Received 7.26.2001

Good day or evening to you sir, and how goes it? 

It's been quite a while since my last letter to you. Last time I wrote to tell you how much I appreciated your website and to throw in my two cents about what it was like moving to the bible belt from liberal Chicago. Well you'll never guess where I've ended up; I've taken a job in Arkansas. A frying pan and a fire come to mind.

I enjoy now more than ever reading the letters on this site, it makes me truly feel like I'm not alone. And also as I've delved into the online world of atheism more and more, I've come to realize how special this site is. As was stated in one of your letters, atheists can be just as obnoxious as soulsavers. Many webpages, message boards, and chat rooms I've investigated are riddled with a "More Logical Than Thou" mentality. It is rare to find the kind of "understand where we're coming from" message that you seem to strive for here.

Well before I rattle on forever I'll get to the point of this letter. I've found myself having to defend my beliefs not only from the outside, but from within my own family as well. This seems to be a common theme in your letters recently, but here is the twist... my mother was raised a Baptist, became jaded with religion, and ended up an agnostic. But now, no she's not a Born Again, but perhaps worse: she's decided that no one has the right to say that anything is not real. Subsequently, she is a dedicated New Ager. I point out to her that New Age belief is nothing more than a patchwork of Asian religions and made-up facsimiles thereof, designed to appeal to Westerners and appear novel. But she, like many others, has adopted the New Age Primary Rule: "If it's old (or seems old) and comes from Asia (or sounds like it does), it must be true".

I find myself constantly having to defend her from cons and rip-offs. For instance, she's been buying expensive crystals (made of glass, not crystal) to purify her aura (I assure you that she doesn't know what this means, but refer to the Primary Rule) Honestly, I think I'd prefer it if she was a Christian, but this Age of Aquarius bit came right out of left field and I'm not at all sure how to deal with it. My brother and I can't protect her from charlatans forever, but I don't see any end to this in the near future. Should we intervene more aggressively, or just grin and bear it? Despite my feelings that she's wasting money and being taken advantage of, as an atheist I also think that (since we only live once) perhaps letting her live in blissful (albeit expensive) ignorance is the way to go. Any advice? 

--Jimbo-- 

(Sorry about the longwindedness of this letter) 

My Reply:

As a general rule, I don't think anyone likes being converted... from anything... to anything. Conversion is admitting that you didn't know the truth, and if there is one thing virtually all people believe, it is that they know the truth. Your mother probably doesn't want to hear you tell her that New Age is bunk anymore than you would want someone telling you to go to church.

While her aura may not be any cleaner, New Age practices apparently give her enough satisfaction that she finds they are worth spending some money on. I wouldn't worry about this anymore than if she was collecting figurines or china.

At least the crystals are pretty.

Thanks for continuing to visit my site and thanks for your kind words.