I realize you could flip the script on me there. We as Christians are often vocal about your non-belief, and many will work diligently to have you see eternity from their point of view. You do realize that Christians feel this urge to witness to you because they believe in eternal life and they believe that you must accept Jesus’ gift of death for your sins to live eternally with Him? That’s why they’re driven, but I’m confused as to why you are. Why do you mock my belief in God when you believe in nothing? What purpose does that serve other than to be cruel and simply make a mockery of my belief system?
Aside from my confusion I honestly feel anger. To take something that you know I feel so strongly about and call it a farce is beyond offensive. To me my Lord is everything. He is more important than my spouse, my children, my home, my job, or even my own life; so to call this fictional offends me on a level you cannot imagine.
I am sorry if at any point someone bearing the title of Christian has ever treated you poorly, offended you, judged you in a condescending manner, or made you feel less. We know it’s not our place to be a judge, and we know we are to always respond in love, but that doesn’t always happen. You see, Christianity isn’t a magic pill that suddenly makes a person practically perfect in every way. Rather it’s a lifestyle where one desires to do better, to be better, and I’m sorry if someone treated you other than how they should have.
Regardless I am consistently upset by arrows of condescension from you and your friends insisting to tell me how ridiculous and delusional I am for believing in God. Sometimes it seems like people can worship anything freely nowadays, be it celebrities, their pets, or themselves, but try to worship according to the Bible and you are a freak of nature. Well, I’ll happily continue my Jesus freak walk all the way to eternity. I just wish I could do it without your brutal commentary along the way.
But do you know what’s worse than my shock, or even my anger? It’s the feeling I have in my body when I read your words. A lump in my throat follows this ache in my chest that becomes a pit in my stomach. It’s the feeling of heartache, and my heart breaks when I read your comments. My heart breaks for you because I still love you. Despite your tauntings I love you anyway, and though you don’t believe in eternal life like I do, I still believe in it for you. Though you mock my God, He is your God also.
I can recall a time when I had nothing to believe in. I remember an emptiness in my life that I tried to fill in so many ways, but they always fell flat. You think I fear a fictional character, but the fact is that because of Him I have no fear. I don’t fear your ridicule, and I do not fear death. Rather I have a hope that burns like a fire within me making each day a better one.
Your words hurt me because I’m human and susceptible to those inherent emotions, but thankfully my feelings are not what rules my life. And while I do feel good, in fact I feel great, it’s something far exceeding that that governs my life. This peace that I have in Jesus tells me that though I will be persecuted for my Christian life that my strength will remain in Him.
So though your words hurt me they do not break me; they only break my heart for you.
Lovingly Yours,
Your Sister
carol says
Kudos
Nothing further needed
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you. I needed that.
Stephanie says
Same here!
shane says
Absolutely love this…… love love love it
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you!
Jillena horner says
That is incredibly well put. Well done. It’s said without any harshness to non believers and in a scholarly and true believer fashion. May God bless your message and carry it to others.
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you so much. I really appreciate that. That’s exactly how I wanted it to come across.
meltedflowers amy garren says
I agree . Love this post awesome
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you.
Georgana Jones says
Brie, thank you for this! As you know, I have been pushed to my breaking point. I, too, am confused as to why we as Christians are a mockery to Non Believers. After all, they will inevitably be the ones who pay the price. I feel sympathy and anger toward them..and I love them. I firmly believe they spend so much time denouncing God because they feel that tiny knock at the door of their heart. He has not forgotten them. It’s that small amount of guilt they feel every time they deny him. You said everything I feel.
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you Georgana.
