Sunday, December 16, 2007

Flying spaghetti atheists?

I blogged here about the clichéd answers given by minor (and major) celebrities in newspaper Q&As. Now Hindustan Times' Brunch asks Ishmeet Singh (winner of a contest called Voice of India) the question “You don’t believe in...?” and he replies:

"People who say there is no God."

A likely explanation is that the lad understood the question as “You don’t believe...?” rather than “You don’t believe in...?” But imagine the effect this had on me first thing in the morning. Getting abusive troll comments directed at one’s lack of belief is one thing. Having to smile indulgently as family members wave their hands about in front of little idols on festive occasions is manageable too. But to wake up on a day of leisure and discover that you might not exist at all? What a tough start to a Sunday.

11 comments:

  1. THANK GOD!!!!!
    For the last few lines.

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  2. he said the right thing . as a beleiver it is difficult to have a freindship with an athiest ...also how can u not beleive that god created this wonderful world and life is a miracle ..

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  3. I remember reading something by you on people who don't have a sense of humour or irony; that's one thing and they make life, and going thru the comments to ur posts, a wee bit difficult. Bur, BUT, it is entirely unjustifiable to make fun of a teenager just because he dinnt get the meaning of a question, or even if he did, dinnt know how to answer it.

    Okay, sorry, I just got up from sleep and am a bit sensitive still...but, nevertheless, everybody's words shudn't be judged by the standards of a superior wordsmith who dinnt like the syntax or semantics of a person who is in new because he sings well and not because he is the master of repartees and epigrams. And I know I just wrote a very convoluted sentence.

    Sorry J, excuse my rant, but be a bit more kind. Logico-linguistic intelligence is not the only kind of smartness, right.

    Not that I'm complaining about ur linguistic felicity anyways.

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  4. Anonymous,
    In the same way it is difficult to believe someone would spell certain words in a certain way.
    "Unbeleivable"

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  5. I am sure the God fearing folks would like to believe that we, the ones that have gone over to the Dark Side, did not exist at all.

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  6. I felt the exact same way when i read yesterday's 'Brunch'

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  7. Radhika: now the question is, should atheists believe in Brunch?

    ArSENik: as Master Yoda would say, "Believe you must. Else no longer exist you will."

    Bongbut: your comment goes straight into my year-end list. Probably in a separate category too - it's easily the most entertaining one I've received from someone who's just got up from sleep.

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  8. these contestants...they have this recurring habit dont they? everyone wants to be a goody goody boy. i think we shall soon have indian pop (whatever there is of it) entering the boy band generation.

    @anon: atheists do not say that the world was not created. god we do not believe in as a protector and an overseer to everything we do. atheists believe in mankind.

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  9. "What is the purpose of our existence?" Theists work their way out of this using God.
    Now we have also got the answer--we simply don't exist!

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  10. an interesting n argumentative piece on atheism is THE GOD DELUSION by richard dawkins...a must read...

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  11. Are you saying that you don't believe in the Elder Gods? I'm as athy as the athiest among us, but even I bow to the soul-shattering horror of Dread Cthulhu. After all, what sane person would crave to be Eaten First?

    -r

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