The worst moment for an atheist is when he is really thankful and has nobody to thank.
~Dante Gabriel Rossetti
I’m an atheist and this quote really pisses me off.
I’m going out on a huge limb by calling myself an atheist on the internet. I feel like a SWAT team is going to show up at my door to take my children away. Until I moved to Oregon, I lived in fear that the wrong person would find out my beliefs and freak out. I kept them hidden, still do actually, and I’m tired of it. So, with baby steps on the blog that not too many people read, I’m coming out of the closet.
I don’t believe in God (not at all, not even a little) and I’m shouting it out to the world.
Back to the quote that gave me a stomachache last night.
When I am really thankful, truly feeling loved and cared for, I like to think I go straight to the source to express my gratitude. Now, I’m not saying that I am appropriately thankful all the time. Not at all, some days I don’t thank people that I should and I often take things and people for granted. What I AM saying is that when I feel strongly, I share my feelings directly with the person responsible.
You see, I like to think that I (only me, no one else) am accountable for my own actions, my own feelings, and my own way of life. And, I believe the same of others. God doesn’t make you do nice things for me. You do nice things for me because YOU are a nice person and YOU care about others and YOU want the world to be a better place. If you want to thank God for giving you the power to be nice go right ahead but I’ll just thank YOU for your kindness.
I am “really thankful” every day. Every single day of my life wonderful things happen and I am grateful and thankful and full of gratitude. I thank Ty for loving me and making me feel special, I thank my boys for filling my days with laughter, I thank my parents for guiding me in my growing years, I thank my siblings for giving me a place to practice being a friend and I thank both Stace and Brad for being 2 of my bestest friends in the world. I thank my other special friends who have listened to me and laughed with me and given me great advice. I thank my in-laws for providing me a second home. I thank my teachers, my co-workers, my doctors, my children’s doctors. I thank the people who introduced me to Scrapbooking and continue to challenge my creativity everyday. I am grateful everyday for the wonderful life I have made for myself with the help of my family and my friends.
So, on this day of thanksgiving, I do not thank God for you. I thank you for you.
~Dante Gabriel Rossetti
I’m an atheist and this quote really pisses me off.
I’m going out on a huge limb by calling myself an atheist on the internet. I feel like a SWAT team is going to show up at my door to take my children away. Until I moved to Oregon, I lived in fear that the wrong person would find out my beliefs and freak out. I kept them hidden, still do actually, and I’m tired of it. So, with baby steps on the blog that not too many people read, I’m coming out of the closet.
I don’t believe in God (not at all, not even a little) and I’m shouting it out to the world.
Back to the quote that gave me a stomachache last night.
When I am really thankful, truly feeling loved and cared for, I like to think I go straight to the source to express my gratitude. Now, I’m not saying that I am appropriately thankful all the time. Not at all, some days I don’t thank people that I should and I often take things and people for granted. What I AM saying is that when I feel strongly, I share my feelings directly with the person responsible.
You see, I like to think that I (only me, no one else) am accountable for my own actions, my own feelings, and my own way of life. And, I believe the same of others. God doesn’t make you do nice things for me. You do nice things for me because YOU are a nice person and YOU care about others and YOU want the world to be a better place. If you want to thank God for giving you the power to be nice go right ahead but I’ll just thank YOU for your kindness.
I am “really thankful” every day. Every single day of my life wonderful things happen and I am grateful and thankful and full of gratitude. I thank Ty for loving me and making me feel special, I thank my boys for filling my days with laughter, I thank my parents for guiding me in my growing years, I thank my siblings for giving me a place to practice being a friend and I thank both Stace and Brad for being 2 of my bestest friends in the world. I thank my other special friends who have listened to me and laughed with me and given me great advice. I thank my in-laws for providing me a second home. I thank my teachers, my co-workers, my doctors, my children’s doctors. I thank the people who introduced me to Scrapbooking and continue to challenge my creativity everyday. I am grateful everyday for the wonderful life I have made for myself with the help of my family and my friends.
