Flibbertigibbet

Stupid Magic

I was just on gay.com chatting with folks and this one guy IMed me. He's attractive, professional, funny, polite, etc. I was really excited to talk to him.

But, of course, before I'd go out on a limb and ask him out, I had to ask him THE question. Here's the relevant excerpt:

Flibby: Do you believe in god?
Flibby: You haven't indicated your religion in your profile.

Attractive Stranger: oh yes but not in a very conventional sense of what that might mean to most people

Flibby: Oh?

Attractive Stranger: so not a christian
Attractive Stranger: and u

Flibby: No, I'm atheist.
Flibby: Which is why I asked.

Attractive Stranger: dont get me wrong christianity is really hot on the right guy

Flibby: HA!

Attractive Stranger: not to worry
Attractive Stranger: were u raised as a southern baptist

Flibby: No.
Flibby: I was raised Pentecostal.

Attractive Stranger: oh my goodness

Flibby: slash Methodist.

Attractive Stranger: as in the texas Chain saw Mnethodist

Flibby: Well, sort of.

Attractive Stranger: now that was funny right

Flibby: heh heh heh... yes.

Attractive Stranger: ok
Attractive Stranger: just checking

Flibby: So, tell me this unconventional definition of god that you use.

Attractive Stranger: well if i had been raised as a penbtacostal that would have turned me into an atheist

Flibby: hahahahaaa... that's not why I'm atheist.

Attractive Stranger: God is not a person
Attractive Stranger: God is not a personality

Flibby: uh huh...

Attractive Stranger: but there is a pwer that revelas a pressence in the unfolding of things

Flibby: ?

Attractive Stranger: u really want to know

Flibby: Yes.

Attractive Stranger: its very hard to explain

Flibby: I imagine so.

Attractive Stranger: i have experienced the pressence in the unfolding of my life

Flibby: hm.

Attractive Stranger: thus the power speaks into my life thru the venst of my life

Attractive Stranger: the events are the syllables
Attractive Stranger: the emssage is slowly unfolding
Attractive Stranger: and my typing sucks tonights
Attractive Stranger: sorry

Flibby: That seems like a sort of buddhist way of looking at things.

*sigh*

No matter how muddled one's definition of magic, these sorts of beliefs all amount to the same thing.

First, their view of the universe is precarious at best. Certainty, even in the basic facts of existence, is up for debate. Their ability to deal with the facts of reality is beyond their power.

Second, their method of coming to know anything is grasping at straws. When it comes to broad, foundational aspects of reality, they rely on faith. When it comes to facts outside of the range of their immediate experience, they rely primarily on authority, guessing, or probability and they often fail to integrate whatever facts they are pragmatically certain of with one another.

It's so frustrating to me.

Eran Dror recently advised me to constrain my search for romance to people in technical or scientific fields because of their reliance on rationality. In general, I think this is sound advice. I just wish it weren't so common everywhere else.