How I became an atheist...again

When you read the title, one thought I guess must come to mind, and it's "he was an atheist before?". The answer is yes, why you were, no matter how religious you are now, once an atheist. When you ask? The answer my friend is simple, you were an atheist at birth. It's a statement of the bleeding obvious if you think about it. How can one believe in god, if you never heard of him?

The family I knew comprised of my grandfather, grandmother and mother (and her boyfriend, who you can basically call my father as that is how I think of him). My grandparents who were deeply religious (having been brought up in what was basically mental abuse by the church, i.e believe in god and do what we say or else), however they accepted my mothers divorce where other people like them would have disowned her. My mother who is liberal brought me to church, though I refused, to appease my religious grandparents (i.e to save her the headache). Although I had to attend mass, I was always free to express my opinions, this sometimes came in to criticizing the church.

When I entered secondary school, I continued to find faults with the churches teachings, and when I voiced these opinions I was listened to by fellow students, and talked to students who were already atheists. I never believed that homosexuality was a sin, nor was I against stem cell research, and I definitely did not believe that atheists needed saving,were untrustworthy or idiots, I found them intelligent and decent people, and thought that the religious people attacking them were hypocrites, and not following what god really wanted.

As I went through my teenage years, the less and less I believed in god, I thought mass was a waste of time (I mean if god existed he'd have bigger concerns than mass attendance), I didn't believe Jesus was divine, but just a normal bloke who said "hey, god wants us to love each other and treat them with respect".

Then I was in college, and saw how religion was abused, how it was used as an excuse for racism, homophobia, terrorism etc. Especially the blatant attacks (like the unfair and unbalanced fox news) on atheists. The more I saw the more I was repulsed, and I thought to myself, well do I really believe in god? It took a while, but the answer was no. I saw the horrific things said in the bible, which further added to my no! (To see what I mean :http://www.evilbible.com/Evil%20Bible%20Quotes.htm)

Coming out as an atheist wasn't really that hard, because of the fact that my friends and family weren't that religious and didn't see my atheism as a reflection of their faith. When I admitted, (I didn't just stroll into the room and say "Ma, I'm an atheist!" it came about in a (typically Irish) pub, just talking shite. There was no anger or sadness or threats, just oh really I didn't know. My friends were the same, even agreed with me on my view.

Well I hope you enjoyed my story, and I encourage you to simply reflect on your beliefs and change them if YOU feel it's necessary.

Thanks for reading,
The Kitch.
"You'll never walk alone"

Atheism = Evolution?

Is it me or do many creationists like to propose a relationship between accepting evolution as fact and a denial of the existence of a deity/deities (atheism)? This is a fantasy, and a cheap shot at trying to convince middle of the road Christians that the debate is one of theism and not science, as they know if the can make people think that the argument is god against science, many non scientifically trained people will choose the bronze aged myth that they were indoctrinated into, instead of the science supported by observations and experiments, (i.e. facts). However this comparison is simply not the case, if so than all people who accept evolution would be atheists, which we don't see, rather many theists (including members of ordained clergy, e.g the Pope) see evolution as a tool of god, rather than a threat to the idea of his/her/their existence. (Note: If you think that these people are not true believers, then try telling them this. I'm sure they would be thrilled that you a perfect stranger to them, can instantly tell the sincerity of their beliefs, I'm sure you will be received with open arms, and given your just deserts).

Evolution has not and never will try to prove/disprove a higher intelligence, it's agnostic (god does not factor into the equation), it is an explanation on the diversity of life, that's it in it's entirety. It does not try to explain the origin of life or anything else, it's not a "one size fits all" theory, just as gravity doesn't seek to explain microbes. Please do not try to force a theory to expain something it isn't designed to explain to disprove it.

When confronted with the above arguments, our dear creationist friends will simply reply like a parrot "atheism needs it", this is not the case. If you disprove (however unlikely) evolution, you do not prove creationism, and so do not prove the existence of a deity or deities. So atheism does not need it, as if it is disproved then it doesn't mean a deity/deities exist automatically.

In conclusion to suggest a link between an acceptance of evolution and atheism, is dishonest. Many theists accept evolution, and see it as a tool for gods work, also the theory itself is agnostic and atheism does not and will never require it to remain valid.

(Note: I hope you've enjoyed this piece. This is not an in dept analysis, rather as a way to get myself started on these blogs, more in dept and hopefully thrilling blogs to come!)