So, on this day of thanksgiving, I do not thank God for you. I thank you for you.
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very well written. I applaud you for your braveness, as I know it took courage for you to post this for anyone to read. I also like how although you don't believe in any sort of higher power, you also don't believe in belittling those who do, and that came through clearly. And just because I am a butthead, I'm going to say it. I thank God for creating you to be who are you, for giving you a heart full of love and for placing inside of you the desire to share that love with the world in the only way you know how. Just as you are thankful that I am me, that my spirituality has given me a foundation for love and hope, I am thankful that you are you, and that your search for what is true has built in you a strength of character and courage to face the world head on.
But I have to say, what I am most thankful for is the maturity that we each have to not judge or condemn the other based on belief systems. To accept and love the other for all that they are. To know and acknowledge the beliefs we each hold, to understand why we hold them, and then to realize that those beliefs are what make us who we are and to force those to change would be to strike at the very core of what holds us together.
So mostly, I am thankful that you are you and that we are we. Happy Thanksgiving, Corrie!
wendy said...
9:41 AM
You, my friend, are truly living the faith you proclaim. I can't say that for many.
I love you and I appreciate your words, you made me smile and feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Corrie said...
11:29 AM
On October 4,1999, my father committed suicide. This was the same day that I was informed by my fertility doctor that I was pregnant with my second child. I do not believe that this was a coincidence. I truly believe that this was God's way of helping me through the worst time of my life. The pregnancy gave me strength and a purpose. It did not allow me to be consumed with his death. This pregnancy could have happened sooner or later, but it didn't. God's timing was perfect. I named my son Jonathan which translates to "gift from God." Jonathan was truly a gift from God during the most difficult time of my life.
Do you know what the best part is about God? Even though you have turned your back on him, he won't do that to you. He is still watching over you, caring for you, and loving you. God bless you Corey!!
Anonymous said...
6:58 PM
It's Corrie. Make sure you are praying for the right person.
Corrie said...
8:56 AM
why do you use a capital letter in the word God? That makes it a proper noun - but yet you don't believe in Him?
Anonymous said...
10:59 AM
Who the hell are you people?
I do it out of respect, I respect the beliefs of others.
By the way, I also use capital letters when refering to Cinderella, Snow White, and Mickey Mouse.
Corrie said...
11:20 AM
WOW Corrie, I had no idea. I will say, I am surprised, shocked, confused... I knew that you had problems with the Catholic religion, but I always thought your problems were what I consider "man-made" rules, not with the entire existence of God. I have problems with some of the "man-made" rules too, but I do not consider that the core of my faith.
Some of what you said I completely agree with - I think people alone are responsible for their actions - good or bad. I think that we have a free will, and how we act and behave is purely a choice. I think when people act nicely to you, it's the person that you should be thanking - and like you, I also try to do this frequently. Like you, I don't think I should thank God for someone being nice.
However, there are other things that occur that no human is responsible for - and that is when I find myself thanking God. For example...
~ Alex living almost 9 years when we were told he may not make it through the first 24 hours.
~ Everyone in our family staying safe through a hurricane that cost over 1,000 lives.
~ Seeing Landon smiling and walking, when a year ago the most respected doctors were preparing her family for a baby who would need constant medical attention, if she even survived.
In addition, I need to beilieve in an afterlife - where I will be able to see Alex again, a place where he is living without all of the problems he had on earth.
I am not trying to sound judgmental, but I am just trying to understand how you have come to the realiziation that there is no God. You met your future husband on a retreat, you attended Catholic schools, and chose to teach in Catholic schools rather than a public school.
I hope to be able talk to you about this when you come home, so I can understand something that is beyond my current realm of comprehension.
I love you, Co - see you soon!
Anonymous said...
10:21 AM
I'm very thankful for your response, Traci. I love you too!
Corrie said...
3:52 PM