Atheism is a hard gig but well worth it
Its hard being an atheist, you have no one to rely on but yourself when shit hits the fan, you have no insurance policy against death (on the flipside there is no chance of going to hell either), your constantly nagged by theists about the spiritual and metaphysical implications of your choice, and again by agnostics about the dogmatism of atheism and your similarity to theist. To top it all off the chances are that you once were a theist so you constantly hammering yourself about all of this and ensuring that your decision was made for the right reasons, it never bloody ends.
I made mine after much jumping from one camp to another trying to find the right fit. I believed in god because I was basically told by those I trusted most at a time when I couldn't decide for myself that it was the way of the universe (in other words I was brainwashed as a child), and stopped believing because I was just far too intelligent to swallow such rubbish. I was then indifferent until I decided that perhaps I had been to harsh on my creator, maybe the bible was bullshit but I had missed the point, it was not about non-fiction, but rather messages about human experience that were valid in-spite of their likelihood, and perhaps god was still there he just was not in the form which I had always imagined him (roman sandals, long beard, Grecian robe, stern look, and always frowning fro constant disappointment).
But as I became better educated I found it harder and harder to divorce the church and the earlier bullshit from my new conceptions, and so I just dumped them all together. I decided to sit on the fence for a while and see what happened, I became an agnostic, a spiritual fence sitter. This was a very strong position to hold and easy to defend, I could appease anyone by just saying that anything was possible and that everyone's views were equally valid, but I didn't really believe that. I began to read literature by the 'great' atheists, Dawkins, Hitchens, etc etc, and their diatribe seemed just as boring as the theists, all they did was attack them for being illogical, when in fact they were often susceptible to their own arguments.
In the end it occurred to me that perhaps anything was possible, but that such a consideration mattered less that I had originally thought. What our beliefs are supposed to do (and don't kid yourself atheism is a belief system, it just happens to be better explained than older ones) is to help us explain the universe in ways that make us better people, and I don't just mean that in the value laden 'better' sense of it. It is supposed to make us more flexible, better able to respond, understand, make choices, and yes be more moral in our undertakings, for some people religion will do that, I just think its a bit of a cop out, it means you haven't had to engage with the subject matter on your own terms but rather within the matrix of someone else's dogma.
I choose to be an atheist not because it is impossible that god exists or even improbable for that matter, just because I don't think it matters all that much. Whether he does or not makes not difference to my life, because it is based on experience, logical deduction, moral principle, etc. And none of these operate within any framework of conception other than my own, in the end I take full responsibility for my actions, my words, and my trajectory, because as far as I can tell there is no god, and thus no destiny or fate, only my choice and free will, and the consequences of these. I dont say there is no fortune (good or bad), but it is uncontrollable anyway and so best left not to think about.
It is quite empowering to sever the ties with god, saying you are an atheist is about more than just announcing whether you think he exists or not, its about taking responsibility for your life and not assigning some unfortunate chance more meaning than it deserves. Its probably hardest when you want things, the natural inclination of the theist is to pray, which suggests that his/her motives for believing to begin with may not be so pure. All alone you must ask yourself to bring about what it is you want, and then you are forced to think through to conclusion all the pathways you might take in order to make this happen. It is much more fruitful than clasping your hands together and wishing really hard to a creator who is constantly absent.
This difficulty reaches its crescendo when a loved one falls ill, which again it somewhat hard to understand since they above all people should believe that this loved one is headed someplace better than here? I believe that perhaps they subconsciously know that their faith is unfounded and externally manifest the emotion associated with knowing that this is the end for this person. But regardless of all this, believers often turn to god most (and non believers too) when they are faced with the loss of a loved one, theism is as Marx once said ‘opium for the masses’, and this is the point where most will crave. But again the alternative is harder and much healthier, accept that we exist only once for a short period and all of sudden life is much more precious and beautiful. Accept that everything dies and that their energy is merely transformed and the healing process begins, instead of hoping to see someone who has passed, as unnatural an idea as your likely to come across, be thankful you knew them and that you shared their short existence, and then move on, because after all life is short, much too short to be wasted on sorrow.
