Posted by Hemant Mehta in My family is visiting Arizona for a few days, so blogging will be slow until I get back.
But while I’m here, I’ll check out the Grand Canyon and see what all the fuss is about 
I don’t travel very often with my Jain parents, but since I started going to more atheist conferences/events a couple years ago, they’ve tried to at least see things from my perspective. They are starting to learn a bit about atheism, but they know very little about Christianity or Catholicism. So if they ever come across anything religious, they’ll let me know.
For example, on the shuttle at the airport, I happened to sit next to a guy wearing a black shirt (with black collar) and a white square by the neck– obviously, a priest.
My parents began to point him out to me. In a very un-subtle way. (Because, of course, I’ve never seen a priest before and I’ll be amused by the sight of one…)
Parents: Look!
Me: What?
Parents: Next to you!
Me: [Looks around] I don’t see anything.
Parents: [Make gestures towards their shirts.]
Me: I have no idea what you’re doing right now.
Parents: HIS SHIRT! LOOK AT HIS SHIRT!!!! NEXT TO YOU!!!
Priest: [Turns in my direction... glares.]
Me: I want to go home now.
But sometimes it’s more conspicuous and entertaining.
Like when we left the airport and were on the road and they woke me up to point out a bus in front of us:
Ahh, family bonding…
[tags]atheist, atheism, Arizona, Grand Canyon, priest, Jesus, Jain, Jainism, Catholic, Christian[/tags]
Your parents live in the United States and they’ve never seen a priest?
You’re visiting the Grand Canyon? Awesome! I was just there a few months ago, and can say with blessed assurance that you’ll enjoy the chance to learn more about the great Flood that carved the Canyon in a mere year or so…
I was at the Grand Canyon a few years ago and was surprised to see bible verses displayed prominently at several places. Apparently they are on private land and not paid for by taxpayer funds.
Nevertheless, with the other controversies going on there, I found these markers rather disconcerting.
They’ve seen priests. They just think that if they see one now, they need to point him out to me because I’m an atheist.
You’re in AZ now? You should let me know what your schedule is. Maybe I can buy you a beer!
Drop me a line!
That bus…
Is the USA the living hell that it seems, or is this sort of thing sporadic?
My little corner of the world is hardly what I’d refer to as a living hell. And I live in one of the hottest places on earth!
Good thing you’re a friendly atheist or you’d have pointed out that the priest thinks your parents are going to hell and they’d have had to go over and beat the crap out of him… and there’d go all those years of Jainism down the drain.
That’s hilarious. Like, what are you supposed to do: Deconvert him? Challenge him to a debate right on the spot? Ask him to perform a transubstantiation?