The Other Side

The Ministry that Started It All

~May 7, 2015

Alright, so here's the deal. Since late march of this year, I made a conscious decision to become atheist. It's been seven months now, and I am confident in my stance as an atheist. I am also confident in saying that I do not hate Christians [ my background ] in general, but rather, I have found the specific group within it that drives me crazy.

Born-again Christians.

Even more specifically (in which I will focus most on):
My family's born-again Christian ministry.

For about seven months, I unleashed my unjustifiable rage upon the entire Christian body as a whole. I can't say that it's not my fault, but then again, you should have seen it coming. As one of my friends pointed out very well, the first phase of being an atheist would most likely be full of rage, and I am sorry for those who got caught in the wake of asshole-Ethan.

But now that most of the hate was spent in a furious pace, I now have control to fine tune where to direct my remaining stash of criticism.

So! Why the ministry?

The one thing that I hate the ministry is that they are fucking conceited. No doubt, the born-again Christians think that they are the most badass people to walk on earth. Why? Because they believe in God and do a bit more in their praising by singing and preaching sermons like amateurs.

What about the others who aren't Christian? Well, all the church goers love to make themselves feel superior over the poor guys, and just because the born-agains associate themselves with God and the non-Christians do not. I mean, fuck, guys. I know that I'm an asshole (or was I not? I'll just say I'm an asshole), but that's a bigger asshole move.

Not to mention that the ministry wants to brainwash the children. I kid you not when I quote the pastor when she said the following.

We can brainwash our children to believe in our own God.

She said that when the subject of the ISIS was brought up, but she wasn't really focusing on the atrocities the radical group performed. She wasn't focused on the legitimate fears that Christians in the middle east are feeling when the ISIS takes over their village and starts filming their executions.

Nope, the pastor brought up the subject to arouse fear into the ministry, so that her message would embed itself deeper into them.

We can brainwash our children to believe in our own God. Think about it.

Moving on, if the ministry the little kiddies who get dragged with their parents to think logically for a moment, they would soon realize that everything is bullshit. Teaching them that the Old Testament was real? Fucking please, it's been stated that the Old Testament was purely allegorical and should be taken figuratively, because it completes its purpose for being figurative.

But nope, the ministry has to be all, "Darwin? What an idiot. Truly, God made us because the Bible says so. You all read Genesis, right?"

Because anything that science cannot explain at the moment is automatically the work of God. Wait until we gain enough technology to match a program to the human brain (which results in us being replaced by robots in jobs... technology, do us a favor and don't map out the human brain).

How about tacking on a hallelujah, amen? Amen, because when you're at a loss for words, and you suddenly realized that your sermon makes no fucking sense, just shut your eyes real tight (like you always do, as if you're actually seeing God), and scream "hallelujah" five times to get the ministry back up and moving. Weak.

And back to the whole being-associated-with-God deal. The ministry would pound into your head that everything, everything that you've accomplished is because of God; you should thank God for everything - food, good grades, a seat in a prestigious orchestra after passing auditions, building a nuclear reactor - everything.

Did the doctor save your life? Praise God!

Are you no longer feeling ill? Praise God!

You play the drums so well! Praise God, he must have given you the skill, so he can use you.

If you rewind back seven months to see newly-turned atheist Ethan, you would see a distraught person. Why? Everything that constituted me: my strengths, weaknesses, love, hate, accomplishments, defeats - everything was credited to God.

Everything because of God, not me.

Everything not because of me, but because of God.

Think about it. If you heard that constantly, doesn't that make you feel like shit? After focusing my entire life into education, so that it becomes my one and only fucking achievement in life, to do good in school and nothing else, they go ahead and repeatedly tell me that it was God that allowed me to do all of that?

Unbelievable.

It's not the Protestants. It's not the Catholics.

It's the one ministry that my family decided to join.

That ministry, out of any other.

Well, that got me depressed as fuck. Thanks a fuck-ton, ministry.

That's the show folks.