You're a WHAT?
Piano
Yes I'm an atheist, and I hope you can respect my lack of religion. To be honest I take great comfort from escaping from the christian stories that never made much sense to me as a child. I enjoy understanding how they can be explained in a rational way as stories that have been told for generation after generation. I delight in learning things about the world around me and marvel at the incredible detail in nature, without feeling the illusion that they needed to be created by a creator.
More than that, I came to realise that the friendly ecumenicism which suggests that god is one god and that all religions glorify him in the different ways is just fluff. It seems obvious to me now that it is not true, and seems equally obvious that the choice of the preferred god in any region of the earth is largely a matter of geographical chance.
I don't need the false hope of an afterlife. When this life is over I won't even notice the peace that has replaced it, and that does not frighten me at all.
Does my lack of belief frighten you?
***
Forte
Yes I'm an atheist - perhaps even an anti-theist these days - and although you might not respect my lack of religion you have no right to be offended by it. In fact hiding behind the smiley-faced image portrayed by religions today, you have no right to claim that the harm they have caused is just a thing of the past. When religions are powerful they dominate and impose fear and intolerance on a society. I'm just lucky enough to live in a place and an age where there is a glimpse of freedom from that totalitarianism.
Incidentally, you are an atheist too - with respect to every god except the one you choose to have faith in! Relying upon the writings in ancient texts by barely-literate no-nothings is a recipe for disaster. You are only reading this now because of the power of science and reason. No amount of prayer could create the technology that powers the internet.
Even as a child religious matters never made sense, but now as an adult who has finally dared to read other points of view, I realise why the bible countenances against 'wisdom' for the ordinary people. It was obvious to the early teachers of the church that wisdom, questioning and learning represented the biggest threats to the institution that they were creating. These are also the factors that led to the heresies and splits in every system of belief, and to so much unnecessary suffering.
I marvel at the world around me and the incredible detail in nature. I find the notion that they needed to be created by a creator to be due to a lack of imagination. I find the claims that evolution can't explain the beginning of life to be frankly ignorant and risible (as the Theory of Evolution has nothing whatsoever to do with that branch of biological science).
The fact that I cannot ever know the answers to some things fascinates me. I don't need to put gods into the gaps to fill them. 'God created the universe!' How do you know? 'God inspired the bible!' How do you know. You can't know, you don't know and nor can I. But I don't accept that the answer to every difficult question is that 'god did it'.
More than that, I came to realise that the friendly ecumenicism which suggests that god is one god and that all religions glorify him in the same way is nothing but vacuous fluff. It is obvious to me now that it is not true, and it is equally obvious that the choice of the preferred god in any region of the earth is largely a matter of geographical chance.
I don't need the false hope of an afterlife. When this life is over I won't even notice the peace that has replaced it, and that does not frighten me at all.
For me the path to real atheism is obviously a one way street. This week at work an intelligent young woman assured me sincerely that I will find a way back to god (to her God of course). In the end apparently I will be saved. She knows it in her heart. During the following 10 minutes of conversation it became obvious that I knew more about her faith and her bible than she did.
The only bit that is missing for me is a feeling that there is any need for faith! Thank God for that!
Last week: The fool hath said in his heart that there is no god
Next week: If evolution were true we'd see dogs giving birth to cats
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