For example, you put yourself through university by studying hard and working full time. Then someone says, you should thank god for giving you the strength. Like wtf do you mean, I busted my ass day in and day out but I’m supposed to thank god for it?
My mom showed me her list of answered prayers to prove prayer works. I looked at the list and it turns out I did most of that. If I’m doing all the work what do I need God for?
I’m annoyed by anyone with a personality that consists of exactly one thing and one thing only, even more so when the one thing they picked for their personality is a tradition of extravagant bullshit that has been ruining lives for millenia
Yeah it’s annoying.
But fairy tale creatures aside, recognizing and being grateful for any good luck, attributes, or privilege you might have is good for you and your empathy for others.
I grew up poor, usually ate 1 meal a day until I was about 9, parents were physically abusive and neglectful, I wasn’t taken to a doctor or dentist until my teacher in grade 6 spoke to my parents about my constant illnesses and jacked up teeth, they actually put me in school 2 years late because they didn’t care. They were immigrants who didn’t want to learn the language of the country we live in so I went into school not even knowing how to say “hello, my name is”. Being the only minority in my class until high school made me a target at all times. I got a job at 14, worked hard to save up for a car and uni, worked my way through uni.
There aren’t many things I am grateful for but I am most grateful that I never killed myself even though I felt I had been dealt a shitty hand. I am very empathetic to others because I had experienced nothing but pain through my childhood and it has nothing to do with luck or privilege. It’s because I woke up everyday and focused on doing everything I could to maybe have a better future one day. The only person I feel I owe anything to is myself and it’s tiring to hear people say my efforts were not my own.
My aunt told me a story about how her mother had to be rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. On the way to he hospital, she died in the ambulance, the paramedics revived her, got her to he hospital and she lived another 5 years. After my aunt told me that story, she immediately thanked God instead of the paramedics and other medical professionals who saved her mother’s life…
Its a philosophical crutch, putting your reason for living or being a decent person in the hands of an other entity is easier than taking that responsibility yourself.
I guess the emotion I feel when some theist is mouthing off or drawing irrational conclusions is pitty. I do try to not be judgmental, but its hard some days.
I will note however, that if that’s what it takes for someone to be a decent person, who am I to GAF :)
I’m annoyed anytime anyone religious says anything about god
I remember when I was a teenager I was annoyed when my mom thanked god for paying off the house instead of right fully taking the credit. I remember her and my father busting their ass every day to pay the bills but not once did I ever see god pitch in so much as a dollar. Yet she gave all the credit to “god” anyway.
I’m not sure “irritated” is the right word. If God is the reason good things happen, I have to ask why THE FUCK my daughter got a brain tumor at age 10. If that was part of God’s Great Plan then he’s a FUCKING ASSHOLE, and next time you pray you can tell him that for me.
Anything I say will seem reductive and hollow, but I’m truly sorry you’ve had to/are having to deal with this and I can’t imagine the hardship. I wish you and your family nothing but the best.
probably not half as irritated as god would be
My biggest pet peeve in this realm is people thanking God when it was the medical staff that did all the work.
I know dozens of people worked together to save my life but forget all that because I am going to thank my magic sky daddy.
This but even beyond medical (though that’s probably the most egregious) same shit happens when people pool together to get any kind of cause and then someone turns around and thanks god. Like homie what about all the actual people who actually did the work?
True dat.
I bet they wouldn’t have blamed god if you had died! He always gets the credit but never the blame.
He always gets the credit but never the blame.
Lol. Good point.
Of course, I suppose some are just quiet about it. It doesn’t pay to share what we blame God for, too widely.
Edit: And I suppose it’s eventually easier to let it go, than hold a grudge against a probably-not-there diety who is arguably either incompetent or didn’t care enough to help.
I’m in therapy for childhood religious trauma and I have a visceral reaction to people like this. I’m fine with personal beliefs, believe whatever the fuck you want. However, my sense of self worth was systematically destroyed by evangelical Christianity and emotional abuse, so yeah, I still feel pretty triggered around vocal folks. I also live in the South. Send help.
They’re terrifying.
My entire childhood was spent in churches… Catholic, Baptist, and Assembly of God… and their schools.
They all had one thing in common, they were bat-shit crazy. I was horrified every day, adulthood and leaving them behind was a magnificent relief.
This is a huge part of why America is such a shithole, in my opinion.
… and of course they don’t pay taxes in the USA, with far greater tax relief than any secular non-profits… so we all get to pay for their ridiculous drek, whether Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mormons, even Church of Scientology, the taxpayers carry them all.
My take is that it is all subjective, I feel like I busted ass, I feel like a god interviewed, I feel like it was my lucky socks. Without a study and metrics we can’t objectively measure reliably, but that would be overkill for every little thing. So we take our subjective shortcuts and move on. My advice would be focus on the sentiment, “that’s impressive, it’s good that hard work/gods intervention/lucky socks helped that outcome, because it seems so surreal otherwise.”. That or have the heart to heart and put in the effort to align if it’s important and they are important to you.
Yes !!
