Belief

I am an Atheist. A true believer in the fact that there is no god and that the bible is an interesting book of fables that may or may not have interesting lessons to teach. There are many things I believe. I believe in evolution. I believe in science. I believe in reality. I believe that my life may not have some kind of grand purpose, but that that's okay. Some people think that the thought of aimlessly meandering through life without a purpose is depressing and even frightening, but I think that we find our own purpose. I may not have been put here on this earth for any reason, but we find our own reasons to live. I believe in equality. I may get bogged down with petty judgments in the grind that is daily life but I know in my heart that I believe in true equality. I believe that believing in god is a huge leap of faith that many are willing to take, and many are not, but we all believe in something. As humans we constantly question our teachings and our surroundings, we constantly evaluate and re-evaluate, and that's what makes us alive. To blindly follow and not question is to not live up to your potential as a human. To be so self-centered as to think that your way of believing is the only right way is to mistake what it really means to believe. Belief should not be a horse blinder blocking out all other points of view. It is a huge, ever changing and transforming force that should bring people together, rather than violently drive them apart with scorn for not following the "rules." Belief should be always adapting, always learning, never stagnant. We all have various events, people and things in our lives that make us who we are, and it is extremely foolish to try to jam all personalities into a one-size-fits-all mold of organized religious values.

So there are many things that I believe, and there are many things that I value, and it just so happens that none of them really have to do with going to heaven or hell or Jesus or whatever reasons religious people may have for justifying their faith. These are my reasons for justifying mine.

It's just, I've heard so many times - mild-mannered christians who wonder - "what do those atheists have against us?? We don't try to force our religion on them. We're not bad people." It's not about condemning every Christian believer, because despite what they want you to believe christianity is not a monolithic front. Personal belief from person to person is a very different thing from the bigoted, tyrannical and downright oppressive actions of the corrupt organized religion whose name they still happily claim. And then they come out with some patronizing statement about how they "feel sorry and sad for atheists," etcetera,  or that atheists "just don't know better." That's another thing I believe: that I don't like to be talked down to and/or patronized.

I wish I could be more eloquent about this. I just. Argh.

huarghgh. Religion. Those petty judgments I was talking about? Sometimes religion just makes my blood boil.

You know what? Maybe one day the heavens will open and Jesus will come and whatnot and take the believers or whatever he is going to do and then I'll stand utterly corrected. Until then, I'm pretty happy as I am.