Wednesday, May 27, 2009

god is Too Tiny For My Tastes

I should probably bring this issue up more often with fundies: The various gods of the various fundies are universally too small for me to respect, much less worship. Cue many of them going on about omnipotence, dropping the word "infinite" several times, and an attempt to appeal to my selfishness instead of my morality. They don't seem to get it.

When someone can put aside their anger to seek a peaceful solution while an adversary continues to be aggressive, there's a reason we refer to that peacemaker as "the bigger man." People we regard as having moral fortitude are able to put the greater good of the community above his own, whether that means sacrificing wealth, opportunities, freedoms, or simply swallowing his pride. Many people out there find it easier to die than to be humble. I suspect that's one common reason why some people are willing to "die for their faith."

Worse, many people live their lives and die their deaths only for ethereal rewards. A suicide bomber who acts only for the carnal pleasures he expects after the explosion is hardly a role model: He's willing to inflict suffering on those he injures and onto the loved ones of those he kills for a reward. In my view, he's only a high-priced assassin. There are plenty of others who bring in more subtle forms of suffering for those same rewards, such as those who try to bully non-believers and other religions from living their lives openly and without fear. They often do this by imposing religion on the state, the organization that exists to protect everyone's rights. When the state openly displays such an arbitrary preference, it sends a message that there is no equal protection. It tells us that possible rivals can corrupt the system however they wish. It tells us there is no rule of law.

The gods of the fundies encourage this corruption. Their mighty deities tell them that they've been granted special exceptions and privileges for agreeing with their petty self-importance. That's the defining characteristic of a fundie god: They place their bloated ego above any sort of morality. Peaceful compromises with "the enemy" to reduce the suffering of the world are wrong because it places compassion and empathy above their collective hubris.

Invariably, the gods of the fundies have special torture chambers they enjoy imagining. They love to envision the suffering of "inferior" people when they allegedly find out they're going to pay for not stroking their god's ego. Their petty, small-minded god is incapable of seeing any purpose beyond his self-satisfaction. Sapient beings are only tools to that sort of being's ends. Such a god is too small to swallow his bloated pride.

The excuse fundies use to side with such a being: He's too powerful to oppose. Might Makes Right, and nothing is mightier than an almighty being. I find it hard to imagine an emptier outlook on life.

3 comments:

William said...

Amen brother.

Dunc said...

They're not "high-priced assassins" - they're dirt cheap. Nothing is cheaper than empty promises. Plus, proper assassins usually want at least half of the money up-front (unless Hollywood has been lying to me again).

Valhar2000 said...

Yeah, the cruelty, inmorality and blatant hypocrisy of these people always turns me off.