One Sunday afternoon, I found myself in the checkout line at my neighborhood grocery store. There was a woman in front of me, probably between 30 and 35 years of age. Accompanying her were 4 young children, the oldest of which couldn't have been past the age of 6.
Now, I'm not one to assume, but I had to wonder if a father was in the picture. Regardless, she seemed to be struggling.
The cashier scanned her items: milk and other very tiny food products. As she dug through her pocketbook for cash, I noticed the youngest child looking at me from her seat in the shopping cart. Something about her eyes said "I'm hungry". Maybe it was the way she looked back and forth from me to my Hershey's bar and Campbell's Soup cans on the other side of the plastic divider.
"Mommy, can I get this?" The oldest child had himself found a Hershey's bar and was holding it out to his mother.
"No, child, we don't have the money for all that. Put it back." She waved him away and handed some bills to the cashier. The kid, head held low, put the candy back on the shelf.
"Oh, Lord! Wait a minute!" the mother shouted, pulling the bills back before the cashier could take them. "I can't have THAT!" She was pointing to the little monitor that displayed her total. It read $6.66, Satan's number. She looked to me and said, "You can put that over here - I'll get that for you." She was pointing to my Hershey's bar sitting on the conveyor. I handed it to her.
The cashier rung it up, and the mother pulled out a couple more bills to cover it - I got one of the big bars, the ones you're supposed to share but people rarely do - and paid with a smile on her face, saying, "Not today!" She handed my candy back to me and went on her way.
The eldest son looked at me as he shuffled off with his family. He seemed hurt almost. So, as I took a bite from my chocolate bar, I smiled, waved at him, and said, "Have a blessed one!" Even though it's against my beliefs, it just seemed like the right thing to say in the moment. And religious people want to argue that I have no moral compass? It's things like this that remind me I am a decent person... but I'm getting away from the point. In the end, this proved to me that religion's not so bad sometimes - I got free candy, after all.
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I am so glad things turned out the way they did. A good Christian woman willing to sacrifice her rent, utilities, and bus fare (she probably had to walk home) to avoid the demon cures of 666 and to just to buy a complete stranger a chocolate bar. I am convinced. Christian Charity knows no bounds!!!
All I have to say is, what is so special about 666? It is just a damned number. It has no significance whatsoever. You say it is Satan's number? How so? Satan is the figment of someone's imagination written in the greatest anthology of Tales From the Crypt. It is all make believe.
Only YOU have the power to give any word, phrase, sentence, or number, the power to offend YOU!
rmfr
I remember when my car had 66, 666 miles. That was a good night.
I don't understand why this mother didn't buy the Hershey bar for her son. Oh, wait...theist. OK as you were.
The story as it's written here was exaggerated for comedic effect but also as anecdotal evidence to describe how so many theists behave. I myself have worked in retail and have witnessed much theistic bullshittery firsthand.
It's superstitious behavior, theist or not. Silly from a rational perspective, but, whatever.
When my girlfriend at the time got a cellphone years back, the clerk asked if '666' exchange would be ok. She said SURE.
Over time we noticed that her Baptist mother would always call my phone if she wanted to talk to her..... hmmmmm
Reminds me of another funny story told by a guy among a group of people were out on the town. One person in particular was an obnoxious jerk, bragging about all his money and pretty much putting everyone else down. Finally they were running out of cash and Mr Bigshot went to the cash machine, which declined his card for 'insufficient funds' in front of everyone.
The narrators conclusion: "atheists say there is no god... there sure is ... and he's a joker"
My wife had a similar experience, except it was my wife's purchase that totaled $6.66, and the cashier is the one who seemed to have a problem with it. The cashier suggested my wife purchase an additional item. My wife refused and suggested that since it was such a big deal the cashier give her a discount. Eventually the cashier gave up and my wife paid the $6.66
religion isn't all bad. yeah, that's true enough.
its can be as dangerous as liberalism, conservatism, fires, cars and guns too.
religious people need to be monitored. like everybody else.
Well, the religious mother giving you a free candy bar was brought about by superstition and fear of an imaginary being that is used by Christianity and Islam to cultivate an "Us-versus-them" mentality (you either worship our particular God or you're being controlled by Say-tan)... but still, good one.
But you getting free candy aside, it has been demonstrated time and time again that religion's costs far outweigh its benefits, IMO.
Well I think yeah religion can be good , Religion itself is more like a social system but the problem is the priesthood of it and when it claims that they have an absolute truth about the existence then they gonna be against the rational mindset / criticism ... You shouldn't put any limit in any subject you should criticize the god whenever you want ,etc , And the people who believe in the literal explanation they're the worst they should go to their hell ...
@ Adonis
Nice! Good post.
rmfr