Easter is an excellent day for mocking Christian beliefs. I'm not advocating the mockery of Christians, and I wouldn't even suggest that all their beliefs deserve mockery. I suspect that most Christians are what could be called "Christian in name only" because they do not actually believe much of the core Christian doctrine. They merely find it familiar and haven't bothered to question much of it. I save my mockery for the beliefs of those who do actually believe this nonsense, rejecting reason, science, and even common sense in pursuit of delusion.I realize that the claim that most so-called Christians do not believe the central dogma is controversial. It requires support, a task on which I and others in the atheist blogosphere are working (also see The Prime Directive). In a nutshell, our argument is that the majority of persons who identify as Christian do not live their lives as if they truly believed what they claim to believe. However, this claim is not my focus for this post. Rather, I'd like to focus on those few who do actually believe this garbage.
How narcissistic must one be to imagine an all-powerful god who cares for them? This whole business of souls, resurrection, and heaven is so obviously about wish-fulfillment and self-delusion that it should be mocked. And what of salvation, redemption, and forgiveness? Surely these notions are little more than a rationalization for flawed morality. These believers maintain beliefs which make them feel good without regard to whether such beliefs have any basis in reality.
The Easter story would be laughably absurd if it wasn't so familiar to those of us who were indoctrinated in it. These Christians, the true believers at least, worship a zombie. They think this zombie "loves" them based on some "personal relationship" they have with it. They even go so far as to consider this zombie their "savior." Evidently, the fear of death drives many people to madness.
These beliefs warrant mockery, and those who hold them elicit a mix of pity and disgust, depending on their tendency to turn their beliefs into laws which they seek to impose on others. That we atheists end up being those who are despised should actually be a source of pride because it means that we are a threat to this delusional worldview.
I'm tired of all the admonitions to respect the religious because of their religion. Believing something stupid, religiously based or otherwise, should not bring respect. Easter is a perfect occasion to ask, "Do you really believe that?"
