Atheists - Defenders of Reason

There are some thoughts that have sprung up in my mind after numerous debates in forums, books and conversations I have had with theists. I am an atheist, I will not believe in God till I get some proof that he exists. But this topic is not about the existence of god, it is about the misconception that theists have on atheists. It is truly amazing that so many theists think that atheists are immoral, satanic (how ironic), evil, worse than rapists and ineligible for public office.

What on earth could have driven them to such malicious and ignorant conclusions? The answer is quite obvious - religious institutions and doctrines that encourage blind belief over reason.
The only method that can truly open the eyes of anyone about religion is through questioning. God is the wizard of Oz and atheists want to pull back the curtain. Once the trick is revealed, doubt kicks in. For religious leaders, this cannot be allowed to happen. These institutions, and especially their very human leaders, enjoy the good life. Their hunger for power should have come as a warning for the followers. But somehow they manage to justify this life to themselves and to their followers. 'Blind faith' is such a wonderfully precise term.

It's obvious why religious institutions think of atheists as 'the enemy' and participate in spreading mean spirited opinions in the guise of well researched facts; the only way these institutions can stay in business is to keep all their contributors on a leash. Questioning and doubting have to be cut out of the picture. Imagine yourself as a magician. How would you feel if someone stood nearby explaining how every trick was done? Additionally, there are so few self-proclaimed atheists, that these insitutions don't have to worry much that one of the believers might actually get to know an atheist and realise the nonsense they've been fed.

Most theists do not know many atheists. This is because atheists rarely participate in discussions that are of no concern to us. If we were immoral, would we not stand out more? In that respect, atheism is very similar to homosexuality. The people you know to be atheists or homosexuals are the flamboyant ones. The less spectacular of them tend to blend right in. Atheism has nothing to do with a person's political beliefs, his/her view on euthanasia or drugs. Gay, bi or straight, white, black or brown, man or woman. An atheist could be a criminal lawyer or a soccer mom. You can't tell by the outside. We don't have tails or horns, despite what you may have heard.

There are even those who claim that atheists hate god. This makes me laugh. How can we bloody hate something that we claim does not exist? The concept of gods was thought up by humans to meet certain needs of society at the time. Those needs no longer exist, so we have no use for maintaining the myths of gods. Inexplicable things a thousand years ago can be explained today and we know that even for the currently inexplicable ones, an answer will be found someday in the future. The idea served its purpose, for good or bad, and is totally irrelevant today. So if I dismiss the entire concept of gods, what is there to for me to hate? You might as well accuse me of hating The Boogeyman.

There are however, certain things associated with religion that I hate, or atleast dislike. Fanatics of any faith are not just annoying but can be extremely dangerous. They fuel the fires of hate. And yet, it is also undeniable that fanatics are what a literal interpretation of most religions will eventually produce. They are the super-soldiers of religion, people who will disregard even the slightest notions of logic and reasoning to uphold their blind faith. When it comes to practicing their religion, whatever it may be, fanatics put the rest of them to shame. That is what makes them dangerous to everyone, not just to those of us who dont share their views.

I honestly hate the fact that something I consider a delusion is so widespread. I cannot stand wars fought in the name of gods, I am deeply irritated to think about all the people killed in the name of gods. I hate the dictators who have hidden behind the cloak of theism. And yes, I also hate the dictators who have been avowed atheists. Just because we share a common opinion regarding religion does not excuse their behavior toward the rest of humanity. Atheism is no more common among the general population of dictators than it is among the general population of the world.

But most of all I hate the notion that everything that cannot be explained has to be attributed to god. Just because we dont have an explanation for something now, that does not mean we wont get an explanation in the future. Critical thinking was what made us the most powerful species on the planet, not blind faith. Remember that.

To quote one of the greatest thinkers of the twentieth century "God did not create Man, Man created God".