No God Twitter Rage - Responses to Twits

Let's start at the top - the Twitter that inspired the entire trend:

@revrunwisdom: "Know God... Know Peace. No God.. No Peace!"

I'll admit it makes for a pithy bumper sticker, but as a logical statement... well... not so much.

The number of criminals in the prison system that proclaimed belief in some type of deity before they were incarcerated at the very least suggests that knowing God isn't synonymous with knowing peace. While believers may protest that those criminals didn't REALLY know God, the existence of peaceful and largely Atheistic countries and communities also suggests that peace is quite obtainable without belief in God.

I'm an Atheist. I've no god. I also have plenty of peace. Internal peace, peace of mind, peace in attitude, and peace in life.



@ayomac Ya'll sayin there's no god,hope u tell ur kids that chrismas & easter are cancelled.good luck w/ that.

Interestingly enough, it is possible to celebrate both Easter and Christmas in secular ways.

In fact, both holidays have "pagan" roots and were celebrated long before Christianity took hold. Easter was originally a fertility festival held in the spring, which explains all those eggs and bunnies - eggs, appearing "dead" but containing life, were symbolic of the earth being "reborn" in the Spring and nothing says fertility quite like rabbits. Christmas got it's start as the winter solstice during which evergreen trees, symbolic of survival through the harsh winter, were decorated with gold and silver balls which represented the gods of the sun and moon.

Regardless of it's religious orientation, whether modern day or ancient, a decent argument could also be made that the American celebrations of Easter and Christmas are largely secular these days anyway. Ask 10 random children what comes to mind when they think of Easter and Christmas and the vast majority will reply with some version of "Candy and Presents", not Jesus.

Personally, as both Easter and Christmas belonged to others long before they belonged to Christianity, I have no more problem celebrating them than I do celebrating Fridays. (A multi-translational form of the Latin "dies Veneris" or "Day of Venus".)



@adrianafasano TO EVERYONE FUK FACE THAT IS TWEETING ABOUT "NO GOD" ENJOY YOUR TIME IN HELL YOU PIECES OF SHITS!

Well, now. Someone forgot to put on their "WWJD" bracelet this morning.

I chose this Tweet not because it represents the majority of believers, I don't believe it does, but because it's so harshly symbolic of a common tactic used in conversion attempts against Atheists - if the expressed joy of belief doesn't sway us, perhaps the fear of hell will.

Let's be clear - not only do Atheists lack belief in gods, we also lack belief in the domains of gods. We don't believe in heaven, nor do we believe in hell. Threatening me with eternal damnation is, aside from Not Nice, as unlikely to turn me toward belief in Jesus as my threatening you with Hades is to turn you toward belief in Thor. The threat only works if you believe to begin with... which makes the threat unnecessary.


@marbev007 No one can ever convince me there is no God. He is so evident in all of creation! :)

While this may seem like a prime invitation for me to rehash all of the reasons I don't find God evident in all creation, I chose this tweet for another reason entirely:

I've never personally encountered an Atheist missionary. To my knowledge, there isn't an organized Atheist push to convince people that their gods don't exist. We really don't care if you believe. Really. We do, of course, care when specific laws are passed to bring society in line with a particular religious belief or when ostracizing non-believers is legitimized by authority or innocent children are denied medical attention, etc... but beyond that, your faith is of no concern to us. Worship it up.


@BobBurneyLive The top trend today is No God. Help people KNOW God by donating to the Bible League http://bit.ly/1DWKU1

In this tweet, it's a Christian that advances the notion that knowledge of the Bible cures Atheism, but Christianity isn't the only faith system that falls victim to the assumption that Atheists haven't been exposed to their Holy Book.

Donating to the Bible League won't help me know the Christian God - I already own five of the things, one of which is written in Masoretic Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic. I've read it, in English, cover to cover three times, and in sections undoubtedly many more times over. I struggled through the Hebrew once, though I'll readily admit I dropped the notion of ever pushing through the Greek and Aramaic before I'd even finished the Tanakh. I've also read the Book of Mormon, and bits of both the Bhava Ghita and the Koran. While the extent of my experience with religious texts may be a tad unique, most Atheists I've encountered have more than a passing knowledge of the Holy Book most prominent in their culture.


