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"