A story all atheists will enjoy

[Sallana]

Hello, I've been a member of this group for a while but I guess I haven't had anything to say. I figure everyone knows why I am here, so saw no reason to start a thread titled "I don't believe in god either!".

But there's something that I'd like to share with you all. It's a messed up story and I know that many of you will appreciate it.

My last semester of college was a difficult one for me. It had taken me a while to get used to going to school again, not to mention finding a program of study that was right for me. By the time I found the website design program my school offered my GPA was already a 2.3.. so I was really hoping for some easy classes. My advisor recommended an ez pz Philosophy course. I'm a good writer and I don't mind listening to bull.....

Turns out that the particular Philosophy teacher I got landed with was super religious. Our first essay was this - "What would the world be like if there was no god?" - I kid you not. I promise.

Now, granted I could have put more time and effort into this essay while still upholding my personal beliefs. But I'm a stubborn person and I live to be sarcastic. So I was willing to take an F to make a point. My point was it is unfair to ask such a question when you are faced with a diverse group of students who all believe in different things concerning religion.

Here is the 'essay' I submitted that day.

A World Without God
by Lynne Kirsch

In a world without god there would be great sadness. Innocent people would be murdered at the hands of villains. Entire nations would be left in dismay by natural disasters. True love would be hard to come by. Praying would do no good. Life as we know it .... Would be exactly the same.



--

Yes, it was stupid to write that. I of course, got an F. That did not surprise me. What did surprise me, was that I got an F on every single essay, homework assignment, quiz, test - you name it - thereafter. I attended every class.. The teacher was determined to never look me in the eye. By the end of the semester, this teacher actually gave me an F-. THERE IS NO F-. There's no F+ or F-... IT'S JUST F. It was like I was living in some sort of multi-dimensional universe in which college professors just make up their own rules.

Ultimately, receiving an 'f-' in this guys class brought my GPA down to a whopping 1.5. I got a letter a few weeks later informing me I was on academic probation.

The good part of the story is over so I will sum up the rest - I took the issue up with the board and had to bring in all my assignments that were ever submitted. It was determined that I was treated unfairly and ANOTHER Philosophy professor had to come in, look over all my coursework and decide to give me a B+. The other philosophy teacher? Still working and received no punishment!!!!

The end.


​

 

[adrianx]

Draconian, is that the right word?

I am shocked and more convinced than ever that there is no place for religion in educational institutions (unless the institution happens to be a bible school or something).

Religion or lack thereof should be taught at home - not in schools.

 

[Stephra]

I've found that college education is all about being able to predict what your profs want to see, and integrating it into your viewpoint.

For this particular question (What would the world be like without God?), I'd probably start off by making the distinction between GOD and THE IDEA OF A GOD. And there would be a lot of difference in a world without the idea of a god, especially when looking at mankind's history. Our whole world could have evolved differently if our ancestors hadn't looked to the sky for answers. From there it becomes strictly a thought exercise, not a debate on the actual EXISTENCE of a god.

Have you ever seen the movie "Thank You for Smoking"? If not, I highly recommend watching it. It follows the exploits of a tobacco lobbyist. He makes the observation that it isn't about who's right, it's about who wins the argument. A good lobbyist, in his eyes, isn't one who fights for the right cause, it's the one who convinces other people that his cause is right. This, in a nutshell, is what college education is all about. Sometimes you have to take the wrong side, and do it well.

And yes, it can be incredibly frustrating.

 

[glowgirl]

Well I am sooo glad you contested your grade. when I was in fourth grade I had a very religious teacher who asked us all to draw a picture of jesus on the world. I didn't know what jesus was supposed to look like so I made him a combo Asian, Black, White, Indian Jesus standing on top of the world. She lost her mind! Gave me a F and called my mother to tell her I was degrading jesus (which my mom thought was funny) and was a total witch to me for the rest of the year. She was black (the teacher) and didn't want to see a multi ethnic jesus!! Man I wish I had that picture!!!

 

[jennlsnoopy]

It's sad but thats the world we live in. Unfortunatly, there are a lot of religious people out there that don't have any respect for those who do not believe in a god or gods. I have respect for people of any religion (my parents are catholic) as long as they don't push it on others, or use it to treat others in a bad way.

I'm glad it worked out for you. If I had wrote a paper about that topic I would tell it how it is, kinda like you did. I would have to say, look at all the atheists out there that don't beleive in any god, are they all running around murdering, and stealing and stuff? I didn't think so. So there's the answer. If anything, it would be a more peaceful world, but thats just my opinion.

 

[jimmyjams]

I definitely agree that the world would be a better place without religion and god. I would never dismiss anyone out there who believes in god. And I find it to be very hypocritical that an educated college professor (of all people), would make it their own personal vendetta to fail you regardless of academic prowess simply because you made it clear that you are a nonbeliever. This type of action is unjustifiable.

It's these types of believers that look down their noses at nonbelievers that sicken me the most.

I'm glad to hear that you came out on top in the end. Thankfully, not everyone employed at your school is a completely unreasonable ignoramus.

 

[ddracer]

How Christian and forgiving of your teacher.

This is the thing that gets me about so called religious people, they always seem to be preaching one thing yet doing another.

 

[SuZamme]

A World Without God
by Lynne Kirsch

In a world without god there would be great sadness. Innocent people would be murdered at the hands of villains. Entire nations would be left in dismay by natural disasters. True love would be hard to come by. Praying would do no good. Life as we know it .... Would be exactly the same.


Pure genius!!!! You have summed up the entire world "God" dis-function in 52 words!
It made my heart sing to see you had challenged this "non-practicing Christian" and won!
I would have given you an A+.​

 

[Garrell6888]

I like your essay. And that's a pretty ballsey thing to do with your GPA, but it needed to be done. I would have written the biggest paper tho, claiming that we currently are living in a world without god, but integrating the topic "of the belief of god never comming to be", ending with.

"In a world without god, we would still have the twin towers."

 

[humpty]

The school can only give a warning for an incident like that. they can fire him if it happens too often.

It shouldn't be allowed that philosophy teachers be biased towards any religion. I mean it's like being
related to a judge in court. It begs the question, is it possible to be both unbiased and religious at the same time ?

 

[UntamedRose]

Wow...I'm not so sure I "enjoyed" that...(false advertising!)

What you experienced there was straight up discrimination, just as much as if he has done it b/c of your race or sex.
I think you did a good thing, sticking though the course and continuing to try, even if it didnt get him fired it might lead to that some day.....I'm willing to be he has done this essay, and following F's to others but most probably say $*@&^# and dropped the course without saying anything.

Think it would be really interesting to take that a step further...there was no god and there was no religion. If nothing else we would have to alter history dramatically by eliminated quiet a few wars. The dark ages wouldnt have happened, so who knows where we would be with science and technology. 0o sigh... is depressing myself here.

 

[trukinlady]

May I make a post on this thread?

 

[Mr Sinister]

May I make a post on this thread?

Absolutely.