My father, who isn't really christian himself, but knows I'm atheist likes to send me christian spam all the time. He wants to get a rise out of me and for the most part I ignore him. You know the spam I'm talking about; the stuff that retells some story about a christian being moved by god and changing someones life, yada yada. These are almost always urban legends with little substance and my father is a smart man who knows this, but nevertheless feels the need to send it along anyway.

Well I took the bait on this most recent one and thought I would post the email here..

(I apologize in advance for the terrible formatting, the original was in 24 pt and was all over the place. I'm sure you've seen these types of emails)  

From: XXXXXXXXTo: XXXXXXXXX; XXXXXXXXXSent: Tuesday, July 17, 2007 4:50 PMSubject: Breakfast - Food for Thought
 Breakfast at McDonald's
 

            This is a good story and is true, please read it all the way through until the end! (After the story, there are some very interesting facts!):

             
            I am a mother of three (ages 14, 12, 3) and have recently completed my college degree. The last class I had to take was Sociology. The teacher was absolutely inspiring with the qualities that I wish every human being had been graced with.

             
            Her last project of the term was called, "Smile." The class was asked to go out and smile at three people and document their reactions.

             
            I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway. So, I thought this would be a piece of cake, literally.

             
            Soon after we were assigned the project, my husband, youngest son, and I went out to McDonald's one crisp March morning. It was just our way of sharing special playtime with our son. We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away, and then even my husband did.

             
            I did not move an inch... an overwhelming feeling of panic welled up inside of me as I turned to see why they had moved.

             
            As I turned around I smelled a horrible "dirty body" smell, and there standing behind me were two! poor homeless men. As I looked down at the short gentleman, close to me, he was "smiling". His beautiful sky blue eyes were full of God's Light as he searched for acceptance.

             
            He said, "Good day" as he counted the few coins he had been clutching.

             
            The second man fumbled with his hands as he stood behind his friend. I realized the second man was mentally challenged and the blue-eyed gentleman was his salvation.

             
            I held my tears as I stood there with them.
            The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted.

             
            He said, "Coffee is all Miss" because that was all they could afford. (If they wanted to sit in the restaurant and warm up, they had to buy something. He just wanted to be warm).

             
            Then I really felt it - the compulsion was so great I almost reached out and embraced the little man with the blue eyes. That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging my every action.

             
            I smiled and asked the young lady behind the counter to give me two more breakfast meals on a separate tray.

             
            I then walked around the corner to the table that the men had chosen as a resting s pot. I put the tray on the table and laid my hand on the blue-eyed gentleman's cold hand.

             
            He looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, "Thank you."

             
            I leaned over, began to pat his hand and said, "I did not do this for you. God is here working through me to give you hope."

             
            I started to cry as I walked away to join my husband and son. When I sat down my husband smiled at me and said, "That is why God gave you to me, Honey, to give me hope."

             
            We held hands for a moment and at that time, we knew that only because of the Grace that we had been given were we able to give. We are not church goers, but we are believers.

             
            That day showed me the pure Light of God's sweet love.

             
            I returned to college, on the last evening of class, with this story in hand.

             
            I turned in "my project" and the instructor read it.

             
            Then she looked up at me and said, "Can I share this?"

             
            I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class.

             
            She began to read and that is when I knew that we as human beings and being part of God share this need to heal people and to be healed.

             
            In my own way I had touched the people at McDonald's, my husband, son, instructor, and every soul that shared the classroom on the last night I spent as a college student.

             
            I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn: UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE.

             
            Much love and compassion is sent to each and every person who may read this and learn how to LOVE PEOPLE AND USE THINGS - NOT LOVE THINGS AND USE PEOPLE.

             
            There is an Angel sent to watch over you.

             
            An Angel wrote: Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.

             
            To handle yourself, use your head. To handle others, use your heart. God Gives every bird it's food, but He does not throw it into its nest.


  

----- My Response: 

 

I find this little anecdote appalling. To think that someone would go out of their way to help a fellow human being, and when the recipient thanked her she said, "I didn't do this for you...God made me do it." She may as well have spat in his food! It was as if to say, "I wouldn't think of helping you out normally because you smell bad and are beneath me. But because I have the means and because I imagine that an invisible man who lives in the clouds is watching and judging my actions would like me to spend my hard earned money on your breakfast, I am compelled to do so out of a need to please him." This person, whom I have no doubt is a kind and moral person would not think to help out a fellow human being of their own accord unless somehow driven by an invisible ghost to do so? Of course not. She gives her imaginary friend too much credit and it is what makes christian attitudes like this so reviled by humanists everywhere.  The christian described in this anecdote is an embarrassment to her kind. What are we to make of her actions? Is it the act of charity itself or is it the impetus of the acts? According to this infantile blather, it is "God's love" which is at work here, not human compassion. That is what is so appalling about the christian religion, the assumption that we would not normally act in a charitable manner except by God's will. That humans are so base and amoral that it takes an invisible father figure promising us reward or threatening us with punishment to get us to behave in a decent way. Utter nonsense. Can you think of one moral act that a theist could perform that a humanist could not? Would the fact that the humanist performed the act without any imagined urging on the part of a supernatural agent diminish the work? Isn't the work of a humanist who does moral deeds simply based on his own moral intuition of more value than those of a theist who acts charitable as a result of his duty as a christian, muslim, hindu, etc? Isn't it indeed more moral for a humanist to perform charitable work than a christian, since the humanist does his works purely out of a sense of humanity without the need for reward? Whereas, a christian acts out of duty to a holy doctrine or community or because of the promise of an ultimate reward for such acts. I think the former.       Craig "People who don't like their beliefs ridiculed shouldn't have such ridiculous beliefs."