-Samuel Clemens "Mark Twain", American author and humorist.
That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I am an atheist. For those of you who aren't I should explain
that, being an atheist, I am often confronted by indignant theists, who, apparently personally
offended (and genuinely shocked) by the idea that anyone could persist in believing any differently than they,
demand that I justify for them my "blasphemous" ideas. So, at last, here they are: my arguments
for atheism.
First of all, what is an atheist? The answer may seem obvious, but there are quite a few
misconceptions out there, the most prominent being that atheists are somehow synonymous with,
or in league with communists, satanists, socialists, etc.
This is quite simply not true. Atheism is strictly a philosophical belief, not a religious or political one. An atheist is a person who does not believe in any sort of a
god or gods. To be atheistic is to be without religion. It is a popular misconception that atheists deny the existence of God. This is not so. Atheism does not actively deny God so much as it contends that the evidence for God is sorely lacking, even nonexistent, and that, consequently, such a belief lacks a basis in reality and is therefore unjustified. This is a subtle, yet very important, distinction.
Furthermore, we are neither overly negative nor immoral. Quite the opposite! Since we have no belief in any sort of an afterlife, we treat our lives here on Earth as very precious things, and eke as much joy and fulfillment out of them as possible. We treat our fellow human beings with all the dignity and respect we can muster. We believe in action, not prayer. We strive to make the real world a better place for all rather than storing up treasures in an imaginary "afterlife." We are independent thinkers, free to live reasonable, productive, meaningful lives, unencumbered by the shackles of supernatural tyranny and "orthodox" thought. Atheism is not the destruction of love, happiness, and morality; it is the destruction of the idea that love, happiness, and morality can only be attained in another world, or by sacrificing one's reasoning mind on the altar of superstition.
Basically, there
are three main reasons I can see for opposing theism. These reasons range from
the philosophical to the practical and each is outlined below.
Religion's Illogical Nature
Firstly, it should be obvious to any remotely reasonable human being that gods, most probably,
do not exist. There is not now, nor has their ever been, so much as a single shred of physical
evidence to support the argument for gods (or any other supernatural beings). In other
words, I do not believe in gods for the very same reasons that I do not believe in Santa Claus. True, I cannot prove absolutely, that gods do not exist. Then again, I need not. Rather, the burden of proof is on the theists. If I were to assert, for example, that magical elves existed, it would be my responsibility to provide proof of this. If I were unable to do so, my claim would be rejected by any reasonable individual. The burden of proof is always on the person asserting the truth of a proposition. This simple logic, while generally accepted, is rarely applied to religious matters.
If one is content to ignore objective reality entirely, various metaphysical arguments can be made in support of a god or gods. There is not sufficient space in this document to list all of them individually, but each of them suffers from numerous inconsistencies and some of the "logic" involved is quite novel.
Let us take, for example, what is perhaps the most commonly heard argument for God, the so-called "argument from design." Simply put, this argument proposes that the universe, complex as it is, could not have arisen without the direction of a guiding intelligence. A divine designer, if you will. But then, this assumption begs the question: "If the universe is indeed the product of a divine creator, who or what created the creator?" At this point, the typical theistic response is that the creator somehow "always was" and consequently, did not need to be created. This would seem to contradict the original assertion that things do not simply arise from nothingness without divine aid. Also, if we are to accept the idea that it is possible for a thing to have "always been", why not simply bypass the idea of a creator entirely and assume that the universe itself has always existed? This is only one example. Virtually all arguments for religion are similarly circular, self-contradictory, and internally inconsistant. If you'd like to read more examples of such arguments there are a number of excellent articles, essays, and books available that deal with these rather flawed attempts to reconcile reason and religion.
The simple fact of the matter is that religion's claims cannot withstand the tests of reason. Accepting them in spite of this is nothing more than a tragic exercise in self-deception and willful ignorance.
Religion's Violent History
It never fails to shock and amaze me how much blood has been spilled down the centuries in
the name of religion. How many millions of people have been butchered in holy wars, tortured as
heretics, or executed for professing the "wrong" religion? Usually, these reprehensible acts were sanctioned, even encouraged, by the very laws of the day. Even now, hideous atrocities
are being committed daily in the name of religion.
In addition to the physical violence, religion is also commonly used to justify racism, sexism, homophobia, repression of minorities, and countless other modern day evils. Far from uniting humanity, religion has divided it more deeply and bitterly than anything else. Religions begin by promising peace and end up delivering bloodshed and barbarism in its place. Yet, we are still taken in
again and again. How many more will have to suffer and die before we learn from our mistakes and
stop putting our trust in religion? If life has taught me one thing, it is that theists in general
are woefully misguided. If history has taught me one thing, it is that they are potentially very dangerous as well. Once one accepts that morality is based not on the facts of this world, but on the arbitrary whims of a supernatural being, the rights of "infidels" become that much less of a concern. Religion is a wellspring from which hatred, bigotry, and injustice perpetually flow.
