NOTE 11/12/2012: This was my final editorial for Post University's X-Posed Newsletter. I had meant to write more on the subject, but never had the chance. I'm definitely feeling like continuing this series at some point, as I feel there is much to talk about here. This is a decent starter though.
I really dread telling people my beliefs.
It always seems that as soon as I open my mouth and tell people that I’m an atheist, I get a barrage of stupid remarks and questions. These questions don’t even seem to be made to find new information. Rather it looks like it exisits solely to confirm their already ignorant ideas. Let me explain. Instead of asking something akin to, “what is atheism” or even, “what do atheists believe in,” I get pure tripe like, “does that mean you’re a Satanist?” It’s gotten to the point where I don’t even bother to talk about it, lest I get an offer to “find Jesus” or something equally inane. Listen, it took a lot of mental deliberation to get to the point to where I was willing to get rid of my religion. I didn’t just wake up one morning and say, “to hell with the religion I believed in for eightteen years!” Well, in any case, the point of this article is to share my frustrations with all of you. Maybe you’ll understand and the stupidity can end. Or maybe it won’t. Anyway, here it goes.
What is atheism?
Pure and simple, atheism is the belief that there is no afterlife (Yes, there are some people out there who are comfortable in the believing in nothing after death), no devine intervention, no saviors, messiahs, et cetera. This is because atheists don’t believe in god, or “God” as he, she, or it is known in some circles. The reliance on proven science fact rather that the heresay of religion is an important aspect of the atheist belief system (or lack thereof).
Some major problems that some atheists have with religion include the many inconsistencies in some religious texts (if you are curious, there are a number of resources available on the ‘net that will point them out), and the evangelical attitude that many people have, like the “be converted to the one true religion (ours) or go straight to hell.” This does not mean that these atheists are anti religion; in fact, all the atheists I know are all for people having their own beliefs. The problem is that when people are so convinced that what they believe in is right, sometimes they like to shove it in the faces of others. No one should have to deal with that.
This article is a bit brief, but I feel that it addresses the long and short of this issue. In future articles, I will expound on specific issues regarding atheism. In conclusion, while some Christians constantly claim to be perscuted, at least they weren’t “denied” citizenship by no less than two American presidents. More on that later.
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