@imjustNasha The concept of NO GOD would make life not worth living.

For those that feel a life without belief in god would not be worth living, I sincerely hope your faith is strong and that you'll never lose it. I mean that, there's no punch line coming.

I would like to state, however, that the vast majority of Atheists find their lives quite worth living. Some have even stated that their lives became even more precious, more worth living, when they lost their faith. Personally, I love my life. Every moment of it, even the painful ones, are worthy of living. Every single one.


@MrsBunnieW No God? Then what are u living 4?!?!?.....honestly worst trending topic ever!!!

In the same vein as the last one, but different enough that I think it deserves its own response.

What am I living for? For the excitement of learning, for the love of my family, for the people I've met and will meet in the future, for the difference I make, for the joy of discovery, for the pleasure of laughter, for the challenge of creation, for the thrill of expectation... for a million things I've already known, and a million more yet to come.

What are you living for? The day that you die? I sincerely hope that's not the case.


@cmagrum001 TT today is "No God." Takes more faith to believe everything around us is the product of mere chance, then to believe IN God.

No one, not even Atheists, believe that "everything around us is the product of mere chance". The laws of physics may be difficult to comprehend, but difficulty in understanding does not equate to "chance".


@benjsigmon I'm a Christian because it takes less faith than being an atheist. #thereisagod #No God

Same vein as the last one, but without the distracting "mere chance". It takes no faith to be an Atheist. None.

No, really. Not even a little bit. You're not required to understand evolution, or the Big Bang, or string theory, or really anything at all. You can answer "I have no flipping idea" to every question about existence as a whole and still be an Atheist. The only requirement to Atheism, the only one is that you lack faith in gods.

No faith required. In fact, it's a bit of a deterrent.


@*a bazillion different tweeps* Psalm 14:1 The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God" They are corrupt. They have done abominable works. There is none who does good.

This one was tweeted by so many people, either in part or as a whole, that I didn't feel right ascribing it to anyone in particular - especially as it's simply a quote. There are two points I'd like to make regarding this verse:

1 - Quoting a verse from the Bible to an Atheist, is like quoting a verse from the Koran to a Christian. Intrinsically, it's meaningless and the intent behind quoting this particular verse is petty. You ought to be able to feel good about your faith without pointing out how insultingly your faith defines me.

2 - For "They are corrupt. They have done abominable works. There is none who does good." to be a true statement, one either has to ignore the vast number of beneficial acts done by Atheists, or one has to redefine "good" to mean "a beneficial act done by a theist". We give blood, we feed and clothe the homeless, we helped rebuild after Katrina, we were even the first group to reach the $1 million dollar mark on the Kiva charity grant site. Should you choose to ignore those acts, or redefine what constitutes a good work, so be it. We'll keep it up anyway, and the world will be better for it.


@ThebookONE If there is no God, why do people talk about him so much?

Ah... another variation of "If there were no God, there would be no Atheists". I can't speak for others, of course, by I talk about God so much because believers exist and they're often not content to let me live my life without paying respect to their deity. Most often this manifests in mundane ways, like when missionaries wake me up in an attempt to save the soul I don't believe I have, but occasionally this manifests in horrible ways... like when ardent believers kill thousands by ramming planes into buildings.

If I lived in a world, or at least in a country, where my children weren't being handed leaflets at town fairs threatening them with eternal torture, where I wasn't looked down upon for not bowing my head in prayer, where laws were based in logic rather than in dogma, where churches were the domain of faith and schools were the domain of fact, etc... I wouldn't talk about Jesus and Allah any more than I talk about Thor and Odin.


@JaymEsch Those who feel there's No God, thus no Afterlife, what stops you from doing your dark desires? Rape, murder, etc.? You die, nothing exists.

Wow. Um... first of all, the rape and murder thing? I don't have those "dark desires". Really. Never in my life have I seriously desired to rape or murder anyone - not even when my own life was being threatened. It's been said before but it bares repeating - if you do have those kind of desires and your belief in God is the only thing keeping you from entertaining them, by all means believe. Believe with every ounce of effort contained in your seriously disturbed mind.

