“Is man merely a mistake of God's? Or God merely a mistake of man?” ― Friedrich Nietzsche

I had a long phase in my life where I was almost an activist in my atheism as I explored the logical fallacies and heinous evil that came in the name of God. I found myself very fond of the few atheist celebrities out there; George Carlin, Richard Dawkins, Ricky Gervais, Christopher Hitchens, and most of all, Stephen Fry. More on that below.

After years of reading and thinking and listening and watching, my views have only matured in the same direction, and doubt has never and will never cross my mind, I'm sure, even in my last moments in life. Unless I'm super high on some crazy drug at the time maybe.

So let me ask myself some questions and answer them.

* As an atheist, I have no morals to guide me?

No. I've heard this a lot. We're often accused of being rapists-in-waiting or something, with the only thing holding us back from murdering people or beating our wives is our laziness. But I consider it in the totally opposite light. When I get to know happy, middle-class, Christian, perfect families, I find their outlook on life to be very limited. They seem very conscious to be good people, but as soon as they've checked that box, they no longer need to bother, and so can consider any trouble to be a hassle, a burden.

If you need an evil threat of eternal damnation constantly looming over your shoulder in order to be good, then you aren't a good person, if you ask me. It allows - encourages - one to completely dismiss anything they want that manages to slip through the loopholes in the rules of The Book.

Justin Vernon hammers home the tragic results of this truth here, when the church declines helping those who don't abide by their archaic way of life:

Atheists on the other hand get to be good on their own terms. There's no 'in the name of God' or a hope of reward at the end. I teach and give for no other reason than I want to, and looking at others benefit from my efforts feels good. We're just as inclined to be good as the next person, but without the potential for a doggy treat at the end, our goodness seems so much more genuine. A great video from Cyanide & Happiness explains the 'happy family' type I'm referring to:

* You might as well pray, you'll go to hell if you're wrong.

Good.

The idea of heaven is that if you spend your whole life praying and doing what you've been threatened to do, you will live an eternity in pleasure and happiness and love with no pain or fear.

That sounds awful to me.

I had concluded many years ago that I would much rather live a life with plenty of suffering than a life with none at all, because what makes me so special that I get to avoid the Universe's fair share of tragedy, while the balance of pain is tipped heavily in the direction of impoverished Africans and Asians and South Americans? How can I relate to people other than those in my little safety circle, how can I grow as a person beyond 'one who lives in a nice home forever', if I'm not prepared to fall face first in the disease-ridden mud of life?

If I'm to go to heaven with my current mind, I would fall into permanent depression having nothing but happiness constantly. As Karl Pilkington once said, Happiness is a lot like cake. Too much of it, and you get sick of it.

If being in Heaven somehow prevents me from suffering from mono-emotional life, then it's not really me at all, is it? and so I'm basically dead and some other part of me that is irrelevant to my current self is floating around up there, tripping balls for millenia. Either way, I don't want a part of it. Especially given the strict requirements. Knowing most of the people I've met and loved are in hell, how could I be happy, even if just one was in hell?

I'll take my chances in hell, thanks. Besides, Satan seems like a cool guy. He only killed a handful of people. God has killed billions.

“To terrify children with the image of hell, to consider women an inferior creation—is that good for the world?” ― Christopher Hitchens

* What would you say to God if you met him at the pearly gates?

Exactly what Stephen Fry would say:

For those who can't watch, some excerpts:

(when talking to God) Bone cancer in children? What's that about? How dare you!

I wouldn't want to get in (to heaven) on his terms; they're wrong

The God who created this Universe is quite clearly an utter maniac

We have to spend our life on our knees thanking him? What kind of God would do that?

There are insects whose entire life cycle is to burrow into the eyes of children and make them blind, eating outwards through their eyes. Why? Why did you do that to us?

* It must be so sad for you, only seeing the world as this cold, heartless place where you just die and that's it. How do you get through the day?

