Most
have heard that Atheists are; “those without any
invisible means of support.” A statement both humorous
and true, but from the perspective of a religious
interpretation of the world.
This
phrase has within it the assumption that humans are
in need of having invisible means of
support. It implies, that as with Santa Claus and the Tooth
Fairy etc., whose existence is dependent on the fantasy
thinking of children, that we adults have similar
requirements. The religious seem astounded to hear that
Atheists reject that assumption. Further more, those with
invisible means of support are in doubt
that Atheist could be genuine about this.
Definitions
in Dictionaries vary but “disbelief in God (or
gods)” is a good explanation of Atheism. This means all
gods and their spiritual entourage and trappings. Here, we
must draw a distinct difference between an Atheist and the
non-religious. It is far more than splitting hairs to do so.
The state of being non-religious can mean a variety of
things. It could be that circumstance of life has not had a
religious orientation and the necessary brainwashing has not
occurred. It could be that the brainwashing was so intense
and accompanied by enough negatives as to have rejection by
example taking place. There may be other reasons as to why a
non-religious position in life is followed.
The
non-religious may be free of the shackles of a traditional
type of religion but it does not necessarily follow that they
are free of other forms of credulity in accepting that which
is not evidenced. New age thinking involves itself in all
kinds of mystical beliefs. An endless list of beyond-known-nature
world interpretations exists. Though not as damaging as
organised religions, they are indicative of the state of
desperation of humanity in not wanting to be alone. The need
for the comfort of supernatural protection can nullify the
need for proper evidence. Natural effects may be misread as
super-natural.
If one
calls themselves an Atheist, along with that name, comes a
responsibility to self, in having very good reasons for doing
so. Atheism is not a non-position in life. It is a thoroughly
thought out way of viewing the world. Atheists have
fearlessly searched out the facts concerning the existence of
otherworld identities and found that no credible evidence has
ever been produced in support of them.
The
process is quite a simple procedure, and so obvious, that one
has to wonder about the workings of the brain in this regard.
All people reject the Gods of other cultures to a more or
lesser degree. Other cultures reject ours in similar fashion.
Very easy to write this, and the logic is profound in its
straightforwardness, but few religious peoples of any culture
can grasp it. And nearly all wars have depended on human
non-ability to appreciate such a simple concept.
An
Atheist is then lead to closely examine the extraordinary
claims of differing religions. After a while, a pattern of
intentional deception is discovered and no such evidence in
support of the super-natural is ever forthcoming.
Supposed
miracles, especially to do with Sainthood, go no-where near
the proof required by scientific method and most are so far
back in the past as to be totally untrustworthy. There are no
genuine reports of visitations of angels, cherubim’s,
devils, gods, or dead-people. Strange images appearing on
windows, walls, floors, clouds etc., are so subjectively
believed as to be no proof at all. Godly interventions in
nature, such as producing rain when required or the saving of
one person in an air crash, with a couple of hundred dead,
are only believed by those with no understanding of
coincidence.
Atheists
soon learn that infant indoctrination, the power of
suggestion, following the dictates of the herd and
intentionally heightening the existing sense of fear of
death, can create a partial insanity in people. The formula
for this has been worked out over thousands of years and of
course it works. Why wouldn’t it?
It is
true that an Atheist cannot prove there is no God, but
neither can they prove there are no Unicorns. The onus of
proof is on the believers of gods and Unicorns to provide
evidence for their existence.
Atheist
can say with certainty that a personal or creator god has not
made itself known to humanity. We have the ability to compile
evidence and with the use of reason, to come to conclusions.
In this process we must take into account any observations
that can be verified. We must bear in mind our evolutionary
induced susceptibility to believe for no other reason than we
want to, as witness to other cultures shows. We must not rely
on hearsay evidence any more than we would in a human court
of law.
This Atheist would say
that there may be a God, gods, a creator, a creative force, a
something that words cannot express or even Unicorns at the
bottom of a column of turtles that hold the World in its
place. This Atheist would also say that we know nothing of
the above, but we do know that it,
they or whatever does not react
to human wants, desires or needs, has never ever exposed
itself to humanity in such a manner that could leave any
doubt, and is therefore irrelevant to us. Some people are not
in doubt, but that it is only some, and because the stories
vary so greatly, it is hardly befitting of a supreme being to
act so selectively and irrationally with its creation.
If
there is an ultimate end result to Atheistic thought it is
similar to this: We are not the amoral or immoral lower life
forms that the frightened religiously challenged would like
to believe and promote. Atheists see themselves as an ever so
miniscule part of an enormously mind blowing system that
exists. We see that we are a consciously aware incarnate
portion of the universe. We accept that the blink that is our
life was nothing before and will not continue after our time.
We see that we are made of the same stuff as that of the
stars and therefore realize that our differences as humans
are purely perceptual, unimportant and over-emphasised.
Having
an understanding that our needs, fears and hopes are common
aspects in all, has us striving to rid the world of damaging
factors not wished on ourselves. We claim no righteousness in
our struggle and often we will fall, for we are human.
We
recognise that Earth is our only home and is in need of
proper understanding and respect if it is to support many
future generations and us. Appreciation that other sentient
creatures have no lesser desires in life than our own has us
working towards a time when our
utilisation of them is no longer required. We grasp the
concept of, and are in opposition to, the indiscriminate
environmental destruction, happening directly or through
over-population.
If
humanity is to move forward and ultimately survive on this
planet we have to admit to ourselves that superstition cannot
play a productive part in our affairs. Socially, politically
and environmentally, civilisation is at the crossroads of
success or failure as never before.
We
must choose rationalism over wishful thinking.
What
is an Atheist? If you are not one
now, then potentially, it is you!
