There was a terrible crash involving a church bus full of kids heading to Disney

[NightWatcher]

The local news posted the story and the post was followed by dozens of "thoughts and prayers" comments. I so very badly want to ask " Prayers to whom, the all powerful god who let it happen? And if it was his will, why are you complaining to him? He's a busy god, a 7 year old was killed here in a driveby just the other day".

I know I'm becoming an even more militant asshole atheist, but I'm trying to be nicer (maybe). At least I posted my snarky response here and not there.

Do any of y'all struggle with trying to not be the world's biggest jerk? I try not to act like I'm better than any of them, but don't you find yourself thinking you're better than someone who professes to worship the Tooth Fairy or some other made up entity?

Trying not to be an asshole, but losing the battle.

[BigmanPigman]

1. A few days ago I was thinking that in the future,

maybe a few thousand more years, people will look back at our society and all the human societies that have believed in god or gods and think how ridiculous people were to believe such harmful BS when science and its proven facts were often ignored. Of course we may not be here at all in a few thousand years if we don't adapt and control of our climate and environment soon. But that is God's will and Science is BS.

[defacto7]

2. I don't struggle with feeling better than anyone.

I do feel fortunate to not have the fear so many of them seem to have. I do have a problem with being labled by believers as someone who thinks I'm better than they are but that's their doing for whatever reason, I can't change the mind of someone who finds it necessary to make such a thing up.

It's unfortunate that people still hold on to fiction as truth but that has been going on since the beginning of humanity. I'm human and so are they. We all share the same history as beings. A person either moves on or they don't... or can't for personal reasons.

[trotsky]

3. Believers are allowed to give credit to their god for anything - and we are not allowed to question.

Meanwhile, we can't even ask why their god stood back and did nothing when misfortune occurred. Or why it chose to save the family bible from the tornado that destroyed their home, but allowed someone to be killed just down the block.

Fuck that noise.

[Ron Obvious]

4. The ones that get me

Are the ones where God is credited with a single survivor (usually a child) when an entire building/airplane/whatever full of people die of fire/earthquake/whatever.

How can the believers not see the obvious problem in such cases?

[lindysalsagal]

10. "The one wall still standing had the cross on it. It was a sign." Meanwhile, people died, towns flat

flattened. But those weren't signs of anything.

"God saved the cross!" But murdered innocent people.

[Cartoonist]

5. I try to reign it in

It doesn't take much for me to go off on religious stupidity. The thoughts and prayers thing is a waste of time to say anything, so I let it go.

[FiveGoodMen]

6. Yup.

"I don't promise to keep you from harm, but if enough of you beg me, then maybe..."

Idiotic to worship that!

[Farmer-Rick]

7. I recently lost both my mother and wife

and went looking for a grief group. I called the VA and went to a bunch of atheist websites but in the heart of the bible belt there was nothing closer than 100 mile drive away. So, I went to one of the groups in a local church.

The woman who led it the first week, was very nice and didn't push the religious crap. The next weekly session some arrogant, god talking, pushy man led the group. He is the type of person I would let loose on. He is just so arrogant and so so stupid. And we suddenly all had to pray and crap, though of course I didn't. If he does that hand holding prayer crap, I am never ever going back.

So, his fucked up god killed off both my wife and mother and I'm suppose to turn to this deity to console me? Well, give me back my loved ones then I'll believe in your god. Why is this all powerful god going to give me comfort when it is the one that caused all the pain by killing off my family member? These people really don't think through their logic. You can't blame god for the bad things but only give it credit for the good things. And once it's done a whole lot of bad to you, you are suppose to turn to it for relief of mourning.

And Yes I do think I'm a whole lot smarter than god pushers. The ones I feel sorry for are the other people in the group with me. They are suffering and turning to this imaginary fairy being that's never going to help them. My heart goes out to them, but that god pusher, he's the one I'm going to be an asshole to. And feel good about it too.

[lindysalsagal]

11. Can I offer my condolences? I hope time will allow the pain to soften, gradually.

You've had a very rough time, especially if you were on bedside, hospital duty. You had to contend with our for-profit medical labyrinth, as well. Sorry for that!

[OriginalGeek]

8. The struggle is real.

My wife (who is not an atheist but not very religious) will gently remind me to not be so harsh on occasion. It usually works.

But yeah, there are religious people whom I absolutely love and respect. And there are some whom I do not.

[rurallib]

9. The things that really bother me are the very preventable tragedies

like the gun violence or some religious nut letting their kid die rather than get treatment.
Sometimes when I am at home and hear a story like that on the radio I just scream, especially when someone comes on and asks for prayer.

Prayer??? Fix the fucking problem!

Fortunately, I haven't been pushed into a position where I am expected to do some religious act. But I am getting old enough that I don't worry as much as I used to about hurting feelings.

The wife's sister and family are pretty religious. When her mother died I thought we would be kind of cornered, but we got lucky.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

12. I'm still a newly awakened atheist...

So I guess it's easier to hold back. But with all the bad going on with no answer from prayers, there are people coming to realize.

[Iggo]

13. "Do any of y'all struggle with trying to not be the world's biggest jerk?"

Hardly ever.

If they're letting it fly, so do I.

No struggle at all.

[RussBLib]

15. maybe we should respond "there" like you did "here"

No doubt it will generate some animosity, but if a couple of them stop to think, maybe it would be worth it.

[Generic Brad]

16. Your post title made me think you were telling a joke that might go like this:

There was a terrible crash involving a church bus of kids heading to Disney. They all died and found themselves queued up in a seemingly never ending line outside of the pearly gates. The kids began to get bored and one of them whined, "We're never gonna get into heaven. This is taking an eternity." To which a nun replied, "If you think this is takes an eternity, just be glad you didn't wind up in line for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride."