The wrong question

When you tell someone who believes in a god that you used to believe in a god and now you're an atheist, they might ask why you don't believe any more.


And that's the wrong question.


I work with people who have developmental disabilities. Today I learned that one of them died, and another is dying, before either of them could reach their 50th birthday. They're dying because their bodies and brains have just deteriorated on them over the course of the past decade. For no fucking reason. No one will ever hear her giggle again. No one will ever see his smile again. For no fucking reason. The best people in the world die young after many years of pain, while the worst people in the world live to be old and never, ever, ever experience any consequences for their shittiness.

For no fucking reason.


The right question is not why I no longer believe that all this is somehow under the control of a good, loving, just, or merciful god. The right question is why anyone else still DOES believe that.



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