Why I’m an Atheist
I once read a joke that Christians and Atheists are not really that different. Out of over 6000 gods worshiped in human history, Christians don’t believe in 5999 of them. Atheists don’t believe in 6000.
I don’t believe in any god or gods, I don’t believe in any being or beings within this universe or external to it which holds supernatural power and plays a significant role in shaping human life and experience. I don’t believe there are systems like karma or reincarnation which bring order to the chaos. I believe that in the infinite possibilities in the infinite universe, everything we see today is one which happened.
We are born, we live, we die, and it’s that simple- nothing else happens. No grand design, no ultimate purpose. There is no absolute morality except what we create for ourselves. There is no purpose except what we decide. Atheism is both a liberating and horrific philosophy.
Many people tell me that Atheism really is a religion. It’s a stance on the state of the universe: a conviction that God or Gods do NOT exist. Different from Agnosticism, which is more about “I don’t know what I don’t know”, Atheists believe “There is nothing”. I would agree, and this is what I believe.
I have grouped all of my thoughts and feelings into four main arguments which have really shaped my view that the universe is really mostly what we can observe. This includes:
- The Problem of Evil- a benevolent and powerful God or system would not allow the injustices we observe today. Any God or system which is not benevolent and powerful is not worth believing in.
- The Lack of Verifiable, Falsifiable Evidence- nothing we can observe today suggests any religion exists. Almost everything in every religion can be justified to exist.
- The Convenience of Religion- there are always benefits conferred to believers which make it tempting to join a religion, and drawbacks if you do not.
- Religion as a Political Tool for Manipulation – every religion has been and continues to be a useful tool for the control of a population. This is something which continues to contribute to so much suffering and conflict in the world.
While I believe any of my arguments can be extended to any religion, I will be focusing on Christianity, as a majority of my friends and family are Christians. I have had more opportunities to examine why I’m not like them, as much as I wish we believed the same thing.
Tags: Atheism, Evidence, Problem of Evil, Religion