Brandy wine says
Very well written. As an atheist I will respond. I, also love you too. I also consider you my sister. Why? Not because of your God being our father but because planet earth is our mother. When we love each other and care for each other we also care for her. Let me say that I apologize if any of my fellow ‘non-believers’ have offended you or ridiculed you or mocked your belief that you hold dear. Even though I do not understand your passion and am very turned off by it, I try to never hurt someone by hurting what they love and hold dear to their hearts. I know it is very hard for you to understand my love for you without faith and that’s what hurts me. Sometimes I feel ridiculed by you that because I have no faith that I am a bad person or do bad things or I am not capable of feeling love for my fellow man. if I want you to understand one thing about me and my friends it’s that we are all not like the people that have hidden behind their computer and mocked you, we don’t hate you, we love you, not because we have to, but because we believe that this life is all we have and to fill it with hate is to waste it. To spend our short lives hurting others is to have lived poorly. Contributing to others as well as the earth itself it to have purpose. To teach my children to give and to have empathy for others is how I can be happy with this life regardless of how short it is or if that is all I am ever given. I want to make sure it means something. So thank you for your letter and kind words, and I hope you accept my words as a reminder that regardless of our faith and what we each think happens after this life.. While we are still alive we are are on the same team. A team that’s goal in life is to care for each other and try to make this world a better place for the future generations.
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you so much for commenting. I truly enjoyed your words and I’m glad you shared them. I agree; let’s make this world a better place my friend.
XaurreauX says
Well said, Brandy wine!
Amy says
This is beautiful
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you.
Rebekah says
This was very well written, and expressed so eloquently exactly what I have tried to voice myself and not succeeded as well as you have. Thank you.
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you so much. I really appreciate that.
Darren Gould says
Your letter says it all so perfectly and much more kind than I could have put it.
I have a brother who is a militant atheist. And by “brother” I mean he’s my older brother, flesh and blood. He is a spitting image of whom you describe in your letter. He is obsessed with poking fun at all religion. He will even quote the Bible to poke fun at it. He doesn’t read the Bible, he will just pass on what others have said about it. I find it very difficult to be around him or talk to him. I think about him everyday and when I do, I cringe. I worry about his soul. I worry about how much hatred he holds onto. Vulgarity spews out of his mouth every time he speaks. He doesn’t know what it means to have respect or self control. It’s like the world is his playground to make a mockery of. Like he knows all and the rest of the world is completely ignorant (Romans 1:18-32). I want so badly to say something, but I just don’t know what to say. I think maybe that is because I know that I need to work on myself and my walk with Christ. I feel inadequate for the task. I feel overwhelmed. I am not ashamed of the Gospel, but I know that I need courage and wisdom to say what needs to be said.
Thank you for your letter.
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you so much for commenting and sharing this with me. I pray God will give you wisdom and courage for how to proceed, and also a great compassion and love for your brother during such a difficult situation. All things are possible through Christ who gives us strength.
Daniel says
Hi Brieann
I wouldn’t call myself a Christian, though I was raised that way and went to church as a weekly standard of worship for about 2 two years with my Nan and Mother which are both lovely people, my nan steadfast in her belief and unshakeable, has always had a strong impression on me and my ideas of stoicism and spiritual integrity. I just want to let you know that I also have experienced being mocked for my “weird” and “overbearing” beliefs and just really want to say that if they are being CRUEL; forget them, they really don’t matter. I was pushed out of a group of people I thought were my friends, hard political leftists and anarchists I used to smoke Cannabis with as a much more impressionable youth (at the time!), so basically I find myself drawn to other free spirits, but it’s also beyond me why they mentally punish people who believe..Maybe they are just cruel narcissists? I’m pretty much done with ARGUING about god, I think it doesn’t matter as long as people are happy and not hurting one another?
Thanks and I wish you well and to have STRONG integrity 🙂
– Daniel
Hamilton says
Thank you, my sister. My heart has been troubled by this very same thing lately. I have withheld responding to the venomous replies of when I share the beautiful gospel and love of Christ, but it has become more and more heartbreaking to do read this things. I admit, I have begun to feel alone and discouraged. Thank you for these words. May God bless you and keep you. Merry Christmas!!
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you.
nkw30 says
This is a beautiful statement. One I’ve been hoping to find for a long time, as I couldn’t form the words myself as well as you have. God bless and thank you greatly for writing it.
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you so much.
rickster says
Thank you for speaking up for our faith. 2 peter 3:3 In the last days scoffers will come mocking. JESUS kept silent when scoffed and mocked,we are to do the same, Matt. 16:24 Take up your cross and follow me.Luke 10:27 Love the LORD first and your neighbor as yourself.
Chris says
You fail to understand why atheists have to spend time talking about god and religion, well let me try and enlighten you.