For the rest of us, we behave in a civil manner because we're social creatures - we've depended on society for our survival for millenia. Rapists and murderers aren't welcomed in most societies because they can't be trusted and no one wants to live in close quarters with someone that can't be trusted. Ask any inmate in a high-security prison.


@Mandisam No God? Seriously twitter. take that down.

Several people tweeted some version of this as well, some even suggesting a Twitter boycott until No God disappeared off the Trending Topics list.

To this I offer no refutation, only an honest question - why? Why does this expression of opinion bother you so much? I've seen various proclamations of faith in the Trending Topics list and yet found no indication of Atheists organizing a boycott. I don't protest the ridiculously insulting signs our local church posts on their marquee. I don't take my ball and go home when they sing "God Bless America" at the stadium.

Is your faith so fragile, your God so fragile, that the very notion of unbelief is challenging?


@Mugunga Just because God doesn't intervene every little bad thing that happens to you doesn't mean there is no god.

Excellent point, Mugunga. (As well as evidence against the notion that Atheists are immune to fallacies of their own.)

That life isn't one big pony-ride in no way invalidates the possible existence of a god. Perhaps an eternal god, offering its followers eternal life, wouldn't be terribly concerned with the flickering of an instant our life represents within the span of eternal time. Or maybe experiencing hardship during life has some unknown benefit to believers.

Offering evidence against existence is a loosing game; we've said it a billion times - you can't prove a negative. Suffering stands only as evidence to the existence of suffering - just as trees stand only as evidence to the existence of trees. Furthermore, individuals who are mad at gods for the bad things that happen in life aren't Atheists, they're disgruntled Theists - you simply can't be mad at something unless you believe it exists.


@LisaAntoniaa No God is a trending topic? FYI There is a God, Their is a heaven & Their is a hell. Jesus Christ is real no matter what you say.

I chose this tweet for three reasons:

1 - Because I hear variations of it so often, all of them mystifying. For anyone that considers "because I say so" a measure of proof, please consider the following "FYI There is a God. There is a Hades, and there is a Valhalla. Odin is real no matter what you say." Swayed? Neither am I.

2 - The Trending Topic "No God" didn't specify a deity yet somehow it became a flame war between Atheists and Christians. Your god isn't the only god, and Atheists lack belief in ALL of them... yet 99% of the angry responses came from offended Christians. I was instantly reminded of an only child suddenly confronted with a new sibling. Thank you for reminding me why Atheists should be upfront about their lack of belief.

3 - There: a location or position - "I agree with you there." or "I don't enjoy eating there." Their: a possessive case of they - "Their house is the blue one." or "That is their basket." They're: a contraction of 'they are' - "They're both so happy." or "They're really annoyed by grammatical errors."

(In all seriousness, the errors in this Trending Topic made my head spin. If you're going to attempt a rational debate, pay attention to your spelling and grammar - ESPECIALLY if you're busy insinuating that other people are idiots.)


@MattWBP The aggressive statement of opinion as the factual answer to an unknowable equation is not an intellectual way of thinking. (No God)

Wow! Excellent statement! I've no refutation - I just wanted to highlight this tweet for the clarity it brings to both sides of the argument. Neither "God is real!" nor "There is no God!" can be shown as factual statements - both are expressions of opinion and ought logically to be stated as such.

I have no belief in gods. My lack of belief in gods stems from the complete lack of objective evidence for their existence. While I cannot state with certainty that no gods exist, I can state that I've no rational reason to believe they do.


@turntoo ...Actually, atheism is a theism, as it requires a belief that there is no God.

This is a common misconception. Atheism simply means "without Theism". To be considered an Atheist one must simply lack belief in gods, not espouse a belief that gods absolutely do not exist. Most Atheists, even those loudly denounced as "new Atheists", are more than happy to explain that they would believe in gods if given sufficient evidence of their existence.


@aaronjpalmer We r like an ant trying 2 understand the internet n our effort 2 understand God. So is there No God just cause we cant understand him?

Do you lack belief in Odin because you don't understand him, or because you have no objective evidence for his existence? No one lacks faith in gods because they don't understand them. Beside which, the Christian god really isn't any more difficult to understand than any other god.


