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There is NO evidence that a grand puppetmaster exists. There isn't an omniscient, supernatural being who watches our every move. We are not slaves to some overlord in some other dimension, being given rewards for good behavior or punishment for being bad. Hitchens is correct, it is absurd to think that some supernatural being can read our minds, police our thoughts, and then dole out punishments for those thoughts that are not to his liking.

I wouldn't be so disrespectful as to send this video to people first like many of the religious people I know are intentionally or unintentionally sending me religious stuff, but for every evangelizing and religious propaganda email I get, I feel like sending this video response in return. (Then would have to deal with their persecution complex afterwards from some who say I am being disrespectful, or that I am going to hell, or whatever they want to make up in frustration because I cannot believe as they do and sent them something with my point of view.)

There is no Big Brother in the sky

Since I have been a member of a certain semi-private social network website, I can’t tell you how many times I have read “please pray for . . . ” or “we will pray for you”, “we will keep you in our prayers”, etc. Just today someone posted that her little baby grandson is going to be having heart surgery on Friday and requested prayers. A good friend is awaiting a kidney transplant so that she will not die. She requests prayers. The list of comments that follow is quite long with extreme deity invoking that somehow makes my “you’re in my thoughts” seem insufficient. It would be terribly inappropriate for me to say what I want to say….if your god is willing to help you now, then why did he not prevent you from getting these diseases and problems in the first place?

I truly and genuinely care about my god-believing family and friends, and I want to offer support but I always feel that language fails me at such moments, and that I end up not really knowing what to say that sounds as concerned or caring as the magical incantations. There’s often a very fine line between appropriate and offensive which we must be careful of in people’s “time of need”. What we really want to say would be cruel when people are worried, sick and needing their god crutch.

So, what is an appropriate thing for the atheist to say? I try to direct my comments to the doctors and staff, that I am sure they will do all they can for the person who is ill. If a person is going through some sort of life crisis, financial or otherwise, all I can say is “I hope things work out” and that would be the honest truth. There is no way I could ever bring myself to be a hypocrite and write that they are in my prayers or whatever like everyone else.

What should an atheist offer instead of prayers?