Major groups within the various Abrahamic faiths (Christianity,Judaisim,Islam) are constantly trying to enforce their beliefs on everyone else, among other unpleasant activities including
forcing creationism into science classes,
deny women access to medical care,
deny rights to the LGBTQ community,
promoting domestic violence and abuse
Denying women the right to divorce
Denying women many basic human rights
supporting faith based vigilante and Kangeroo court systems operating outside the law
covering up and enabling the wholesale rape and torture of children
Denying children access to medical care and allowing them to die of easily treatable diseases
Involving themselves in civil government in breech of their tax exemption.
Wholesale mutilation of children
Preaching hate, bigotry and violence
This is just a small sample, but I believe it is more than enough to justify the criticism of the groups involved, particularly when they claim they are motivated by love and have the cheek to preach about morality, if this is love it is a bizarre way of expressing it.
Garrett Buchanan says
Dear Christian Sister,
I too call you kin, dear sister, for even though I dont believe in your god or his son, I know that we are indeed genetically related and are truly family to eachother and every other living thing on this earth. So I have learned in my many years studying evolutionary biology.
Yes, I am an atheist. Yes, I openly mock your religion. I do so for reasons similar to why your fellow christians so fervently proselytize to me and those like me. Those who have either lost their faith or never had any to begin with. I wish to free you from the shackles of false promise and false comfort which have kept you and your fellow christians(as well as our brothers and sisters who are followers of other religions) as slaves. To those like myself, we who left faith behind and embraced reason and rationalism, that is all religion is. A dangerous belief system which is devisive, holds belief without evidence as thw highest virtue(for what better way to get people to believe a lie, than to tell them that they need no evidence and that those who seek it are the greatest fools!). Every religion has this same basic tenet… You must have faith!
Mormons, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and Christians all have equal faith that theirs is the one true word of god, that all others are so much in the wrong, never realizing that it is this blind faith itself which is their greatest enemy. The wool pulled over their eyes to blind them and bibd them in fear of hell and in hopes of a shining paradise as long as they OBEY this god and the men whompreach his holy word. (Many of my fellow atheists refer to this as the eternal carrot and stick.)
It is not you, dear sister, who we mock. It is the lie you so hold so dear. That lie we see as an insult to the human spirit. The lie that you are broken by default and must be saved. That you are unworthy of an absentee fathers love unless you obey his every command, like a victim of stockholm syndrome your fellow believers defend this vile doctrine that the atheist sees as our mutual enemy.
I was a christian myself for fifteen years. I believed in the word of the bible and that I was a sinner in need of redemption. I believed that I was washed clean in the blood of proxy sacrifice… what I see now as a blood ritual which takes away personal accountability for ones actions… and I believed that I was saved. Then I lost my faith, slowly over many years, through doing research into where the bible came from, what the reality of our species origin(its not dirt and a rib breathed to life by a mystical sky wizard), the stories plagiarized from sumerian, babylonian, and canaanite myth, the history of egypt(jews were never slaves there), the reality of the life of Jesus(not a single contemporary scholar wrote a word about him… the earliest mention is decades after his death… the most commonly mentioned today, that of Jocephus, is a known forgery), and oh so very much more which leaves no doubt in my mind that it is all a fiction purpose built to turn a freethinking human being into a slave to an ancient barbaric doctrine.
Please understand, no matter how much you preach and proselytize, and tell us about the love of your god and his and his son/self…. we know far too much about where this lie was born to ever believe it. The most sure way to become an atheist is this:
Read your bible cover to cover. Take off the rose colored glasses and really analyze what you are reading. As a wise man once said “the road to atheism is littered with well read bibles.”
Some of my fellow atheists are consumed with rage at being fed a lie their entire lives. At seeing those they love consumed by this lie so obvious to the atheist. At being told that humans are broken by default and must be saved. At being told that because we are not religious we are immoral and doomed to eternal torture solely for not believing what the vast majority of those we know believe. You christians(at least in America) outnumber us 7 to 1. We see the book we know to be a lie forced upon our children by christian teachers, friends, and relatives. We see our politicians tout this book to garner votes in elections we see the slogan “in god we trust” illegally added to the currency we buy our food and clothing with. We hear “one nation under god” (added against our constitutional law) at every sporting event and in every classroom across our nation. (For an idea of how this feels, imagine if it said “in Allah we trust” or “one nation under Vishnu”). We see those of us who just wish to marry whome they love fighting for the right to get married, in what is constitutionally meant to be a secular governed nation, because an ancient book says an imaginary sky wizard will be angered if two people who have the same genetals get married.
