Why I am an atheist

You really want to know why I am unhappy. You really want to know why I am angry. Well here goes, I am unhappy and angry because every five seconds I have to tell people that I do not need a god to be happy. I am upset because I have to keep defending my morals, who and what I am, just because I do not believe in a god. I am an atheist, that is who I am, and I refuse to apologize for it. It seems I cannot tell someone what I am without it turning into some big problem for the person that I am telling these days. I am tired of having to tell people, that I am an atheist not because I am rebelling against a god who I have never felt the presence of, not because I don’t want to answer to anyone, not because I dislike morality, and not because I hate god and the religion de jure. I am an atheist because it is who I am; it is my choice, just as it is your choice to be religious. Let me explain a few things here though, so I never have to explain them again.

Those of us that are atheist are atheist because for whatever reason, we are unable to find truth in a religion, or find any evidence for the existence of a higher power. I am told that those who are religious find strength in their faith, and that they feel the presence of their god. Well that is all well and good, but I, and my fellow atheists, are not you. We are different in this one regard, but we are still people. We can still be your friends, and we can still have morality. We are not rebelling against a parental figure that you have in your life, nor do we hate that figure. As that figure is not in our lives, we have no reason to hate that figure. We just don’t feel its presence.

We do not worship ourselves, science, or anything. We simply are a group of people who all share one thing, and one thing alone across the board. We disbelieve in all deities. That is all. Calling us a religion, is sort of like calling all people with brown hair a religion, or all people with blue eyes. It is something that is part of us, which we cannot change. I am sorry if you feel differently, but if you think we are a religion, I dare you to find one dogma, one religious practice that is across the board with all of us.

Then there is the issue of morality, the thing that we are most often accused of not having. If I did not have some kind of morality, if all of us did not have some kind of morality, then we would be hearing a lot about gangs of rampaging atheists, killing with abandon, and deflowering random virgins through copious amounts of rape. As this is not the case, obviously, you must infer that we have some kind of morality, some level of decency. “But where does your morality come from?” That is a question we are asked nearly daily. Our morality comes from a mixture of things. Our upbringing, what we were taught in our formative years, and what wisdom our parents leave us. Then you have our society, what is valued in the society in which we live, and what is considered “good” in the groups we travel in. Finally, our own personal philosophies. These philosophies are something that we come up with threw the years of experience, threw the years of our lives. Each person, religious and atheist both, have a personal philosophy. It is impossible to deny its hold on each of us.

I am told I am just an atheist so I can sin with impunity, yet if that were true, wouldn’t we take advantage of our license more? Why am I working to get a degree that will allow me to teach in a special needs classroom if I am just a heartless sinner? Secondly, why would sinning even matter to me, or any other atheist, if we do not believe in sin? It is not part of our lives, as the boogie monster is not part of your lives, because both do not exist.

Then we are asked how we can remain moral without the threat of a hell, or the promise of heaven. I think this speaks more of the religious people then it does of the atheist groups. If you act in a moral manner, only to get brownie points from some creator, from some god, then you are what I would describe as immoral. For acting in a moral fashion, is, and I know how hokey this sounds, its own reward. That feeling that you are a good person is all I need. Well that, and the knowledge that people generally like me when I am kind to them, so I am kind to those I love, because it makes them happy, which causes them to be kind to me. It is a wonderful cycle, and I need no god to enjoy it.

Next we have the questions of, “well if god had nothing to do with the start of the universe, then how did it start?” Well, let me answer this truthfully, I do not know. But just because I do not know, does not mean that I will abandon my quest for a scientific answer just because it is not as convenient. See, without questions, without not knowing how things got started, keeps me curious. After all, I have no idea how my computer works, but just because I do not know does not mean that I am just going to say that magical computer fairies make it work. It is this drive to know that keeps humans at work, this curiosity that keeps humanity on the cutting edge of the animal kingdom.

