{"id":1616,"date":"2014-05-10T23:47:56","date_gmt":"2014-05-10T23:47:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/?p=1616"},"modified":"2014-05-17T02:47:04","modified_gmt":"2014-05-17T02:47:04","slug":"a-non-believer-leaves-the-south","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/?p=1616","title":{"rendered":"A Non-Believer Leaves the South"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Last class, last exam, last final of the semester, of the school year, of the 5 year stint at Murray State University, Murray KY never to return, passing out the 60 multiple choice questions&#8230; and a student asks:<br \/>\n&#8220;<em>Hey Dr. Z, what&#8217;s the shirt for&#8230;&#8217;Unbelieving Scum&#8217;, what&#8217;s that all about?<\/em>&#8221;<br \/>\n&#8230;I hesitated for a moment, thinking about it&#8230;<br \/>\n&#8220;<em>Pride<\/em>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>You get tired of being told you&#8217;re a sinner all the time. You get tired of hearing this claim or that about the wrongness of gays or how women&#8217;s bodies are surmised to work. You get tired of all the strained euphemisms that are just so clever and cute yet carry a dastardly message:<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Ikissed.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Ikissed.jpg\" alt=\"Ikissed\" width=\"294\" height=\"201\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-63\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/churchsignbbq.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/churchsignbbq.jpg\" alt=\"churchsignbbq\" width=\"260\" height=\"194\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1559\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>On every street corner in America, on TV, by street preachers on campus, by Republican Baptists that don&#8217;t know shit, but think they do because they get their &#8220;<em>science<\/em>&#8221; from a Church, you get the same messages:<br \/>\nHow somebody is gonna burn in Hell because we are all so lucky to have a god out there that really loves us.<br \/>\nHow science must be wrong if it doesn&#8217;t comport with their nasty little book.<br \/>\nHow everyone needs to live the way one DB or another tells us.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Franklingraham_jt_140419_16x9_992.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Franklingraham_jt_140419_16x9_992.jpg\" alt=\"Franklingraham_jt_140419_16x9_992\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1568\" srcset=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Franklingraham_jt_140419_16x9_992.jpg 960w, http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Franklingraham_jt_140419_16x9_992-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/markdriscoll.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/markdriscoll.jpg\" alt=\"markdriscoll\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1407\" srcset=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/markdriscoll.jpg 480w, http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/markdriscoll-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/tedhaggard.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/tedhaggard.jpg\" alt=\"tedhaggard\" width=\"450\" height=\"335\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1400\" srcset=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/tedhaggard.jpg 450w, http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/tedhaggard-300x223.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/jerry_falwell.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/jerry_falwell.jpg\" alt=\"jerry_falwell\" width=\"339\" height=\"471\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1401\" srcset=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/jerry_falwell.jpg 339w, http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/jerry_falwell-215x300.jpg 215w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 339px) 100vw, 339px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/popebenedict.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/popebenedict.jpg\" alt=\"popebenedict\" width=\"458\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1408\" srcset=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/popebenedict.jpg 458w, http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/popebenedict-286x300.jpg 286w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 458px) 100vw, 458px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Pride, and a bit of throw it right back in their face cuz I&#8217;m the guy your minister warned you about. Yup.<br \/>\nThere&#8217;s lots of us.<br \/>\nAnd we don&#8217;t buy an ounce of their horseshit.<br \/>\nThen when you get to know me or a million or so other non-believers of whatever stripe and we don&#8217;t fit the sinister stereotype you&#8217;ve been told, you realize that crap is as much bullshit as any of the other Xian propaganda you have heard your whole life: Creationism, Homophobia, Misogyny, Blasphemy, Denial of Science, Condemnation, Sexual Repression, Delusion, Moralizing, Heresy&#8230; all this from the religion of Love and Truth.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/religiousfreedom.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/religiousfreedom.jpg\" alt=\"religiousfreedom\" width=\"480\" height=\"368\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1496\" srcset=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/religiousfreedom.jpg 480w, http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/religiousfreedom-300x230.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nWe don&#8217;t evangelize. We don&#8217;t tell you how to live, judge you, or condemn you to some Omnipotent Prick&#8217;s eternal medieval torture chamber.<br \/>\nWe don&#8217;t give a fuck what you personally believe as long as you keep it to yourself and don&#8217;t proselytize or legislate your ideas onto anyone else.<br \/>\nThere&#8217;s only so much bullshit you can listen to, such as&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;<em>Unbelievers can&#8217;t have no morals, and must be nihilistic, despairing, angry, hopeless ATHEISTS.<\/em>&#8221;<br \/>\nGod help us all!<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/countfloyd.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/countfloyd.jpg\" alt=\"countfloyd\" width=\"335\" height=\"476\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1617\" srcset=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/countfloyd.jpg 335w, http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/countfloyd-211x300.jpg 211w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 335px) 100vw, 335px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n&#8220;<em>Ooh, scary<\/em>&#8220;, &#8220;<em>Watch out for them<\/em>!&#8221;<br \/>\nSo yes, I wear my <strong>&#8220;Unbelieving Scum&#8221;<\/strong> shirt with pride.<br \/>\nCome get to know me or any other non-believing freethinkers and find out for yourself just how reasonable, empathetic, tolerant&#8230; <strong>NORMAL<\/strong> we are&#8230; just like you.<\/p>\n<p>Grow up in a &#8220;<em>faith<\/em>?&#8221; You&#8217;ve been hosed.<br \/>\nSuch is the absurdity and Arrogance of Religious Thought.<br \/>\nWe&#8217;re fucking tired of it and it doesn&#8217;t get a free pass anymore.<br \/>\n<strong>Pride.<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/UnbelievingscumsleevelessdesignallIUB91QQS.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/UnbelievingscumsleevelessdesignallIUB91QQS.jpg\" alt=\"UnbelievingscumsleevelessdesignallIUB91QQS\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1000\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1622\" srcset=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/UnbelievingscumsleevelessdesignallIUB91QQS.jpg 1000w, http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/UnbelievingscumsleevelessdesignallIUB91QQS-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/UnbelievingscumsleevelessdesignallIUB91QQS-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/wearedone.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/UnbelievingscumsleevelessdesignallIUB91QQS-200x200.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"bawpvc-ajax-counter\" data-id=\"1616\"> (1802)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last class, last exam, last final of the semester, of the school year, of the 5 year stint at Murray State University, Murray KY never to return, passing out the <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/?p=1616\">Continue Reading &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1622,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1616"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1616"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1616\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1691,"href":"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1616\/revisions\/1691"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wearedone.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}