More and more, I’m seeing memes on social media from Christians about how “God is in control.” And the more out of control the world becomes, the more they insist otherwise. At some point, true believers are going to have to face the truth: No, God isn’t in control because He doesn’t exist. Or if He does exist, they need to fire Him and hire a more competent deity to govern their fate.

I don’t think they’re trying to convince any non-believers nowadays. Judging from the nature of the memes, it looks more like they’re trying to convince themselves. Many Christians are, from what I’ve seen, having a crisis of faith. To that I say “good.” It’s the first step toward a better understanding of reality.

Of course the fear mongers among them aren’t making it any easier. People like Rick Wiles who claim Covid-19 is God’s punishment for homosexuality are actively lying to their flocks to keep them in line. Gotta keep those donations coming in, right? If you listen to people like Wiles, James Dobson, Joyce Meyer, or Steven Anderson – I mean really listen to them – they sound like the old witch doctors and shamans from centuries past. Every time something goes haywire, it’s God punishing us for some infraction or another. And it’s usually connected to sex. Do they actually believe their own bullshit? Probably some do and some don’t. But they’re charlatans either way.

But back to the memes – bear with me here. These people are like little kids angered at being confronted with the fact that Santa Claus is only a fable. Hands on hips, feet stomping, the child screams that yes, “Santa is real and brings me presents!” Santa is a comforting fantasy to little kids. A belief that rewards will come down their chimney if they’re good all year. But then logic sets in. They realize that Santa cannot possibly make all those deliveries in one night. Or that he’s too fat to fit through the chimney, or maybe they don’t have a chimney? Reality bites sometimes. But finally Mom and Dad sit the kid down and explain that it was really them who were sneaking all those gifts from the garage into the den late at night. Yeah, Mom and Dad had been lying to little Susie to make her happy and now they’re straightening it all out.

It’s not that different with religion, just on a much larger scale. If you believe that Jesus is the son of God and the Savior of humanity you’ll be rewarded with an eternity of bliss. Of course if you don’t, you get tossed down the rabbit hole into a flaming pit where you are punished forever just because you didn’t believe (seems a bit harsh). And atheists are the adults trying to enlighten the children of God. It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it. 🙂

But Christians have this nonsense drilled into their heads even before Santa. Christian leaders know the value of getting them while they’re young. Saturate their impressionable minds with this stuff while they’re young and naive. It becomes a form of brainwashing. And it’s damnably hard to break it. But there are cracks appearing around the edges. More and more people around the world are waking up to the fact that they’ve been deceived by mostly well-meaning family members and religious leaders, they themselves also brainwashed. The cycle of deceit and ignorance has to be broken.

But for many the process is frightening and difficult. With the memes, they’re (metaphorically) stomping their feet and screaming into the wind that God is real and the Bible is true. The memes are statements of faith of a sort. It’s Christians trying to prove that they still believe. I suspect, as hinted earlier, that they’re simply trying to convince themselves. Each preaching to a choir of one.

Overwhelming evidence that debunks nearly all of the stories in the Bible is hard to ignore. Yet many still do. They wrap themselves in ignorance as if it were a security blanket. They denigrate and scoff at science. They ignore basic natural truths that are uncovered through human ingenuity. They latch on to ridiculous conspiracy theories. Anything they can to stave off the encroachment of reality into their lives. And much of this collective effort is expressed on social media in the form of memes. They want you to believe their faith is still strong. Even if it isn’t.

It was this particular meme, posted on Facebook by a friend (yes, I have Christian friends) that prompted me to vent about this whole mess. I’ve grown quite weary recently of all the godly bs Christians are smearing anywhere it’ll stick. But this one, stating plainly that he rejects out of hand anything that contradicts his precious Bible, was the last straw. The arrogance from this normally humble guy astounded me. And again, I suspect he’s trying to convince himself. I may have been a bit harsh on him (he didn’t just unfriend me – he blocked me ), but I was trying to jog his gospel-muddled brain into some independent thought. Unfortunately Christians often regard this as “wrong thinking.” Sad.

But independent thought – or the lack thereof – is the problem. How does one convince a Christian to set aside their mind-numbing “faith” long enough to look at the world objectively? They see everything through a Christian lens. They’re taught that reason, logic and critical thinking are not to come in contact with their faith. Why? Because such wrong thinking might undermine their faith. That alone should be enough to make them question the ancient writings of primitive men trying to explain things they did not understand. How unfortunate that it does not.

If by chance you’re reading this and you’re also one of my Christian Facebook friends, please be assured of two things:

1. When I respond to your godly meme in a contradictory manner, it isn’t to offend. It’s because I care enough about you that it bothers me to see you being deceived.
2. And, I will never stop. Religion (all of it not just yours) is poison. It is a boat anchor chained to the neck of human progress. For your benefit and the benefit of humanity I will never stop doing my small part to break those chains.