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Conversation with a Theist: God vs Zeus

Just now, sitting in a grocery store deli, woman reads my Magellan t-shirt ("The Church says the Earth is flat but I know it is round for I have seen the shadow on the moon, and I have more faith in a shadow than in the Church"). The woman strikes me as submissive, mousey, dependent.

Woman: "Well, I have faith in god."

Me: "And some have faith in Zeus."

Woman: "That's their right."

Me: "No, that's their faith, no less strong than yours. Why don't you believe in Zeus?"

Woman: "Well, ummm, I don't know about Zeus..."

Me: "So Zeus is not the god you were raised to believe?"

Woman: "I wasn't raised in any faith. God found me later."

Me: "And how do you know it was God who found you and not Zeus, or a delusion?"

Woman: "I just know. Inside. I have faith. God spoke to me, not Zeus."

Me: "So what about the person who has faith that Zeus speaks to them and your god is a delusion? How do we prove which one of you is right and which one of you is deluded?"

Woman: "Well, I just know."

Me: "So does the person who believes in Zeus. They also 'just know.' So I guess we'll never know which of you is really talking to God or Zeus and which one of you is deluded, eh?"

Woman: "I guess."

-_-

Tags: Conversion, again, born, zeus

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Comment by Jo Jerome on June 13, 2010 at 12:57pm: Read "Kissing Hank's Ass" some time ago. Fantastic essay!

Reason Triumphs: Hadn't really considered specifically wearing an anti-religion shirt out to Sunday lunch. Might have to make that a new routine. Wonder if it will be a good way to pick up Atheist guys?

Comment by M. B. Keene on June 3, 2010 at 12:18am: These passive types are the only ones who can seem to psych me out, only because I reach a point where I'm left speechless by just how powerless they are. They're like domesticated cats stuck in a jungle.

Comment by DanDare on June 2, 2010 at 3:08am: (He quotes the bible saying the bible is the word of God) ... So if I write something and write that it's the word of God you have to believe me, right?"

You want to watch Kissing Hanks Ass

Comment by Reason Triumphs on June 2, 2010 at 2:52am: I have that shirt too, I'm pretty sure I got it from EvolveFish several years ago. I enjoy wearing it to Sunday lunch out to see the looks from the after church crowd.

Comment by Jo Jerome on June 1, 2010 at 10:43pm: Michelle - Your son sounds awesome.

And interestingly, I ran into another uber-Xian today who was very "Well I'm just right." I kept trying to challenge him on the "How do you know?" angle. "You say the Q'uran and Book of Mormon are made up; so how do you know the Bible isn't? ... (He quotes the bible saying the bible is the word of God) ... So if I write something and write that it's the word of God you have to believe me, right?"

It went back and forth like this for about an hour. Scary how utterly incapable some people are of basic critical thinking.

Comment by Jo Jerome on June 1, 2010 at 10:39pm: Thanks John!

Got it at EvolveFish, though at the moment I'm not seeing the t-shirt, just the poster. Same design though. It gets a lot of confusion out of Theists.

Comment by Michelle on May 31, 2010 at 11:29pm: My son gets a bit annoyed (we are big comic book/show fans) and says god isn't a name so he would have had your back just on that score. He doesn't really let people wriggle out of that. Her response is just so passive. I would rather have someone just say they are right and now mealy mouth around about it, but passive is not part of my aggressive nature. If we're choosing gods me and my house usually go with Thor. Dude is cool.