Mealtime incantations and Big Bang ignorance
25 November 2009 by Stardust
My aunt and uncle are of the Baptist variety of Christianity. The ones who feel they must exhibit their beliefs blatantly and aggressively out in the open. They thank their imaginary sky boss for every morsel they put into their mouths — out loud, even at restaurants. These prayers are more for indirect witnessing purposes to the “unsaved” at the dining table, as well as others within hearing distance. They bow their heads and close their eyes and thank their imaginary friend for our visiting them, that we made it safely, for the food “to the nourishment of our bodies” yadda, yadda, yadda. We sat there very politely and didn’t say a word though it was getting pretty old after the first couple of meals. It wasn’t just the mealtime prayers that were so ridiculous and redundant, but the ignorant statements made about science, the age of the Earth, evolution and other little comments that were made while we were there. If we had started discussing it, we would have been leaving much sooner than we did. So we were “tolerant” and put up with the ignorance and superstition all for the sake of peace, because they are family and despite what they think and believe, we do love them.
Our Louisville relatives are of the Anglican faith. However, the magical oogie boogie blessing time is similar. Only they like to be more touchy-feely, making everyone at the table hold hands as they say the blessing. My husband didn’t want to hold hands with his brother and joked around about it as he so often does. We sat there holding hands while the mumbo-jumbo prayer was said and we all dug in as soon as it was over and the imaginary sky being was forgotten about. At least my husband’s brother and his wife value education. He has a PhD and was an English professor at a big state university, and his wife has a Masters in Library Science and Education and they are the kind of god believers who have managed to reconcile religion and science.
I keep saying that I am not going to get sucked into these things prayer rituals anymore, but I do. Because the relatives are very kind to have us for guests. They offer us their hospitality, sharing their food and are very nice to us while we are there. So I tell myself that sitting through some hocus pocus mealtime ritual isn’t that big of a deal. However, we will find out next time they all visit us just how big of a deal it is when we refuse to acknowledge prayer in our own home. They are welcome to say their prayers to themselves, but we aren’t going to make a group thing of it.
Ok, now that I have vented about that, let’s move on to some idiotic thing that the pastor at my aunt’s church is telling their congregation. She repeated an example their pastor gave one Sunday about the Big Bang theory that left us at a loss for words because it was too stupid to even respond to. He told the congregation that the Big Bang was like having a junk yard with stuff everywhere and then blowing it all up and when all the pieces came down they all formed a nice, shiny, new 747 jet plane. We didn’t even have the desire to even attempt to explain the Big Bang theory to my aunt and uncle because we knew they were too sucked into this creationism baloney to even try to understand anything we would say. (The billboard in the photo above is real. They are scattered here and there in the southern U.S. It says “Big Bang Theory: You’ve Got to be Kidding.”) I would dare say that all the people making this kind of statement don’t even know what a scientific theory is and have no idea what the Big Bang theory actually is, either. And they don’t want to know. That’s the really sad part.
Then I see a couple of my fundie cousins on Facebook making fun of the Big Bang theory. Saying it was hilarious. One cousin posted a serious video about the Big Bang and said it was the funniest thing she had ever seen. This woman has three children in public school. I feel sorry for their science teachers. There is no wonder in my mind why kids here in the U.S. A. score so low in the math and sciences. Superstition is placed above reality, religion and faith above science and reason. And if this ignorance keeps on growing, what will become of the U.S. of A? Oh yeah…it’s because of us evil atheists. It’s all our fault that the education system sucks and the country is going to hell.
25 November 2009, on 8:18 pm
Three responses immed1iately ’spring’ (catapult?) to mind RE your adventures, Stardust:
1) “Yikes!”
2) “Oy vey!”
3) “Poor BABY!”
Seriously…Welcome back; I’m sure I speak for all of us Gifsters; we’re glad you had a safe ‘trip’; we all missed you.
Or like Duke Ellington’s old saying: We “love you madly!”
“Trip”, aside from the drug variety, reminds me of that old joke:
“Have a nice trip; see you next Fall?”
Your description makes me glad that I have very little to do with whatever’s left of my family. An older, non-religious sister (who’s married to an atheist), who, except for the fact that we entered the World through the same ‘portal’, has totally opposite views on Politics, and just about everything else. And a few cousins in other States, who know I’m an atheist; but don’t really make any big deal about it. I probably might have seriously weakened some old friendships though, because of being totally out of the closet RE my atheism; however, WTF, that’s life, I guess.
With all that as motivation, I just enjoy staying home in our rented cave; somewhat “far from the madding crowd”.
Like, on this upcoming “Black Friday” insanity, f’rnstance..?
25 November 2009, on 8:43 pm
I am not spending Thanksgiving with my parents this year specifically because of the amount of god-bothering that will be involved (a few of Mom’s sisters and their broods will be there). I do feel sort of bad about it, but it really is for the best.
25 November 2009, on 10:24 pm
I keep wondering what it would be like if all of our relatives were non-believers; would we be equally bored?
What kind of egotistical maniac is required for someone to give his parishioners a lecture on the Big Bang Theory when the Cosmologists and Astrophysicists are still uncertain about it? If he was in a mental institution we would probably laugh at him. But as a leader of a
Christian church we would have to say, perhaps he missed his calling.
