Atheism Has a Very, Very Narrow Scope, by Definition

[MineralMan]

34. When my younger brother died in 2017,

there was no religious service, because he had no religious beliefs. We had an outdoor memorial service, which was attended by hundreds of people from that small town. He had been the Mayor for a while and was well-known and liked. Despite the non-religious nature of the memorial, his son took it there. He's a died-in-the wool fundamentalist, and his eulogy was much like a tent revival meeting. It did not go well. My parents were very annoyed at the eulogy, as were many of my brother's friends, etc. We all held our tongues, of course, because it was my brother's son.

The cause of my brother's death was related to his alcohol consumption, sadly. His son went there, too, exhorting the attendees to avoid alcohol completely. It was a sad, sad business, which ended with a long, long prayer beseeching God to forgive his father for his sinful life and so on. I had spoken earlier about my brother's life, focusing on his many friendships and the memories people who knew him would carry with them.

After the memorial service, many people came up to me to thank me for my words. Nobody talked to my brother's son. He stood alone after the service. I didn't ever say anything to him about the poor taste his eulogy demonstrated. A very sad business, all caused by too much religious zeal that got badly misplaced by his son. I was embarrassed for him, but angry at the same time for the tone he brought to a memorial service for my brother.