About Atheism

I am an atheist.

This page serves to explain what an atheist is from my perspective only. Other atheists have their own opinions. Atheism is not a religion. Atheism has no dogma, no creeds, no doctrine - just because I have said something or some other atheist once said something does not mean that all atheists agree. Understood? Good, now lets move forward.

What is an atheist?
An atheist is someone who does not believe in the existence of any gods.

What do atheists believe?
All atheists believe different things. I don’t believe in the existence of any gods. I don’t believe in the god of Abraham, I don’t believe in any of the thousands of other gods millions of people have worshiped since the beginning of time either. I don’t believe in any afterlife and I don’t believe that the universe was created solely for human habitation by some supernatural entity. I do believe in lots of things though. I believe in being good for goodness’ sake for example.

If you don’t believe in God, how do you think we all got here?
I’ll take this moment to address the first problem I have with this type of question. Whenever this question is asked, the use of capital “G” God is always used. Why is it that only the followers of the Abrahamic god bothered by how we all got here? I was Pagan for years and people of non-Abrahamic faiths don’t seem to be all that concerned with the origins of life. It’s very interesting to me that only monotheists are all worked up about explaining all these unanswered questions and inserting “God did it” whenever they are unable to find a suitable answer.

Anyway. How did we all get here? That’s a deep subject. I accept the explanations science provides. We may not have all the answers to every single question but I prefer a discipline that seeks to expand our worldview over one that seeks to keep us ignorant. Here’s a nice chart in case you need a visual example of what I’m talking about.

If you really do want to know how we all got here, here are some good links to get you all educated:

Talk Origins This is an excellent site for all your questions about evolution.
Berkeley’s Evolution Site This one is very user friendly and easy to understand.
You Tube’s Thunderf00t Oh Noes! Yeah, I would normally never link to YouTube as a reliable source, but some people don’t like to read and this guy actually has some decent videos. They’re highly watchable and you might learn something.

If you don’t believe in any god, what stops you from just raping and pillaging?
Right. Please tell me you don’t actually believe that the only thing stopping you from stealing your neighbors car and raping small children is the threat of hell.

I act like a decent person because I have a little thing called empathy. I have emotions and I recognize that other humans on this planet have those emotions too. I don’t rape, steal, or kill (and a whole bunch of other unpleasant things) because I don’t want to harm others. I respect the rights of others. I also learned as a small child that if I acted in a way that others (my parents, my peers, my teachers) disapproved of, they would shun me. They would send me to my room, refuse to play with me, or make me eat my lunch in the corner. I didn’t like that so I learned really early that it was much better to act in a way that made other people want to be around me. I like being a member of society and I don’t want to live cut off from others. I act like a decent human because I don’t desire to harm others and I don’t want to ostracized. I suspect that’s why you act like a decent person too.

What if there is a god and he’s going to send you to hell for not believing in him? Isn’t that a big risk? Wouldn’t it be safer to believe just in case?

This is the worst argument ever. Did you know it’s not original? It’s called Pascal’s Wager and it was created by a Seventeenth Century French Mathematician named Blaise Pascal. Pascal determined that it’s better to bet on God because if God exists you have lost nothing, and gained everything. But if you bet against God you loose everything.

This argument fails on so many levels.
1. It assumes that belief can be switched on and off if only you are offered a big enough reward. Can you make yourself genuinely believe in the existence of flying leprechauns if I offer you a million dollars?
2. It assumes that a god would actually be fooled by a person’s pretend belief or belief through bribery.
3. It assumes that believing in god, and being wrong, costs nothing. While it’s true that if when you die you are just dead you won’t mind much at that point, it is not true that living a life believing in the biblical god costs nothing. Many people report feelings of guilt and fear throughout their lives as Christians. I have never been Christian so I can not personally attest to that but I can see no reason for me to pretend to believe in a god who supposedly allows children to starve, be abused, watch their parents die of war, famine, AIDS, and countless other atrocities, but is apparently really, really concerned about who does what and when with their own genitals. Sorry, I have a lot to loose - I like my brain and my compassion.

Final Comments

I have read the bible, more than once and more than one version. I have also read the Tanakh and the Qur’an. I was a theist for many years, though not a monotheist. I was a polytheist and that’s why I have an “About Paganism” page up - actually that’s mainly because it’s a nice reference for me to copy and paste from, but still.
My point, I’m not a stranger to belief. I understand believing that a deity exists. I just do not believe that any longer and I have heard all the arguments as to why I should. Telling me I will go to hell or that the devil is whispering in my ear isn’t going to convince me - I believe in neither.

I don’t feel that I have a hardened heart or a closed mind. I am skeptical person but I have always been a bit that way. I like to see evidence for claims and the claim that a god exists is an extraordinary claim. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. There is no proof at all for the existence of any deity. That’s why I am an atheist. I do not believe in the god of the bible for the same reason that Christians do not believe in Zeus. I find the bible unbelievable for the same reason Christians find the Qur’an unbelievable. I find Jesus unconvincing for the same reason Methodists find Joseph Smith unconvincing.

I think if the average person looked at their beliefs logically, they would realize that to believe in a supernatural being that can’t be seen, heard, touched, smelled, or tasted is quite ridiculous. I think the average person would come to the same realization that many of us have - that these are stories made up by ancient cultures to explain events they didn’t understand and make everyone feel a little better about the fact that we all die someday. I am not ready to die, I have a lot of living to do. But I rest easy knowing that there is no supernatural being out there that created me or cares about me and when I die, I will simply cease to exist.