(misconceptions about atheists)
CAN'T DENY IT, WON'T FAKE IT
Please don't get me wrong; if your "relationship with God" makes you feel whole and enriches your life, I'm happy for you, I really am. And I absolutely don't wish to insinuate that there's something wrong with you if you see things differently than I do. But to me something bigger and higher makes everything inferior by comparison, which I find neither uplifting nor inspiring. And I'd be no good to myself or anyone else feeling depressed due to that. When I look at nature, beautifull but also brutal as it is, or mankind's history which has it's triomphs but also far too many grotesk autrocities, I see cause and effect and consequences of actions, but not anything I'd care to call "a plan". And I don't consider "hellbound" to be a healthy way to look at my fellow human beings, no matter what kind of reward is supposedly offered in return. But most of all, I wouldn't want to have to go through life bending over backwards explaining to myself why I shouldn't look at things that way, because I can't. To pretend otherwise and "fake it" would be a mockery of everything you deem sacred and holy.
I understand and respect that you might feel obliged to do what you consider your duty, and I'm sure you mean well, so be well. Rest assured though, that I'm already well informed. Please try to understand that your hopes and prayers, despite the best of intentions, also imply that you wish I'd stop being an atheist, that I'd stop being me... perhaps not such a nice sentiment after all. Convictions should be heartfelt and sincere, not the product of pleading or force, or else they're worth nothing. And maybe... just maybe... me being me isn't such an objectable thing after all.
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PREJUDICE IS SUCH AN UGLY THING.
Off course I don't pretend to speak on all atheist's behalf, but I'm pretty sure other "infidels" are not all that shockingly different from me when it comes to the following issues. I've heard a lot of weird and nasty things said about atheists, and I'd like to do something about those misconceptions, if you'll allow me. Maybe my words won't carry much weight with you unless I'm the son of god; frankly I find that a little bit demanding, if you'll forgive me for saying so.
-ATHEISTS BELIEVE THERE IS NO GOD. Wrong. An atheist is not someone who DOES believe there ISN'T a god, but someone who DOESN'T believe there IS a god. Not believing is something that doesn't require one to believe, and this should come as no surprise.
-ATHEISTS ARE GOD-HATERS. Incorrect. A god-hater would be someone who DOES believe there is a god, but doesn't have too high an opinion of him. I don't even fit the believe bill, let alone that last part. I do however have strong opinions about how the word god is used, and I definately disprove of it being used as some lame three-letter excuse for bigotry, hatred, the causing of harm, or for depriving people of fundamental rights and trained medical care. Atheists might mock what others make "their God" out to be (and whether the mocking or that which is being mocked is more objectable will always remain a matter of opinion) but never some deity they don't believe in to begin with.
-ATHEISTS HAVE NO MORAL COMPASS. Not quite. Off course there are bad apples in every bunch, but I for one am well aware that benifits are good and harm is bad. I also don't need to believe a rule came from some god in order to apreciate and respect the harmfull consequences it's trying to prevent. I may not have faith, but I do have my reasons, and in general they lead to the same conclusions.
-ATHEISTS HAVE HARDENED THEIR HEARTS TO THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL. If you mean that I don't think crusifixion is a horrible thing, and that I fail to see the value of forgiveness being bestowed upon those who have a hard time forgiving themselves, or the importance of love for one's fellow human being, that assumption is wrong! If you mean that I explicitly state that nobody has to die on a cross for me, and that whoever did didn't do so on my account... or that I do not see the need for believing supernatural claims, that statement is right on the money! As far as I'm concerned Jesus and his message, as the story goes, were stuck between a rock and a hard place because he was at the mercy of religious fanatics. People who wouldn't give his words the time of day unless he was the son of god, and killed him when he proclaimed himself to be just that. Perhaps you don't like me putting it in such blunt terms, but I hope you can at least see that I do have my feelings of sympathy for the Jesus of the gospels, and the predicament he found himself in; even if it is in my own weird twisted little way.
-ATHEISTS WANT TO ROB US OF OUR RIGHT TO BELIEVE. By no means. There certainly are atheists who want references to God removed from public or state property, (personally I have more important things to worry about) but they don't insist those are replaced with proclamations that discourage beliefs. Atheist's struggle for church/state separation is a struggle for your right to believe as well. Freedom of religion is virtually impossible to maintain if absolute freedom is given to fundamentalists who follow a doctrine, one that doesn't respect that freedom of religion, and follow it to the letter. The god of monotheistic holy scriptures is described as a jeallous god. That's why it's important that public areas as well as the political/justice arena remain a (secular) neutral zone. It's the only way everybody's right to believe in their minds homes and churches can be maintained. And like I said, convictions need to be sincere, not forced, or else they're worthless. The atheists right to refrain from believing and the theist's right to believe are not in conflict, but part of the same freedom.
-ATHEISTS TRY TO LEAD US AWAY FROM GOD. No they don't. You probably won't even notice someone is an atheist untill you start talking about God or religion. But if you ask an atheist why they don't believe, you'll soon find out it isn't out of whimsy... they will actually give you a reason, or even more likely tons of reasons for that. If you end up finding those reasons compelling... hey, no offense meant, but you brought up the subject.
-THERE ARE NO ATHEISTS IN FOXHOLES. False. Don't take my word for it though. See for yourself. Just google MAAF (the Millitary Association of Atheists and Freethinkers). There's even a monument for atheists who have served in the U.S. millitary. It's adjecent to the Willa Mea Whatley auditorium in Fearn Park, overlooking Lake Hypatia, Alabama.
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MY CONVICTIONS (ATHEISTS DO HAVE 'M)
I think that anyone who would condemn or dispise another person for no other reason, but because their convictions dictate them to do so, is not committed to some higher goal, but sold out pure and simple.
Anyone who thinks "us" is a group smaller than all of mankind is not with "us" but unfortunately with "them".
I think that being overly judgemental is how we turn ourselves and each other into liars. But most of all...
If you put all of the differences aside... what where or who you think we came from, who you're capable or incapable of falling in love with, where you live, what language you speak, which colour your skin is, which affliction you suffer from, what you agree or disagree with... in the end there's only one thing that truelly matters...
...and that is that we are all here...
...and we need to make that work!
Peace.
I may not be a believer, but I'm not one of those monsters that psalm 14 talks about.