That is why we mock, that is why we refuse to stand by and let the lie you have been so indoctrinated in slip by unopposed. It is not you who we consider our enemy, it is not you we mock… it is the lie itself that we wish to show you the truth of. We wish to end the mental slavery and stand together with you, our brothers and sisters… not brothers and sisters in christ but our brothers and sisters in humanity… at the dawning of a new age. An age of true liberty and intellectual freedom. Love and kindness for the sake of love and kindness not for fear of divine punishment or divine reward.
Thank you Dear Sister, and whomever else took the time to read all this.
My Name is Garrett Buchanan. I am an atheist. I am a humanist. I am a lover of life and all those who share this earth with me, regardless of their religious beliefs, sexual orientation, color, or creed.
And perhaps most importantly of all, I am a human being.
Benjamin Boes says
To believe in God is essentially the same as believing in Santa. Of COURSE the idea is mocked!
Brianna LaPoint says
Most that make jabs at christians were raised christian. I am content with who i am and what i believe but there are times when i want to tell christians to go away and leave others alone. The other day I was visiting my Mom ans some rude christian was having a conversation about her beliefs with someone else right in my ear. Needless to say i told the rude woman not every one was christian and i think if someone wants to make stabs at christianity that is their choice and WHINING about it wont change them. You have to not let it bother you, or play the victim as you are now. Namaste
Ranger Ginger says
Whilst your post is well written and I am sure that you truly believe all that you have written, when I read it I see you doing exactly the same thing that you have accused this gentleman of! However, you have done it in a “passive aggressive” manner! I am not trying to be negative, but just reflect on your words and how they affected me! For instance you stated “You do realize that Christians feel this urge to witness to you because they believe in eternal life and they believe that you must accept Jesus’ gift of death for your sins to live eternally with Him?” This says to me 1) your point of view is not correct, 2) So you believe in eternal life and you want to impose your interpretation of that in relation to mine! This is your presumption and not mine nor other atheists and says to me as I am aware of the dogma of Christianity, “You do know that if you don’t believe you will go to hell, but that’s OK with me because regardless of how good a person you are or how many good works and things that you do you are not going to enjoy that everlasting life! Really, if you don’t think like me I know that you are going to Hell and you know I think that is OK because Jesus says it is OK for you to suffer for all eternity.” Now that is very passive aggressive and also that it is very cruel, because you think that just because we do no think the same as you and this allows you to have no problem with the fact that your God is going to torture us and you agree with him! Is that not arrogant? I get very angry and sick in the heart that Christians think that 5 billion people are worthy of this torture and that you are OK with it! You also say “Despite your tauntings I love you anyway, and though you don’t believe in eternal life like I do, I still believe in it for you. Though you mock my God, He is your God also.” Once again this is extremely arrogant, you tell us that we are wrong in our thinking, that we are not like you and that even though we have sought out information and found it wanting that you want to think for us and then partronisingly tell me that he is my God also! You mock our intelligence, you mock our research skills, you mock our critical thinking skills, you mock our ability to come to our own decisions! You impose your thoughts and religion on us and you patronise us thinking that we cannot come to the same thinking as you! You also said “Your words hurt me because I’m human and susceptible to those inherent emotions, but thankfully my feelings are not what rules my life. And while I do feel good, in fact I feel great, it’s something far exceeding that that governs my life. This peace that I have in Jesus tells me that though I will be persecuted for my Christian life that my strength will remain in Him.” Your words, thoughts hurt me and every atheist because you think that all we are worthy of is Hell and you are OK with that, you are OK that we will suffer for the rest of what you believe will be the way the future is! How nice of you to do that for me? However, as you say “my feelings are not what rules my life” and I understand that you think that you will be persecuted for being a Christian, however please give a thought to people who have only in recent times felt the ability to come out and say “I don’t think like you”. Think of the kids who have been chucked out of home because they don’t believe, those who have to hide that they don’t believe from their employer for fear of not providing for their family, from their congregation and yes I mean the priest, preachers and pastors, those who hide