Free With Purchase: Eternal Damnation

I went shopping online for reading material and got more than I bargained for.

Excited to snag a book on atheism by one of the well-known authors and experts in the field, I eagerly awaited its arrival in my mailbox. I felt this particular book would really help me explore and understand this topic, as well as add to my library of texts on religion, philosophy, cultural studies and science.

As a non-religious person, I've always believed in the concept of "live and let live". My feeling was, and is, one of acceptance; if it makes you happy, then it's a good thing. If it's religion, then more power to you. And if religion doesn't sit right with you, then you are completely entitled to the way you feel, because it really isn't anyone's business anyway.

Finally, my package arrived. I couldn't wait to rip open the media envelope and dig in. Certainly, whatever information might be found within this book was there to enrich my life on some level. I looked forward to the intellectual challenge and the chance to see what life was about, from an atheist's perspective.

I flipped through the pages, and tucked neatly beneath the front cover was a handwritten note, addressed to me. It was not a receipt, nor was it a thank you note from the seller. It was a long letter, scribbled in pencil, telling me all about the seller's deeply personal relationship with the Son of God.

She began her letter by stating that the book I just purchased from her contained within its pages a philosophy that she adamantly disapproved of. She then proceeded to regale me with the story of how, one blessed day, she received a personal visit from her Lord and Savior.

Apparently, she was given some very specific instructions: Save the sinners from eternal damnation. Just. Do. It.

This woman -- a seller of books on atheism -- felt it was her duty to warn me about the consequences of my wicked, wicked ways, which were obvious to her by virtue of the fact that I'd just purchased a book on a subject she could not abide by. She told me that she was compelled to write me, and that she'd never written a customer before.

Why -- compelled? Sometimes I think that being compelled simply means thinking one has the right to butt into another's business, while blaming the intrusion on a higher authority.

And then, it occurred to me: maybe there's a bunch of crazy religious fanatics out there, who buy and sell books on atheism or whatever other subjects they can't tolerate, just so they can slip little persuasive notes inside to unsuspecting buyers. Very enterprising.

In her letter, she repeatedly stressed that I needed to keep an open mind, and that even though I was clearly speeding towards a hellish destiny, her Lord loved me in spite of my wanton purchase. Over and over, like some kind of Shakespearean hag on a "fire burn, and cauldron bubble" rant, she force fed me the concept that I would pay severely for not "opening my mind" to her personal savior.

Assuming that I was miserable, she judged that I was in need of a good old fashioned saving. Never was it taken into consideration that I might already have a spiritual path, or that perhaps I was just in the market for an interesting read. Even if I were an atheist -- would it be so bad to just let me read the book without the feverish need to convert me?

As for open-mindedness -- wasn't the real point of her message about me seeing things her way, as opposed to me being open-minded? She might have reworded her brimstone warning -- something more along the lines of: "You have bought a book on something I don't understand. This book is wrong. I see things the right way. You need to change. You need to see things my way."

In conclusion, I bought a book that bound together 500 pages of intelligent and scholarly research. Along with that book came a freebie: one singular letter. I did not buy this letter, nor did I buy its message. However, I will keep that letter tucked into my new book for as long as I own it, because it will always remind me just how important it is to read books on things we don't understand.

 

 

 

Follow Dori Hartley on Twitter: www.twitter.com/dori_hartley

Comments

[Rador]

08:47 PM on 09/03/2011

I can't say the person that wrote the note did the wrong thing. However, if I was inclined to send a book of this sort with a note, I would try not to be too presumptuous. Dear recipient, the book you have purchased contains philosophies and ideas to which I do not subscribe. I have trusted in the Son of God and here is a brief testimony about that experience.[insert testimony] If you have not done so before, I sincerely hope that you will consider the claims of Christ, but in any case I wish you well in your journey. Thank you.

[Pale Writer]

07:30 PM on 09/03/2011

Dori - I think this kind of thing happens regardless of the belief. I had a falling out with an email buddy, who upon discovering that I was a Christian began sending me YouTube videos, articles and debates by famous atheists. I read them, watched them, critiqued them, and sent them back. I even enjoyed the exchange for awhile because it did challenge my thinking, even though I had no intention of convincing my friend of anything. Finally, he asked me, "so, are you going to give up your fantasy of Jesus and join the rational people, or what?" I responded by saying, "no, I have evaluated your arguments and I am quite satisfied with my decision to remain a Christian. I am very familiar with rational thought as well. Thank you for your concern." From that day on - he began berating me instead. I'm with you, Dori, in that I believe we should live and let live. But there are opponents on both sides of the fence who disagree with us.

[Rador]

08:33 PM on 09/03/2011

Excellent thoughts Pale. It seems almost axiomatic that atheists think believers have no concept of rational thought and therefore should be ridiculed into a gelatinous whimpering mass. We both know that will not be the case. Now a person who is new to their faith might fall prey to that sort of thing, like the kid who went to his first philosophy lecture and fell for the "Any Christians in the room, please stand up" trick. He was ridiculed for the rest of the semester. That's one I've tucked away as well and it was free of charge.

[Pale Writer]

10:04 PM on 09/03/2011

Ah yes, the old "Any Christians in the room, raise your hand" trick. I have also had professors tell the class at the beginning of the semester, "If there are any Christians in here, I will beat it out of you before we are through." An eighteen year old freshman left his class crying. I told her, "Look, no one is going to be beating anyone. He's confident that he can strip you of your love for Christ. If you are confident he cannot, don't worry. And if there is any threat of physical beatings...he will have to deal with me first." That made her laugh. And we both passed his class and moved on... ;)

[eddy joe]

07:05 PM on 09/03/2011

"My feeling was, and is, one of acceptance; if it makes you happy, then it's a good thing." .....THAT could be a problem.

[syntax facit saltum]

03:24 PM on 09/02/2011

There are experts on atheism? What does the field consist of?

[DeliciousDemon]

10:33 PM on 09/02/2011

It's not too hard to imagine that a person who was expert at dismantling various religious apologetic and philosophical arguments for the existence of deities and who writes books dealing with the subject of disbelief might be considered by some to be an "expert".

[syntax facit saltum]

12:18 AM on 09/03/2011

Okay. That makes sense.