Are you a deeply religious person losing your faith in these worrying times? Do global woes and natural disasters have you suddenly questioning the existence of God? If so, get thee to the nearest phone and call the atheist hotline.
Operators aren't standing by yet, but a U.S. organization called Recovering From Religion has announced plans to create a 24/7 hotline that would allow true believers to call in to discuss life's deepest questions with confirmed atheists. And should any true believers decide to switch sides in the process, what the hell.
As should be expected, the organization behind the hotline is insistent that the proposed service will not be a recruitment tool to sign up new atheists.
On a recent CNN interview, RFR executive director Sarah Morehead said that the atheist hotline operators will tailor advice to each caller and even suggest alternative faiths. Have you ever considered snake-handling for your religious needs?
In the same interview, Morehead paralleled the loss of faith to a "coming out" that is confusing and stressful for new non-believers and their immediate families.
Morehead also admitted that several of the RFR board members hail from households that were once devoutly religious, including one director whose father is the founder of the infamous Westboro Baptish Church, the small Kansas church best known for its vehement anti-gay stance and recently picketing the funeral of dead country music star George Jones.
But again, no pressure from the RFR to cross over to the dark side. The group intends to launch the atheist phone-in service by this U.S. Thanksgiving and all they need is a piddly $30,000 in donations, which sounds suspiciously low given the price of fire and brimstone these days.
The Lord apparently works in mysterious ways but what about you? Would you ever try to restore your faith by calling into a phone hotline?