I read this over at Shakesville, and I was going to comment, but then comment became post (as sometimes happens).
We believe in an Almighty, we believe in the freedom for people to worship that Almighty. They don’t. They don’t believe you should worship the way you choose. They believe the only way you should worship is the way they choose. And, therefore — and, therefore, they will do anything they can to spread that ideology.
The notion that "We believe in an Almighty" is so destructive, so harmful, so vile. It is what Chuck Colson thinks.
"We" sometimes believe in an Almighty. We sometimes believe in an Almighty, but a qualitatively different one than the dog-whistle intends us to hear. We sometimes do not believe in any supernatural being at all. We sometimes aren't sure. We sometimes believe in one, or many supernatural beings who are not Almighty (that is, who is or are not omnipotent).
The varieties of religious thought in the U.S. are vast. "An Almighty" is a bad meme. It is as bad as "Judeo-Christian." It sweeps vast diversity under a rug that should not be covering the beautiful and variegated hardwood. It doesn't begin to touch upon who we are as a people. It seeks to restrict us, and it seeks to exclude and marginalize many of us.
Don't let it. Don't shrug when you hear these things. Say no.
Say no.
(But don't say no to the cross-post. The cross-post is good.)
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