their non-belief from their families because they don’t want to loose them! If they admit to their lack of belief live can be hell on earth never mind the afterlife that you believe in! I am really sorry that you have feelings of persecution about your participating in your faith, maybe you could use this to self reflect on how you make others feel by saying what you have above. Aggressive commentary can come in a passive voice! So maybe before you choose to believe for us you will allow us to have the ability to come to our own conclusions. To give a final thought on the above “I still believe in it for you… He is your God also.” I will say “I still will not believe for you. He is not your god also! I find this statement of yours in particular very mocking, churlish and insulting! Maybe this post will give you some insight into how an atheist thinks and feels about your words! Sorry, another final thought, did you ever think that an “angry” atheist maybe suffering from loss? That they may have lost family, friends, the certainty that dogma can bring and that they are finding a new way to live their life, or a job. Grieving is also about losing a way of life and maybe they are in the “angry” stage of the grief process! So instead of mocking, judging etc maybe some understanding would be good to think about and reflect on! Most “angry” atheists that I have met are new to non-belief in a general sense and are not aiming this at you personally, but at the world in general. The rest of us that have been through this process for a while try and help them to adjust, just remember it is not always about you either and that it is not persecution it is just someone who does not think like you!
Jason Lohner says
as a ‘anti-theist’, I will reply as well.
Most of us don’t really care what you believe, and if christians would leave it at that, atheists / anti theists wouldn’t care. The problem is that much of the christian community won’t.
Christians are constantly forcing their beliefs on others. When science can’t be taught in the class room because of someones religious beliefs, there is a problem. When minority groups are treated like second class citizens and stigmatized, there is a problem. When two people who love each other are called ‘evil’ and refused service, there is a problem. We don’t hate you personally, but the belief system that leads people to act like this.
I can’t count the number of times I have been told that I ‘worship satan’, or that I ‘really know’ that god exists and that I just ‘hate god’. How about those christians that constantly quote ‘a fool says in their heart that there is no god’… and then walks around smugly as if they actually made a logical point. I’ve had christians tell me with glee that they hope I burn in eternal torture forever.
You were offended? well last time I checked, offending people because of what they believe was perfectly legal. I am constantly insulted by christians… get over it
Ed.W says
Funny she didn’t reply. I too disagree in many respects with what she said, and disagree that it was particularly ‘well-written’, for the whole thing about a confusion as to why her faith is criticised is just a basic google search rather than an essay. To her directly, if she sees this: so you get offended when somebody calls your ‘deepest belief’ fictional? Why should anyone care if you get offended, when what they are doing is honestly telling you their thoughts? You shouldn’t get offended- they are being honest and sincere. To me it is clear you have a cognitive dissonance, and it is so ingrained in your mind that you cannot think of life without it. Challenge your faith by trying to support it with actual evidence, because without evidence, you really shouldn’t believe in it at all. You could suspect it, as I suspect aliens exist, but I don’t believe they exist for there is no evidence. And I certainly do not revolve my entire life around it and make it so important in my life as to make it a priority over everything else. But that’s what religion wants you to do, doesn’t it. Think about it. Your religion is closer correlated to your location and family status than the actual truth.
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
I really shouldn’t, but I’ll bite, ok? When I say “mock” that’s exactly what I’m referring to. I’m referring to people who aren’t “honest and sincere” as you say, but rather condescending and cruel. If my belief that some consider so ridiculous is simply make-believe then why should it even matter? If it’s so silly then why feel the desire to use your intelligence and spiffy use of big words to make fun of or criticize someone? I too have a talent for using my words, but I do my best never to use them as weapons. Because of my Christian Faith I don’t wish to say hurtful things to someone who thinks differently than myself.
This will be my only comment on the subject at all from this point. I have read and approved every single comment, but didn’t counter back because an argument won’t help anything. Those who oppose you speak the loudest and that’s fine with me. I will still speak in love because that’s how I am. I love you Ed. Have a great day brother. And that’s all I have to say about that.