Yes, atheism is hard. Especially in the first few years, but hold on, because the reward will be the new sense of urgency your life takes on, and all the ways it is enriched by your need to enjoy what little life we have.
I made mine after much jumping from one camp to another trying to find the right fit. I believed in god because I was basically told by those I trusted most at a time when I couldn't decide for myself that it was the way of the universe (in other words I was brainwashed as a child), and stopped believing because I was just far too intelligent to swallow such rubbish. I was then indifferent until I decided that perhaps I had been to harsh on my creator, maybe the bible was bullshit but I had missed the point, it was not about non-fiction, but rather messages about human experience that were valid in-spite of their likelihood, and perhaps god was still there he just was not in the form which I had always imagined him (roman sandals, long beard, Grecian robe, stern look, and always frowning fro constant disappointment).
But as I became better educated I found it harder and harder to divorce the church and the earlier bullshit from my new conceptions, and so I just dumped them all together. I decided to sit on the fence for a while and see what happened, I became an agnostic, a spiritual fence sitter. This was a very strong position to hold and easy to defend, I could appease anyone by just saying that anything was possible and that everyone's views were equally valid, but I didn't really believe that. I began to read literature by the 'great' atheists, Dawkins, Hitchens, etc etc, and their diatribe seemed just as boring as the theists, all they did was attack them for being illogical, when in fact they were often susceptible to their own arguments.
In the end it occurred to me that perhaps anything was possible, but that such a consideration mattered less that I had originally thought. What our beliefs are supposed to do (and don't kid yourself atheism is a belief system, it just happens to be better explained than older ones) is to help us explain the universe in ways that make us better people, and I don't just mean that in the value laden 'better' sense of it. It is supposed to make us more flexible, better able to respond, understand, make choices, and yes be more moral in our undertakings, for some people religion will do that, I just think its a bit of a cop out, it means you haven't had to engage with the subject matter on your own terms but rather within the matrix of someone else's dogma.
I choose to be an atheist not because it is impossible that god exists or even improbable for that matter, just because I don't think it matters all that much. Whether he does or not makes not difference to my life, because it is based on experience, logical deduction, moral principle, etc. And none of these operate within any framework of conception other than my own, in the end I take full responsibility for my actions, my words, and my trajectory, because as far as I can tell there is no god, and thus no destiny or fate, only my choice and free will, and the consequences of these. I dont say there is no fortune (good or bad), but it is uncontrollable anyway and so best left not to think about.
It is quite empowering to sever the ties with god, saying you are an atheist is about more than just announcing whether you think he exists or not, its about taking responsibility for your life and not assigning some unfortunate chance more meaning than it deserves. Its probably hardest when you want things, the natural inclination of the theist is to pray, which suggests that his/her motives for believing to begin with may not be so pure. All alone you must ask yourself to bring about what it is you want, and then you are forced to think through to conclusion all the pathways you might take in order to make this happen. It is much more fruitful than clasping your hands together and wishing really hard to a creator who is constantly absent.
This difficulty reaches its crescendo when a loved one falls ill, which again it somewhat hard to understand since they above all people should believe that this loved one is headed someplace better than here? I believe that perhaps they subconsciously know that their faith is unfounded and externally manifest the emotion associated with knowing that this is the end for this person. But regardless of all this, believers often turn to god most (and non believers too) when they are faced with the loss of a loved one, theism is as Marx once said ‘opium for the masses’, and this is the point where most will crave. But again the alternative is harder and much healthier, accept that we exist only once for a short period and all of sudden life is much more precious and beautiful. Accept that everything dies and that their energy is merely transformed and the healing process begins, instead of hoping to see someone who has passed, as unnatural an idea as your likely to come across, be thankful you knew them and that you shared their short existence, and then move on, because after all life is short, much too short to be wasted on sorrow.
Yes, atheism is hard. Especially in the first few years, but hold on, because the reward will be the new sense of urgency your life takes on, and all the ways it is enriched by your need to enjoy what little life we have.
