Know Thine Enemy

Taking inspiration from Atheist Revolution's Idiot of the Week series, I will be posting semi-periodic entries in my series, Know Thine Enemy. This series will highlight people, groups, and legislation that is considered to be an enemy of secularism, free thought, human rights, and religious freedom.

This series is an effort to give the secular community knowledge about the entities that fight against them; and to expose the hatred, intolerance, and backward thinking of these entities themselves.

I have many organizations on my list who will certainly be included in this series...and the list grows as I research more.

Know Thine Enemy

Atheism; Is it a choice?

I've often wondered whether atheism is a choice or not; certainly one can choose to no longer take part in their parent's religion, or the religion they were in. But was that person predisposed to eventually become an atheist? I think the answer is most likely yes; I'm sure I speak for many of my fellow atheists when I say that the idea and practice of religion just doesn't click with me at all, and it never has.

In the movie Angels and Demons, based on Dan Brown's novel of the same name, Tom Hanks's character tells Ewan McGregor's character this quote:

     "Faith is a gift I have not yet received."

I can entirely relate to his plight; the ability to believe in something like a god would certainly reduce my stress level. My view on faith is bittersweet; I envy the faith of religious people, but I am also glad I don't have it. I find myself unable to believe in something for which there is no evidence; and that I frankly don't believe exists.

I do not regret my atheism. People of faith can pray to their chosen deity, and be filled with hope and the knowledge that their problems are in the hands of their god. Personally, I know prayer doesn't work, and if it appears to, it is only because of coincidences. I believe it's always better in the long run to take responsibility for your problems and work on them yourself, instead of giving them up to God.

In closing, while my life might be easier if I was a person of faith, I regret nothing about my lack of belief. To me, it seems entirely obvious that religion is false; it seems so blatantly untrue, so unbelievable. I can only imagine that this is how faithful people feel about NOT believing in what they do; I empathize with them. Assuming the basic principle that God (any god) is only an element of our psyche, then faith and lack of faith are both just as good for your psychological welfare. Faith allows you to have hope even in the most dire of situations; lack of faith allows you to have faith in yourself.
Personally, I prefer the latter.

Atheism; Is it a choice?

First Post

Hello; this is the first post on my newly created blog. As I type this, I'm sitting on my bed wondering why I can't sleep. I'm excited to see how popular this blog can get...and looking forward to talking about my views. Even if no one ends up reading this, it's nice to just hear yourself say what you believe; it allows you to analyze your views and better understand why you think the way you do.

First Post