I wrote another poem. This one has a title.

(If you want to join in the comment discussion, go here.)

There’s A Theist On My Doorstep





There’s a theist on my doorstep,

And he’s asking me to look

At some godly threats and promises

Inside some holy book.

I’ve no time for fairy stories,

And I’ve heard this one before,

So I think I’ll tell him “Thank you, no,”

And simply shut the door.

For he seems a pleasant fellow,

Trying to do what he deems right,

And while his fantasies harm no-one,

There’s no need to start a fight.





There’s a theist in my village

Who’s a preacher, I’ve heard tell,

And he speaks in fiery rhetoric

Of sinners and of hell.

His dogma is offensive,

And there’s cruelty in his words,

But his congregation’s smaller

Than his shoe size by a third.

So I mostly leave him to it.

After all, it’s his free choice,

And I think he mostly talks to hear

The sound of his own voice.





There’s a theist on the internet

Whose blog is read worldwide.

He has thousands of supporters

At his feet and by his side.

But his logic is as flimsy

As his “tolerant” veneer,

So I’ve started up my own blog

Just to make a few things clear.

I doubt there’ll be much of a chance

That his mind will be changed,

But I’ll make sure only one of us

Sounds angry and deranged.





There’s a theist in my classroom

Who says Darwin got it wrong,

And we all should read the Bible,

And our faith we must keep strong.

Well I won’t sit here in silence

While the science gets distorted.

It’s the school board’s job to make sure

His indoctrination’s thwarted.

He might cry discrimination,

Though his free speech is intact,

But we won’t respect religion

When it masquerades as fact.





There’s a theist in my government

Whose deity’s expected

To provide her moral guidance,

And to get her re-elected.

Her faith, of course, is personal,

And merits little note.

But if this is how she’ll run things,

Then she’s not getting my vote.

Who knows what God will order her

On any given date?

I’d rather not entrust him with

Our economic fate.





There’s a theist on my TV

Telling gays they’re less than whole,

And unless they plead forgiveness

God will damn their evil soul.

Now I’m starting to get angry,

And I’m going to speak out.

I don’t care if it’s uncivil;

This is hatred with some clout.

Don’t you dare tell us that love’s a sin,

You smug, self-righteous twat.

No, I won’t be fucking tactful

When you’re saying shit like that.





There are theists on my planet

Who are murdering their friends,

And who torture their own children

For insane religious ends.

People die because of witchcraft,

Maybe thousands every day –

And it’s this same kind of “faith”

That makes your neighbours kneel and pray.

Mankind has done much good which had

Religious thoughts behind it.

But sometimes there’s no harm

In calling bullshit as you find it.

Update 28/10/10: Uh. Wow. I’ve closed comments on this thread for now, because I was getting really bored with them. And by bored I actually mean fantastically entertained, but I don’t get the sense it’s going anywhere useful. I’ll post something else either tomorrow or at the weekend recapping the action so far, with a completely fair and unbiased summary of why David is completely detached from reality. You can all carry on with the back-and-forth from there if you like.

Update 30/10/10: The new discussion post, with my reply to some of David’s more entertaining comments, is now up! Have at it!