A & O: A Religious Conversation Between Two Popular Vowels...

Transcribed by Milo Decieving

A:  I'm going to just jump right in and contend something.  Ready?

O:  Shoot.

A:  I believe that you're an atheist.

O:  (laughs)  No, I'm not.  Did M tell you that?  I believe in God.

A:  (laughs) Okay, cool.  May I ask which one?

O:  I was raised Christian, so I believe in the one an only God of the Bible.  What do you believe in by the way?

A:  Well, if you ask most people, they'd call me a non-believer.

O:  Yeah, you sound like one.

A:  I do?  How so?

O:  Your tone.  It's a touch condescending and negative.

A:  (laughs)  I hear that a lot.

O:  You do?

A:  Yes.  But I'm really an optimistic, open-minded, generous, fun-loving person.  I love music, nature, and animals--and I try my best not to eat them!

O:  (laughs)  That's funny.  Seriously though, why don't you believe?

A:  I do believe.  I believe in lots of things.  That's why I don't like the term non-believer, because it's false and inaccurate.  It's taking the positive word "believer" and adding the word "non," thus making it negative and becoming the opposite of all things good.  Let me ask you this, what do you think of stem cell research?

O:  Nice transition.

A:  Thanks.

O:  I recognize that it can ultimately help in curing diseases and other things, but something just doesn't sit well with me about it.  I'm pro-life.

A:  As you probably guessed, I'm pro-choice.  Look at that, we're both pro-something.

O:  (laughs)

A:  My point is this:  if we lived in a secular-minded culture where decisions weren't made based on God's approval or laws, but these decisions didn't gel with your personal beliefs, you'd be the one branded a non-believer.  Or anti-reason.  Or anti-progress, something like that.  Doesn't sound good, does it?

O:  I get your point.  I guess what I'm trying to figure out is that if you don't believe in God, which is fine with me, go to Hell I don't care, I'm kidding, what do you believe in?  You're being evasive!

A:  (laughs)  A lot of the same things you do.  This positive power of love, kindness, peace, tolerance, generosity, equality, green living--those are positive things, right?

O:  Last time I checked.

A:  I also try to remember that humans are just a part of nature, not above it, not something separate from it, and certainly no better than the rest of the creatures on the planet.  It would be a little speciesist to think that.  I just try to be a good person and live a good life.  I try to be productive and have a positive impact.  I believe in the here and now and that each day above ground is a gift.  I don't take life for granted because my personal belief is that we, just like the rest of the creatures on the planet great and small, don't survive our own deaths.  And I don't find that scary at all.  I find it liberating and exciting.  How cool is it that we get a few years to kick around on this space rock and have a few adventures?  It doesn't have to mean anything.  It's just beautiful.

O:  Other than the not surviving our own deaths thing, I'm right there with you.

(After a short break where A and O are pulled away to help spell the word "goat" in an 8th grade science report on dairy farming, they return.)

A:  I had no idea that a dairy farm could produce 3,000 to 5,000 gallons of goat milk per year.

O:  I prefer rice milk.  It's lower in saturated fat and cruelty free.

A:  Good call.  If you remember, my original premise is that you're an atheist, which you disagreed with, correct?

O:  Correct.

A:  Do you believe in Zues?

O:  Of course not.  He's just myth.

A:  How about Brahma, Shiva, or Vishnu?  Or Allah?

O:  Nope.

A:  How about Zenu?

O:  (laughs)  Who's that?

A:  The dictator of the galactic confederacy.  From Scientology.

O:  Come on, that's ridiculous.

A:  I think so, too.  I can go on, but I think I proved my point of your devout, some may say radical atheism.

O:  Come on.

A:  You just dismissed a handful of Gods that millions upon millions of people believed in and still believe in.  These people followed their God's teachings, and the case of Allah, still give their lives for Him today.  You just dismissed all of them outright.

O:  Those people are all on a search for meaning, which I can't blame them for, I just happen to not believe what they believe.

A:  So I guess you got lucky with Christianity.  The one true word.

O:  Correct.

A:  You understand that all those people look at you the same way, right?  As misguided?

O:  Yes, but I'm not strapping bombs to myself and blowing up innocent people either.

A:  Just abortion clinics.

O:  That's unfair. Violent fundamentalism of any variety is ugly and terrible, anyone would agree with that.

A:  I would.  You and I are very much alike.  I don't believe in any of those Gods either.  In fact, I only believe in one less God than you.

O:  Oh, but what a One.

A:  (laughs)  Listen, thanks for your candor and for putting up with me.  At the end of the day none of us have the full answer to everything, but we can agree to disagree, right?

O:  Of course.

A:  Hey, off topic, I heard you were going out with R tonight.  True?

O:  Yep.

A:  A consonant.  Nice.  Is it true what they say?

O:  That she's easy?  I'll let you know.  I'm hoping she'll bring her friends G and Y and we all end up spelling orgy.

A:  Now that's a God we can all get behind.