That segues nicely into my next point. I am often also asked, “How can you believe that humans are just animals.” Well, I can do it quite easily thank you very much. Aside from the fact that you have organs, and blood, and skin, and all the other body parts that all animals have, how is it sad at all to know that humans are just another animal? How is that bad, after all, we are alive, are we not? And if you are alive, and you are not an animal, then you are a plant. Considering that none of us subsist on chlorophyll, I will assume we are all animals. Of course I will get the odd person who will point out how we are much smarter than the rest of the animals, and I will point out how the gorilla is much stronger than the other animals. Or how the tiger can kill a human sixty ways before we hit the ground. Being good at one thing, does not make us a different class, it just makes us part of the evolutionary tree. We fill a niche, that is all. We humans are nothing special; we are part of a great chain of life. How can it be sad to be a part of this wonderful process? I cannot understand how someone can look at nature, look at our fellow animals, and see the beauty; see how the wonderful nature is.

I am then asked “how can you not believe in god, that is so sad!” No, it is not sad, I am rather very happy not believing in god. I have friends and I have family who love and care for me, and who I love and care for. I know that there is no heaven and no hell, so I do not let it worry me. I know I have a finite time on this world, so I know that I have to make the most of my life. That my joy is in my hands. I know that if I am unhappy, then it is my job to fix that problem. I do not have to worry about someone cursing me, someone who I have to worry, “Am I being tested, or punished for some sin?” I know that I have to work to keep myself together, and that is one of the most liberating feelings on the planet. I love it, and it makes me, personally, very happy.

Secondly, just because the truth hurts, does that make it any less the truth? The truth is, is that one day, we will all die. There is no changing that, and it hurts, but it is something we have no control over. Just because a truth is incontinent, does not make that truth any less true. We must all accept that the world is not full of happy magic rainbows and happy fairies that dispense chocolate smiles. Sometimes life is just unfair, and it is something that we must all deal with it. Hiding from that fact does little to night to change it.

“But god answers prayers, and he cured my great aunt Lisa!” Really, or is there just a really cool coincidence? How about all the prayers that god does not answer? Does god just not feel up to it that day? After all, look at the amount of things you have prayed for, and the amount of things you have gotten from prayer. I am willing to bet hard money that the amount of prayers that you have had answered are not even close to the amount of prayers that you have prayed. You would have the same luck praying to a gallon of milk for all it would do for you.

Secondly, maybe some relative of yours cancer went into remission, or something equally as cool. Well that is wonderful, and you should celebrate your, and there, good fortune. It is wonderfully cool, and dam skippy. But the question remains, what about the rest of the people, who prayed just as hard, and who where just as good people, who died? Where they less worthy? Is little Timmy’s grandma any more important than little Billies grandma? Or did little Billies grandma just happen to get sick on gods off day or something? Unless all the people who pray for anything get it 100% of the time, I see no correlation between praying and good luck. After all, I still find money on the street, and never once prayed for wealth, while the homeless man on the street corner prays for wealth every day, and receives nothing.

Then I am hit with the argument of prophesy, if god is not real, then why did all these prophases come true. Well, let us take a look at them. Most of these prophases deal with Jesus, and I have not seen a shred of evidence that Jesus Christ existed, much less Mary. So how am I supposed to believe these prophases when I am not given any evidence that they even happened? We have no hard evidence that any of these prophases came true. And if one of the vague ones comes true, then how can we be sure that it is just not a coincidence? You can bring not one shred of evidence for any of your claims. How am I supposed to believe in something that you have no evidence for?

The most irritating, and last question I am always asked by fundies, is “can you disprove god? If you can’t that means he must exist!” This is the most flawed and irritating thing that can be said. First of all, the burden of proof is on you guys. You have made the claim that a god exists, I do not have to disprove something you cannot prove. After all, if I were to run up to you and start shouting that there is a giant invisible statue of me on the planet Zog of the Crab Nebula, and you asked me to prove it, would you accept the fact that you can’t disprove me, as I have offered no supporting evidence for you to refute, as evidence of my claim. No of course you would not, and you would label me an idiot.

I mean not to insult anyone with this essay; I wanted to put some of the most commonly asked questions of why I am an atheist, in one spot. I am tired of fighting the same old battles, I have nothing against any of you, and I love you all. We are all humans, and we are all important. I hope that you have at least learned a little about who I am. This is why I am an atheist.