minister turns atheist dot org

"Why promote atheism even if it is true? Why would I want to
know that I have no divine purpose or hope after the grave?
You don't have to do anything to be an atheist. Atheism
offers me nothing..."

This is the part of a quote from an email I received recently,
to which I would like to respond.

Looking back at how I felt as a deeply religious person and
as a Christian who was starting to lose my faith, I can
understand how this person feels. I once felt the same way.
A number of times, I told my own congregation, "If atheism is
true, we might as well just kill ourselves!" I know I felt that I
really would do that if I chose such a walk, but now, "seeing
the light" as a freethinker, I feel foolish. Sometimes, we just
have to be in a situation to know what we would do. Back
then, I did not know how I would react because I had never
been an atheist, and didn't know what I know now, and,
therefore, couldn't say for sure how I would think.

One of the things that became very obvious to me as an
atheist was how little life had changed. It was still just
mundane me, plain old life as it always had been. Demons
were not haunting me, bad things were not happening any
more or less than they were before I defected from faith.
Everything was the same, except for my outlook on life. I
spent a while deliberating whether or not I would promote my
new views. At first, I thought I never would because I saw
atheism and the materialistic nature of life as a depressing,
negative thing, but as time went on, life began to teach me
that I was going to be around for a while longer, and I
wanted others to share in the intellectual relief that I
experienced from my defection from Christianity. So I
Realized that it only made sense to make my mark on the
world in a way I thought was positive, by speaking out
against deceptive, guilt-ridden, empty-promising, goddism.

Though it required a good deal of thinking and re-thinking, I
decided I wanted others to know why I left a religion and
state of mind that promoted guilt, unnecessary fears and
rules, and a religion that choked (or tried to choke), the life
out of scientific progress. Plus, it only seemed right to put
down a religion that was responsible for more persecution
worldwide than all the forces of Stahlin could ever have
hoped to accomplish! The more I studied atheism, this wasn't
a decision to make at all. It became obvious that I needed to
make it my purpose to rid the world of this archaic and
oppressive thing known as religion.

From then on, I felt empowered in a way that only a formerly
religious person could understand. I decided I would win the
world with the new joy I had found in atheistic freethought,
and the principles of enlightened self-interest. There was
much to be said for the happy, short life, I found, and that's
what I would tell others. Not a day goes by that I don't realize
how much of a socially progressive asset atheism (properly
applied) can be.

Atheism...

1) Makes the world start relying on science, as opposed to
psuedosciences and religious inaccuracy to solve problems,
and build reliable expectations of the future.

2) Makes people realize that they are accountable for their
own actions, and that morality and moral virtues come from
a big mind, not a big church.

3) Helps people to see just how big the universe is, and how
small and insignificant we are, but how much we can do
when we set our minds to carve out our own niche in the
world.

4) Helps mankind to realize that, in a very real sense, we
are becoming, somewhat like the gods we once believed in:
we are capable of "blessing" others (to speak well of, to
encourage), and of helping others accomplish tasks that
they are unable to undertake and accomplish themselves.
We can also mold and shape our destinies into what we feel
they should be. It also helps us to realize that life is ours,
and not a god's. We are our own masters. We are not
slaves.

5) Helps mankind to appreciate the ride of life, and not
vainly hope for some beyond-the-clouds destination where
everything will be perfect. Realizing the tenants of atheism
will help us to slow down and appreciate life a little more,
perhaps.

In the end, atheism is a way of life for the thinker, for the one
who refuses to "just accept" the foolishness that less
discerning people embrace. Atheism is not for everyone, but
to those few who demand that the world make rational sense
and need to find a logically coherent way to view the
madness and chaos in which we have come to exist. (JH)