The Truth I Cannot Tell

I find myself in a really strange position. As many of you know I am an Ex-Christian. I left the faith 12 years ago and have not once regretted this. I remain friends with a great many people of faith, but by the same token stand greatly opposed to what they advocate. To stay abreast of things I often visit the Christian Post website, and over recent days I have encountered some perspectives that have left me both astonished and dismayed. It appears that so many remain in denial of the implications, dangers, and challenges that lay ahead in light of Covid 19. There is a considerable volume of Trump voters whom are hanging on his every word, listening to his erratic and often unscientific claims, and in so doing leaving themselves at immense risk. I have very deliberately been attempting to engage with many of them, but I do so whilst very consciously keeping my Atheism a secret. If they knew I do not believe in their God then they would cease to listen to me, or assume I was seeking to deceive them. I’m really not, and I’m genuinely fearful of what might lay ahead for the United States. As of the last few hours America has now passed China in terms of confirmed cases. Now factoring in the general poor health of many American citizens, including chronic obesity combined with the peculiar way their health system works, I can see what amounts to a perfect storm brewing. Add to this a fair amount of brute ignorance, and of course loyalty to Trump, I can’t see any good outcome. So I’m trying to gently communicate the facts as we currently best understand them, and to do so in a way that doesn’t belittle or undermine what they have chosen to believe. I may not share their convictions, but in the face of such dangerous ignorance I feel I need to do something to communicate that they face a significant threat. It’s a funny feeling from where I sit. I’m deceiving them in the sense that they will never know that I’m an Atheist, but I’m doing so borne of a genuine concern that a great many are going to suffer if they persist with their current outlook. Does this make me a liar? Perhaps. But if I can persuade just a few to think a different way I would know that I have done something. Evangelical Christians are a core part of Trumps demographic. Many hang on his every word. He’s going to get a lot of them killed. At times like now, it is so very important that we put ideological differences aside. Left, right, black or white, gay or straight, believer or sceptic; we’ve all got a dog in this fight. We’re going to beat this thing, but along the way people we know, either directly or indirectly are going to die. That’s a brute fact and we need to stare it down squarely. So I’m going reach out and get alongside those with whom I likely share very little in common. I don’t care that they would scorn me they knew what I was. That’s not important. It cannot afford to be.