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An Atheist’s Open Letter to Those Praying for His Son
The following open letter may upset you. You may feel insulted because when it comes to matters of faith, people are more apt to take criticism personally and react defensively when their religious beliefs are brought into question. Please know it is not my intent to offend, because as I said earlier, I am truly grateful for the offers of support and kind words from family and friends. But sometimes we’re faced with emotional situations that escalate to a boiling point. I’m at that point, and it’s time to open a vent.
I’d like to open this letter by acknowledging and thanking those who have shared that they’re praying for my son, who was born prematurely and since then has resided in our local neonatal intensive care unit. I realize your intentions are good and that you believe your prayers are helping him grow stronger. By appealing to a deity that you believe exists and listens to your pleas, you feel you’re offering your support and contributing to my son’s cause in some way. Because I realize you believe you’re helping, I thank you for doing what you feel will help my son get healthy and strong.
However, my wife and I are atheists. We don’t believe in the supernatural, and we have good reasons for that, but that’s a topic for another day. We have placed our trust in science and modern medicine, and we are absolutely amazed at what is possible, thanks to medical research and man’s advanced understanding of biological sciences. In fact, if we had not placed our trust in medicine, or lived in different times, or belonged to a religion that frowns upon fertility treatments or medically assisted conception, we would not have any children at all.
If we left it to a god to decide, our 4-year-old son, Ryan, would not exist. He would not have been conceived without modern science and fertility doctors. And if we had become pregnant on our own, he very well could have died in childbirth without the intervention of doctors and nurses, as my wife had to have an emergency c-section after a difficult attempt at childbirth that put Ryan at risk. If we left it to a god to decide, our 4-week-old, Grayson would not exist. He also would not have been conceived without modern science and an IVF procedure. And if we had become pregnant on our own that time, he would have died shortly after being born prematurely, without the intervention and constant care of doctors and nurses. Thanks to medical breakthroughs, not miracles, we have two children and get to experience all of the joy, pride, love, and everything else that comes with raising children — all of which would have been replaced with sorrow and heartache had we left it to a god to decide. We would have had no children, and like many of the religious, would have attempted to rationalize this in an attempt at comforting ourselves by saying it was god’s plan, or that everything happens for a reason.
So should you be appealing to that same supernatural entity to help protect my son — a child that he never wanted to exist? Does that make sense to you?
I’d like to open this letter by acknowledging and thanking those who have shared that they’re praying for my son, who was born prematurely and since then has resided in our local neonatal intensive care unit. I realize your intentions are good and that you believe your prayers are helping him grow stronger. By appealing to a deity that you believe exists and listens to your pleas, you feel you’re offering your support and contributing to my son’s cause in some way. Because I realize you believe you’re helping, I thank you for doing what you feel will help my son get healthy and strong.
However, my wife and I are atheists. We don’t believe in the supernatural, and we have good reasons for that, but that’s a topic for another day. We have placed our trust in science and modern medicine, and we are absolutely amazed at what is possible, thanks to medical research and man’s advanced understanding of biological sciences. In fact, if we had not placed our trust in medicine, or lived in different times, or belonged to a religion that frowns upon fertility treatments or medically assisted conception, we would not have any children at all.
If we left it to a god to decide, our 4-year-old son, Ryan, would not exist. He would not have been conceived without modern science and fertility doctors. And if we had become pregnant on our own, he very well could have died in childbirth without the intervention of doctors and nurses, as my wife had to have an emergency c-section after a difficult attempt at childbirth that put Ryan at risk. If we left it to a god to decide, our 4-week-old, Grayson would not exist. He also would not have been conceived without modern science and an IVF procedure. And if we had become pregnant on our own that time, he would have died shortly after being born prematurely, without the intervention and constant care of doctors and nurses. Thanks to medical breakthroughs, not miracles, we have two children and get to experience all of the joy, pride, love, and everything else that comes with raising children — all of which would have been replaced with sorrow and heartache had we left it to a god to decide. We would have had no children, and like many of the religious, would have attempted to rationalize this in an attempt at comforting ourselves by saying it was god’s plan, or that everything happens for a reason.
So should you be appealing to that same supernatural entity to help protect my son — a child that he never wanted to exist? Does that make sense to you?
Much more at link: http://dividedundergod.com/2015/05/27/an-atheists-open-letter-to-those-praying-for-his-son/
And a fundraising site for the family: http://gofundme.com/GraysonFund
24 replies
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Not going to link to the other room but that's what one person said about this poor father's blog post.
From the op:
As many of my readers have noticed, I haven’t posted anything in about a month. That’s because on April 27, my life got exponentially busier, when my wife went into preterm labor and delivered our son 12 weeks early. Grayson now lays in the local neonatal intensive care unit, where he’s been since he was born. He’s doing well and continues to grow and gain weight, but the experience has been draining — physically, emotionally, and financially.
His son has been in intensive care for over a month and that's the response he gets from a believer.
Until recently my BIL used to organize trips to Belgium and an Asian country to help with "sister churches" they established. He is well known as a missionary in SBC circles. He had been hired by a mega church specifically for this purpose.
The man has never done a lick of genuine work in his life. The mega church doesn't do anywhere near the equivalent money wise in their own community. It's all about The Great Commission for these lily handed saints. 
Good to see you, bmus!! I was wondering about you yesterday!!
It's one thing to read hateful comments in the guy's blog but when you see them on a supposedly liberal website...
Good to be back, PeaceNikki!
He/she/it was too busy helping Lebron score baskets?