26 November 2009, on 12:49 am
@Tony D: If my relatives were all non-believers I think we would have some truly wonderful discussions about the world we live in and our fellow human beings that would be based on individual views and intelligent observation – rather than the plain as dishwater and boorish didactic of “believe, obey, do not question”.
As for those who divert scientific pursuits into the pristine and sacrosanct assumption that the bible contains literally all there is to know and that science must therefore be wrong – well, that’s just a way of abandoning knowledge and ceding responsibility. And that’s just sad.
26 November 2009, on 2:16 am
I actually went rounds w/my little sister, about prayer @ the meals. I got ambushed @ 1 thanksgiving, got into a huge email argument w/her, I asked to be excused from it, she told me I was participating, END OF DISCUSSION (which of course, that doesn’t work on me), I asked nicely to be excused, she dragged my mom into it, became a big mess, but I managed to skip the prayer crap on xmas (by arriving late), & we ironed it out finally.
My nephew, who is a high-functioning autistic, seemed to get the idea in his head (my BIL claims he just started doing it, which is a load of shit) that we should say ‘grace’ on holiday meals, & little sis is a huge control freak (& didn’t want to deal w/his questions).
Stupidest fucking part: I talked to the kid later (nobody consulted him on all this) & he didn’t give a shit 2 ways to Sunday.
& my family’s NOT religious.
They’re horrible, horrible people, & this’ll be the 2nd year I’ve not spent any holidays w/them. I don’t even talk to them (it wasn’t over the prayer nonsense – though that was another ‘bonus’ for all the years of shit I took off them).
26 November 2009, on 2:37 am
“I would dare say that all the people making this kind of statement don’t even know what a scientific theory is…”
That’s been my experience when discussing any scientific theory with a fundie that doesn’t jive with their mythology.
A minister giving a lecture on the Big Bang? *Facepalm* Kinda like the janitor at an Oncology clinic giving his medical opinion about a patient’s leukemia.
Only in this case, I guess the patient wants to hear that he is not only going to survive the cancer, but live forever.
Sad thing is, I’ve heard that ludicrous 747 “analogy” before–his sermon wasn’t even original.
Nice to have you back Stardust. Congrats on surviving the godbothered relatives and taking the high road in this situation.
26 November 2009, on 3:17 am
Oh, & the junkyard analogy? It’s known as Hoyle’s fallacy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoyle%27s_fallacy
26 November 2009, on 11:32 am
I have good news on this front, for once. My supervisor at work, who is a victim of non-critical Catholic thinking, began reading my blog. He asked me, if I can reject the idea of God, how do I think the universe came into being. I gave him a detailed, but concise and understandable answer of quantum fluctuations, the big bang, cosmological and chemical development, abiogenesis and finally, evolution (while drinking home made sambucca and playing co-op on COD Modern Warfare 2, no less). His answer? “Oh. That makes sense.”
Isn’t it great when they actually listen to the science?
26 November 2009, on 4:53 pm
KA, thanks for the link. We will keep that handy in our debate “arsenal” for future reference. I know the subject is going to come up again with them. Now hubby has their email address and I am like…oh noooo! But they gave it to him and they know not what they did because he won’t hold back if he gets any religious bullcrap from them.
Many of the school friends I recently found via FB are also god botherers and so it seems as if I am surrounded by all this god baloney. It gets hard to take after awhile. I have had to “hide” some people on my newsfeed.
27 November 2009, on 2:30 am
Of course, none of these people thanking God for putting the food on their plates ever seem to getting around to thanking the farm workers and all of the other people who are involved in getting the fruits and vegetables harvested and meat animals killed and packed and then transported to their supermarkets.
27 November 2009, on 4:36 am
Forgive them, for they know not…waitaminnit. Don’t forgive ‘em – they should know better.
27 November 2009, on 12:35 pm
One thing I don’t miss about trekking to Missouri for the holidays anymore (now that both sets of grandparents have passed) is passing all the “Abortion Stops a Beating Heart” billboards and religious blather. My Dad still has a family friend in Missouri who is very religious (my dad is agnostic and I think a closet atheist) and one Christmas I sent them a religious themed Christmas card (I accidentally picked up a bargain set of them at Walgreens) and they totally got the wrong idea about me. They were United Methodists but now have their own splitter Church because mainstream Methodism had grown too liberal for them. They send me their monthly church e-bulletin by email, which I mostly quietly delete without comment. I’m kind of glad the job I interviewed for up there fell through, since it would be harder to be “out” in that community…dashing off to the Rationalist Society of Saint Louis for a dose of sanity and reason on weekends! I’m in Texas, but if anything, Missouri seemed even more religious in its cultural atmosphere, with a greater proportion of older Americans (who tend to be more religious) in the general population. Texas–well, Houston anyway–always seemed more younger, vibrant, and secular, and still does.
30 November 2009, on 11:44 am
My husband’s family says a short grace before meals. For family peace, we don’t say anything. They don’t ask my husband to say prayers any more, because many years ago at Thanksgiving, he started out this prayer. “Dear Lord, we beseech thee to heal this turkey…” That’s as far as he got before his mother said “Oh son!” and then did the prayer herself.
Sadly for me, this happened before we were married, so I missed all the fun. But that story still makes me laugh.