@soulrebelJ I'm glad No God is a TT. After the dust settles, we can reflect on how we dealt with each other during the debate. #peace

Indeed, soulrebelJ. Indeed. *smiles*

I Complain A Lot

Specifically, I complain a lot about the topics my coworkers choose each morning. Jesus is apparently a very good friend of theirs and has a lot to do with their daily decision making and such. Last week the topic was the nature of sin. This week's topic is apparently spiritual motivation in regard to church donations. I've also complained about my co-worker's choice in music, which typically consists of more-or-less musical numbers proclaiming her eternal love for The Savior. Sometimes it's about being unworthy and such, but most of the time it equates to a god-bound love letter.

I do not complain about these topics because they offend my Atheist sensibilities in any way. Okay... I'll admit that I do wish they'd shut the hell up about their sky fairy - but not out of some desire to keep people from talking about things I don't believe in. Rather, it's because the topic is becoming rather repetitive and damn it... I want them to talk about something I can openly participate in! I feel like a Stepford wife sitting here nodding and smiling and swallowing my tongue. A black sheep in stylish boots.

So why don't I pipe up and join in?

It has been my experience that simply identifying myself as an Atheist is enough for some Christians to feel as though their very faith is being attacked. Not all of them, of course - not by a long shot... but enough of them that I'm hesitant to say anything at all, especially as it's a psychology that confuses me. I'm not a confrontational person. Not. At. All. I'm not looking to get into a religious debate with anyone. I'm not looking to challenge anyone's notions of right and wrong. I wouldn't even refer to their gods as sky fairies. (I may be an Atheist, but I'm not rude.) Some Christians, however, have actually responded to the statement "I'm an Atheist" with something akin to fear - not to me as a person, but to the ridiculously described Atheist Agenda. The imaginary Borg-like entity they've been told is determined to set their children on a path to hell, outlaw their holy book, and see that the mere mentioning of Jesus is a crime punishable by hate speech laws.

I know it's all ridiculous... but they don't.

What bothers me is that I don't seem to be free to tell them there's nothing to be afraid of. They get to know me, and they know I'm an Atheist, but they don't get to know me as and Atheist in the same way I get to know them as Christians. That I'm an Atheist is sort of tacked on - like a wart no one wants to bring up. It's not allowed to be part of my daily identity because it's somehow Scary and Wrong and Possibly Dangerous.

I don't care if they talk about Jesus all day long. Though it makes me a rare case, I don't even care if they spend precious time and resources trying to convert my heathen soul. I just want them to give me the same freedom to talk about my views that I've given them. I want to be able to say "You know, it's really interesting to me that you feel the Holy Spirit wanted you to give that specific sum. What did the church do with the money?" without them adding in any unspoken intentions and becoming defensive. I want to be able to say "I took my kids to that church once - my daughter was curious about what Christians do on Sundays" without it being seen as either an insult or a conversion opportunity. I want to be able to say "Actually, I don't believe in the concept of sin" without being looked at like I might get pregnant five or six times a year just so my lovers and I can dine on roast fetus after our community orgy. I want to be able to say "I don't believe in god" without killing the conversation like a bee on a baby.

As for the music... it doesn't offend me either. I just think it sucks.

Summing up - I'm frustrated. I'm frustrated because my views will always be considered offensive by some. I'm frustrated because there's no way for me to know who will be offended and who won't be offended before I open my mouth. I'm frustrated because I care and I feel like I shouldn't. I feel like I should stand up for my right to express my own views in non-combative ways. I feel like I should let those around me know that Christian is not a default label and that Atheist probably doesn't mean what they've been led to believe it means. I feel like I should be as bold about simple reason as they are about faith.

I'm frustrated because there are believers out there that are frustrated for the same damn reasons and the notion of political correctness will keep us from knowing one another and seeking common ground.


In the end I sit back like a good Stepford Wife and resign myself to leaking it only when directly addressed:

"You just have to trust in Jesus, you know?"
"Actually, I'm an Atheist... but thanks."
"Oh... um... I... uh... I'll see you tomorrow..."

*sighs*