Death visits the Atheist

   Last Friday, my husband Randy's father died. It wasn't sudden, but it also wasn't entirely expected, seeing as the doctor had given a "6 months" prognosis of the cancer that was devastating his body.  It is always sad and difficult when someone dies, but I think that most people don't realize how much more sad and difficult this process is when you are an Atheist.  While his overly religious family members have their beliefs that "paw paw" is now strumming guitars in heaven with Jesus and all the other family members who have "gone home" in the past, my husband is faced with the reality that his father is dead and whose ashes now inhabit a lovely urn.  There are no cherubs singing psalms, he's not halo'ed and wing'ed, and he's not swapping stories with his Confederate (yes, Confederate) ancestors about the fact that a Black president was elected in the year 2008. Randy, Sr. has passed from this mortal coil, and in the words of the truly immortal Carl Sagan, he has become "star stuff" once again and is gone.  His "eternal life" is now memorialized on Facebook, as hundreds of people have stopped by my husband's page and left "prayers" for him and reassured him that they will "meet again in heaven".

To which my husband (and I)says, "Bullshit".

So where is the comfort for the nonbeliever?  Well, it's within ourselves and with eachother.  At least I think so.  But I think that the comfort should also lie in being respected by those around you.  People know we are an Atheist family, yet continue to mention God and Jesus and heaven as though those would be soothing things for my husband to hear.  They're not.  You may as well be saying, "So sorry for your loss Randy, know that your dad is in Lilliput with Mother Goose and Santa now".  Where is the respect for HIS belief?  At the funeral and following reception (is that what it is called?) Randy was subjected to the Southern Baptist style of death: songs, Jesus, God, preacher, more songs, more Jesus, more God, more preacher, wife wailing over the coffin, coffin, more Jesus, God, God, God, God, heaven, Jesus, amen.  Did he snicker?  Did he snort or roll his eyes or guffaw at the ridiculousness of it all?  Did he scream, "This is CRAP!" in the middle of the sermon? Of course not, because he is respectful of the beliefs of his family.  He would never think to impose his ideas about what was going on to people who didn't believe like he did.

Yet, the reverse isn't true if you are an Atheist.  People refuse to respect and/or understand the notion that God and Jesus are irrelevant to you. We received a sympathy card that was, in essence, a call to Jesus.  It's content was less about how sorry the sender was for Randy's loss, but rather how it's time now for us to rely on God to protect us and turn to "him" for comfort and on and on and on and on. It's almost offensive.  No wait, it is offensive.  This person knows we are Atheists. Knows full well that we don't believe in any God.  Why not some encouraging words that don't involve religion?  Why not just say, "I'm so sorry for your loss, Randy.  I hope you find comfort in your family and know that we are thinking of you".  No, instead we get a whole condemnation of how something is inherently wrong with us and we need to find God in order to fix it.  "Only God can heal you now" or some shit like that.  It's disrespectful, plain and simple.  Would I send a Jesus card to a Jewish person?  Would I send a card with a picture of Mohammed on it to a Muslim?  Would I send an Atheist card to a Christian? (<----I've considered sending a thank you note to the sender in this fashion, but that would be childish. Funny, but childish. You know, "Thanks for the sympathy card. There is no god you sad deluded old person, now grow up". Or something like that).

The point is, that we as Atheists (and I suspect many non-Christians as well) have been forced to be respectful of theists even when that respect is not returned.  We're forced into submitting to their ritual of grief and grieving, death and dying, yet no one has offered to listen to another voice.  Everytime Randy tried to talk to one of his relatives about his dad's death, he was drowned in religious mumbo jumbo which neither soothed or comforted him. And while we both know that these words given were not meant to be malicious or offensive, but rather as a reassurance, it has to be said that if you don't believe in this stuff, those words mean nothing. They may make the speaker feel better, but if the person on the receiving end is an Atheist, you may as well be talking to a wall.  Your intent will be noted, but your words will offer no comfort or solace.

So now, Randy is healing and me and the kids are doing our best to help him; without fairy tales or promises of floating up in the sky or imaginary sky fairies playing guitars, but with love and support and the reality that life, though finite, is worth every single second.

"I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking. The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there's little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides." -Carl Sagan, 1996

Come Together for a Good Cause

Recently, a friend and fellow atheist parent, Mark Andriesse, was diagnosed with Leukemia. As a core member of Florida Atheist and Secular Humanist (FLASH) Parents, Mark and his wife Angela, along with their two girls, have been a driving force behind the group's success. This is Angela's statement regarding Mark and his health:

I don't know if you have all heard but Mark, my husband, was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) last month. I will not write too many details because I have to go to work soon and I need to keep myself together. Suffice it to say--he will hopefully be starting chemotherapy within the next few days and will be in the hospital for the next four weeks. The kids will be going to NY on June 23rd and not returning from August 1st. I will stay here to take care of Mark. I don't think they will let anyone but family visit him in the hospital--he will mostly liking receiving treatments at Coral Springs Medical center. We are all very shocked by this news and I am struggling but have Mark and the girls to take care of. At least it's summer vacation so we can use all our time and energy getting Mark into remission.

As a parent of two children myself, as a wife, and as a daughter of a cancer survivor, I could not simply just leave my "facebook words of support" and be done with it. Mark and his family are in for a long, tough road ahead and I think we all should chip in and help. I am appealing to the Atheist community, especially, since we are always accused of being "sinful" and "immoral" without "god" in our lives, but I am also appealing to all the human beings out there who know that we are one human family and that by helping eachother, even if that other person is a stranger, we are, in essence, making this world a better place for ourselves and for our children especially.

So please, please help:




To learn more about FLASH and FLASH parents, please click HERE