theresa is attracted to anthony
she asks anthony out on a date anthony
isn't
interested maybe he isn't attracted to
her or he's married
for whatever reason he declines was
theresa
rejected yes
when someone is rejected they're prone
to feel despair
and frustration typically she'll feel
resentment
and anger toward anthony the rejection
affected the dopamine and cortisol
activity in her brain
which can actually cause physical pain
some short-term effects of this
rejection are aggressiveness
and anti-social behavior
this type of emotional reaction can also
explain why atheists
are one of the most hated groups of
people
theresa is a theist and a billboard
reminded her that atheists
exist or perhaps theresa discovered that
her acquaintance anthony
is an atheist or theresa is in an
argument with anthony about the
existence of god
any one of these things can cause
theresa
to feel despair
and frustration
typically she'll feel resentment
and anger toward anthony
because of this she may even exhibit
aggressiveness
and anti-social behavior
as you can see there is a fascinating
parallel between the typical reaction of
someone who is romantically rejected
and the typical reaction of a theist who
encounters an
atheist but the parallel is practically
shouted from the rooftops as the theist
actually describes
the atheist's disbelief as rejection
the atheist rejects god they say
it is no coincidence that the theist
chooses the word rejection
because there is a disconnect between
the inaccurate use of the word
rejection to describe the atheist's
position
and the theists reaction which coincides
with the exact same symptoms
of rejection thereby compelling them to
use that
word even though it's inaccurate
the inaccuracy can be easily seen from
the romantic perspective
the analogy would look like this
theresa tries to set anthony up on a
blind date
with gloria anthony doesn't think that
theresa even knows gloria or that she's
acting as an agent on gloria's behalf
did anthony actually reject gloria
no what if anthony doesn't even believe
that gloria exists perhaps theresa
described her as being too attractive
described her personality as too perfect
to be believable
so if anthony doesn't believe gloria
actually exists
did he reject her even if she does exist
no all gloria would need to do
is show up and ask anthony in person for
him to accept
or perhaps theresa described gloria
inaccurately
is anthony rejecting the real gloria
or the inaccurate portrayal of gloria
which doesn't actually exist
even though she does in all accounts
anthony is not
actually rejecting gloria and in all
accounts
theresa would have no reason to
feel rejected at all
so why then does the theist typically
show the classic
signs of rejection and even misuse
the word rejection when encountering an
atheist
because gloria is theresa
the believer is god
your relationship with god is actually a
profound
dynamic relationship with the self
with your ego it is why god knows
you so well it is why his opinions
are so often your opinions and why a
different believer of the same god is
yours
can claim that he agrees with god's
opinions
but not yours it is why god can seem so
very real to you because he
is real he is you
and believer before you deny this ask
yourself
are you truly in a position to be able
to deny it
this confusion of skepticism with
rejection
has caused the persistence of
christianity's fundamental flaw
a foundational flaw that has fatally
detrimental implications for the
religion
the religion itself is based on a false
dichotomy the notion that you must
either choose
god or reject him but belief is not a
choice
it's a compulsion beyond the realm of
choice
achieved through convincing arguments
evidence
and trust i do not choose what i believe
because i perceive it as the more
attractive option
i'm compelled to believe what i think is
true
whether i like it or not because
desirability
is not a requisite of the truth
this takes honest introspection
to truly make a choice i must clearly be
given
the option if i can doubt whether the
option even exists
then the option hasn't been clearly
presented to me
thereby preventing me from being able to
make a choice
an omniscient god would easily see this
flaw
in his system but god isn't omniscient
he only seems that way because somehow
some way
he knows exactly how to answer your
doubts
he knows exactly how you think
and if you were paying attention then
you'd know exactly
why that is