The Uninspired Manifesto

Story courtesy of Friendly Atheist.

This will be fun.

On November 15th, Dr. Lydia Hartunian is organizing The Great American God-Out. Modeled after The Great American Smokeout, it’s a chance for religious people to try to go God-free for one day.

(That day, by the way, is a Thursday, not a Sunday. No need to fear God’s wrath on a Thursday!)

So how does it work?

… just for a day–people will [act] as if there is no god; people will live as if there only exists the goodness of self and others to sustain healthy living!

…

Join individuals across the nation (and across the world!) who will celebrate a day marked by peace, love, kindness, strength and appreciation for all the beauties of the natural world.

It’s a lofty goal to get religious people to take her up on this challenge, but even the thought questions are at least worth asking:

1. Say there is no god, would you no longer love your family, friends, children, pets or significant others? Why or why not?

2. Say there is no god, would you stop hoping for a cure for cancer? Why or why not?

3. Say there is no god, would you stop caring about the health of the environment? Why or why not?

4. Say there is no god, would you want orphaned children to find loving homes? Why or why not?

5. Say there is no god, would you want auto-engineers to design a safe car that gets great gas mileage? Why or why not?

6. Say there is no god, would you want Osama Bin Laden to be captured? Why or why not?

7. Say there is no god, would you want child-abusers to be punished by law? Why or why not?

8. Say there is no god, would you teach children to be selfish? Why or why not?

9. Say there is no god, would you steal money from an unattended purse? Why or why not?

10. Say there is no god, would you steal an item from a large department store? Why or why not?

FINALLY: Say there is no god, identify at least one reason you would still have to keep on living, be happy and that would bring meaning to your life. (Think hard–you can do this!)

The point is that your answers would not change whether you believe in God or not.

There is also an ongoing list of ideas/events you can engage in that day.

You’ll be hearing about this more in the future, but consider this a heads-up for everyone interested! Hopefully this will help to open up a few eyes...