“Your father… was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force. He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed. So what I told you was true… from a certain point of view.” Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi
Warning. The rare rant follows.
OK, I generally have a self-imposed rule of not discussing national politics or religion on my blog partly because they are things that a) I do not find terribly interesting on a general basis; b) cannot be quickly summed up in 900 words or less; and c) rarely bring much pleasantness from discussions about them with people who don’t see eye to eye - and I have more than enough political and religious unpleasantness in my life as it is, thankyouverymuch. However, I am going to break that rule right now and say that I find it absolutely rude, obnoxious and unbelievably loathsome when Christians call non-Christian people (like myself) ”lost.” It is just as boorish and repellent as when Muslims refer to non-Muslims as “infidels” and when skeptics speak of the religious as “mindless idiots.”
So.stop.it.
I swear it takes every bit of my personal strength and integrity not to spit in someone’s face, hack their blog full of Triple X Nastiness, and steal their dog when I am referred to as “lost.” I have been hearing this a fair amount again and have been seeing it on more and more homeschooling blogs lately. Yeah, yeah, yeah. A lot of homeschoolers are religious. Yippie ki aye. Go have an ice cream cone to celebrate. To equate my reasoned, read, and studied beliefs with some dolt who went hiking up a mountain-side without bothering to take a compass and topographical map is simply insulting.
For the record, I can easily equate “the Dark Side of the Force” with anyone’s irrational belief that their own special blend of dogma has all the answers, to everything, for everyone, everywhere, always. And just so we’re all on the same page: it appears to me that the universe, this planet and all its people are nothing more than a couple of fascinating, long-term science and social experiments. Disagree with me it you wish, just as I may disagree with you, but don’t insult me in the process.
Update: Dad Windu said after reading the above that he has always found it annoying when people say that he has “lost his faith”. Deciding that he doesn’t believe in a supernatural deity wasn’t like a twenty dollar bill that fell out of his pocket. It was was more like a favorite t-shirt that his parents bought for him when he was a kid. As the years went by, he grew out of it and, because it didn’t fit him anymore and had some pretty big holes and a couple of rather nasty mustard stains on it, he chose not to hand it down to his own son but rather threw it away. You see, he decided it wasn’t very useful anymore.
There, rant over.
That “lost” thing is one of the litmus tests I have for real conversation — a person who talks like that? Isn’t going to have a real conversation with me. So I don’t waste my time.
There’s a corollary rule — there’s that type of person that knows you’re unhappy because you don’t have god, and will latch on to anything to prove it. The psycho who was yelling at a dog 2 days ago will tell you that you’re obviously unhappy and need God because you just cursed your bike’s flat tire in a moment of angst. I once had this guy come up to me on the U of A campus and ask me if I was happy. I said something like, “for the most part. Things have been a bit difficult the last few months, but mostly I’m okay, I guess.”
That got me a lecture on the wonders of Jesus that began “well, that doesn’t sound good. Did you know Jesus is the only path to happiness?”
Duly noted.
You have an excellent point. I’m sure most Christians have no idea that they’re being offensive.
I’m going to share this, if you don’t mind.
Share away.
Here, Here!!!!
I feel the very same way! Thanks for articulating it in such a wonderful way!! : )
I will say that, though I completely understand why it sounds offensive, I do think the context is being misinterpreted (likely by members of both parties).
It should not be taken as being likened to a hiker without a map, wandering aimlessly – but rather to a treasured item that has been lost, and is desperately being sought.
That’s the way it’s used biblically, at least.
[...] saying it wrong) 25 08 2008 I stumbled across a very interesting and well-written post from an Obi-Mom Kenobi (okay, so that name already wins her points in my book that may not apply in [...]
Gregory: Yes, I’ve developed a few litmus tests of my own in conversations with people over the years. I can’t believe that guy did and said that to you (actually, I can which is even sadder). I would love to see a post about that experience some day!
Heidi: I’m glad I could speak for you as well.
bryanclark: Thank you for trying to understand. No one appreciates being made to feel like a) a thing misplaced or b) someone who can’t or doesn’t think about the larger issues for themselves. But please DO understand: It doesn’t just sound offensive; it is offensive. Name callers (of ALL the types mentioned above) are putting out their personal beliefs and values as a cover for everyone else. It reduces a myriad of individual, complex human beings to a single “thing”. Treasured or not.
Actually, O-MK, and speaking as a Christian, I don’t think this is much of a rant.
I think it’s quite simply a very sound and thoughtful point you’re raising. Nicely done.
Well, I’m glad it didn’t come off as too obnoxious. I never can tell how my writing will “sound” to others. Thanks for letting me know.
Here’s a golden one from a recent homeschooler’s list, in which a parent is recruiting kids for a Lego First team:
“All competition is driven by giving God all the honor and glory and there is always an element of being a Light in the darkness amongst a majority of non-Christian teams during competitions.” [emphasis mine]
So *children* who are not Christian – Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and yes, atheists – bring darkness to the Lego competition. CHILDREN. Just because they don’t share the same religious beliefs as the writer.
Now, that’s offensive.
You win the prize today, Lori. Wow. Lego competitions are now a religious battleground? That is bad.
‘For the record, I can easily equate “the Dark Side of the Force” with anyone’s irrational belief that their own special blend of dogma has all the answers, to everything, for everyone, everywhere, always.’
I remember seeing the line somewhere “God has all the answers but we don’t.” And I don’t recall anyone saying that the Bible had all the answers either, just the answer to the questions that Christians consider to be most important and crucial.
So if someone’s claiming to have ‘all the answers’, then I have to agree with you. That’s a human being basically claiming omniscience by proxy.
By the way, of the three examples mentioned above, it’s worth pointing out that Christians and Muslims get the word “lost” (the parable of the shepherd) and “infidel” (frequently used, mostly in reference to pagans) from their respective scriptures. The third one, well… I dunno.
Not that I think Jesus intended his disciples to go around calling their hearers “lost” or “lost sheep” to their faces.
Well, I still think it’s rude – to my face or not.