I've seen this Ricky Gervais video where he tells the story of Noah and the Ark quite a few times now, and he still can make me laugh so hard I end up crying.
Ricky Gervais is kind of a Court Jester to Christianity. Court Jester's of their time were the ones who had the freedom to speak truth to the King. Maybe the King was laughing so hard that the truth tasted better and he didn't kill the court jester for being honest.
For most of us that have deconverted, we understand more than most how silly some of the stories were that we believed so heartily in. It's voices like Ricky's that give us the freedom to laugh at those stories.
Ricky Gervais: The Unbeliever's Interview
What I like about Ricky is that exposes the foolishness of the Christian belief system. Not all of Christianity is foolishness, but there is a good amount of it that is, and Ricky has no qualms about casting some humour and honest reflection to a system that can use some humility.
Ricky's comedy is only surpassed by his wisdom... here is a bit of that.
“It’s a strange myth that atheists have nothing to live for. It’s the opposite. We have nothing to die for. We have everything to live for.”
“As an atheist, I see nothing “wrong” in believing in a God. I don’t think there is a God, but belief in him does no harm. If it helps you in any way, then that’s fine with me. It’s when belief starts infringing on other people’s rights when it worries me. I would never deny your right to believe in a God. I would just rather you didn’t kill people who believe in a different God, say. Or stone someone to death because your rulebook says their sexuality is immoral. It’s strange that anyone who believes that an all-powerful all-knowing, omniscient power responsible for everything that happens, would also want to judge and punish people for what they are.”
“The existence of God is not subjective. He either exists or he doesn’t. It’s not a matter of opinion. You can have your own opinions. But you can’t have your own facts.”
“Do unto others…’ is a good rule of thumb. I live by that. Forgiveness is probably the greatest virtue there is. But that’s exactly what it is - a virtue. Not just a Christian virtue. No one owns being good. I’m good. I just don’t believe I’ll be rewarded for it in heaven. My reward is here and now. It’s knowing that I try to do the right thing. That I lived a good life. And that’s where spirituality really lost its way. When it became a stick to beat people with. ‘Do this or you’ll burn in hell.’ You won’t burn in hell. But be nice anyway.”
― Ricky Gervais
Day 13: 2022 - "The Great 'I don't know'"
Day 13: 2023 - Confusing the Actor for the Character
