30 Days - Atheism Episode

I'm sitting down to watch the newest episode of "30 Days", the episode where an atheist from Lawrence, KS moves in with a Christian family from Frisco, TX. I'm excited for this one, because the atheist seems very comfortable defending her decision to not believe in God.

So here's the deal: this woman, Brenda, has to live with a Christian family (mom Tracy, dad Michael and 2 kids) for 30 days, go to church with them, and attend Bible Study. Should be interesting. Some observations:

• Michael just straight laughed at Brenda when she told him she was a freethinker. That bodes well for mutual respect, all right.
  
  
• Their Bible study looks very familiar to me - it's bringing back old memories. Brenda is actually doing very well asking questions of the people there and not backing down, even though she's outnumbered about 10 to 1. They can't believe that she used to be a Christian and turned away from it based on just thinking about it, without some horrible event happening to her. They also seem to be having a hard time with the idea that atheists don't need a rigid rule structure, written out in holy books, to be good people. I think these people mostly just haven't considered what makes people atheists, which is not uncommon among Christians. Atheists are mostly just written off by many Christians as "the unsaved" - they're just not thinking right, and they need guidance to get onto the right path. I can definitely see that dynamic in this Bible study.
  
  
• Best question of the episode so far (1/4 of the way through): "What I always ask people who are so anti-Christian, is what did Jesus ever do that was so bad?" Awesome. Way to get the point, buddy.
  
  
• When an atheist asked Michael what he'd think if US currency said "There is no God" instead of "In God We Trust". He replied, "but I live here in America, and it says 'In God We Trust'. If you don't like it, move." Nice.
  
  
• Halfway through the show, Micheal is coming off like a real dick. If I was a True Believer^TM, I'd be getting ideas of bias and conspiracy in my head and thinking ill of the show's editors. As it is, though, I just kind of think Michael's a dick.
  
  
• Bible study leader, paraphrased: "I can't imagine how the Big Bang worked, but I don't ever question the existence of God, so I believe in him." Also, the Bible study group just threw about a third of the Talk.Origins FAQ archive as their objections to evolution. I guess I shouldn't be disappointed when people base their faith on misconceptions and falsehoods, but it's hard!
  
  
• Brenda's family comes for a visit, and Tracy seems surprised that Brenda has actual "mother instincts". When Brenda and her husband tell Michael and Tracy about how their kids get bullied for not being Christians, Tracy seems to genuinely empathize with them. She kind of gets it, that atheism is a choice that they've made and it has some negative consequences, unlike (for example) being a Christian in North Texas. Michael, well, he doesn't do that so much. When the episode started, I said "I know that guy", because he looks like so many born-agains whom I've known. Turns out he sounds and acts a lot like them, too. Stereotype? Maybe, but it's often true, in my experience at least.
  
  
• Tracy gets it at the end of the episode: people can make the choice to live morally without the threat of Hell hanging over their head. That's really good to see. Of course, at the end of the last Bible study, the group leader prays out loud that Brenda will be changed to Christianity.

All in all, that was an interesting episode. I think Brenda, the atheist, came off the best out of everybody. She was very clear about what she believed, and she communicated well with the various Christians with whom she came into contact. Tracy, the mother of the Christian family, also came off well. At the beginning of the episode she was very much an echo of her husband, when she spoke at all. By the end she had gained at least a basic understanding of people who choose to live their lives without gods. Her husband, Michael, was a different story. He portrayed himself as being open minded and fair, but had serious trouble understanding what Brenda was all about. He several times questioned whether Brenda was raising her kids well, not being able to imagine that they could learn values without learning them from the Bible. Overall, I suppose, he seemed to be like a large number (or at least the loudest) of the Christians in this country.

What I mean by that is that the public face of Christianity in this country simply doesn't understand how people can live their lives, let alone live well, without faith in god, and specifically the Christian god. According to one study, 38% of Americans wouldn't vote for a qualified politician if he were a Muslim, and 52% wouldn't vote for a well qualified atheist. There's a fundamental mistrust of atheism in this country, and that's a damn shame. It should be obvious to everyone that atheists are capable of being good people.

Sadly, that's not the case. And maybe it won't ever be.

UPDATE: Welcome, Shakespeare's Sister readers! Feel free to have a look around the rest of the blog - there's quite a bit about beer, and a little about how much I hate Nancy Grace. Also, a few posts down are some entertaining, stupid videos that I highly recommend checking out.

Tags: atheism, Christianity, 30 Days, Texas