I seek answers. But I just don't seek 'the answer', because there is no answer. Saying 'because God' is weak and lazy. To look at the beauty of the world in awe of God's ability is far less wonderful, to me, than the process of evolution. God is not required to make this world beautiful and awe-inspiring.

“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?” - Douglas Adams

To me, the multitude of processes of geological breakdown, volcanic dispersion, billions of years of genetic mutation and natural selection, an evolutionary arms race battered down time and time again with mass extinctions and bottle-necking, natural disasters shaping the landscape, these things create a story beyond the imagination of the human men who wrote the stories in the bible 1,000-fold and more.

Looking atop the Nepalese mountains at the landscape below me and simply saying 'isn't it wonderful that God made this' is far duller than actually seeking answers to how it was actually done, how that flower created such vibrant colours, and what secrets it holds if we look at it in Ultra Violet light. What is ultra violet light? How does the sun produce it? How did the sun form?

You don't get these questions and wonders by simply ascribing everything to God. It's just not enough.

* What about knowing there's no afterlife?

I fear death like anybody else. More and more as I get older. But that gives me a drive, no matter how weak, to learn, to discover all I can in the time I have. Sure, it can go to the grave with me, but thanks to the internet, a part of me may forever linger on as a footnote of life, and that's all I need.

As for my body, well, a part of me will be in the hands of your great, great grandchildren. Literally. As my body is digested and dispersed through the soil, ocean or atmosphere, my atoms will traverse the earth and become a part of something else. One atom from my eye may become an atom in your future chilren's children's right hand. Who knows?

Simply put, it's the circle of life. I'll always be a part of it. I won't be sent away to some far away heaven where I suddenly have no responsibility or care about what happens here. I won't have washed my hands of war and poverty. Parts of me will be a part of it forever. That's pretty cool to me.

Not only that but once I'm gone, that's it. People can pee on my grave, people can dig me up and whack me against the tree whilst cursing me to eternity in hell, or people can write horrible things about me online, post photos of me naked all over the place. Who cares? I'm dead! That's quite liberating. No God will be there to judge me and punish me either, which is a bonus.

* Do you think you're better than religious people?

Kinda. Hear me out.

I think we're all complex individuals with our own independent thoughts. _{some more than others}, and I think we all think we think more than everyone else around us, as XKCD very succinctly demonstrates:

And in that regard the answer is no, I think we're all extremely capable of brilliant things, awful things and especially failing to meet our potential. We all excel at these things in one way or another, i'd say.

But I do feel like a need for God, a need for those answers, to find peace in that way, is a little sad. I feel many would feel a liberating release if they were to 'convert' to atheism. A freedom to be kind and constructive because they want to, not because they're forced to.

In countries where apostasy is enforced (A muslim rule whereby if you quite Islam, you must be put to death), many, especially women, have no choice but to endure... er... enjoy... their belief. They have to believe that God is great and Islam is the true path forward. If not, they'll be shamed, stoned, killed or worse. That's not a life I wish upon anybody.

But even so, I believe everybody is capable of doing great things and ending their life as great people no matter what. That little kid with bone cancer? Leave the world loving your mother, since she has to live on without you.

That impoverished lady stuck in a politically corrupt nation, a lifetime of struggling to drink enough water to get through another day? Spend the energy you have teaching the young ones how to do better, even if slight. But what if she has no energy for that? That's ok. Focus on your survival. There's no requirement here to be good to others. Just don't harm others and look after yourself, that's fine if that's all you can do.

Doing 'great things' is subjective and entirely buried in the context of your life and what you were dealt with, and in that way, again, no. I am in no way better than anybody else.

* Anything else?

Lots, but posts should only be so long. Basically, I just don't need religion, or spirituality, or God or Gods. I've grown up in a somewhat broken family and I've been around people suffering far more than me, some on the verge of suicide at any given moment, some struggling to afford socks for winter or medication to keep them sane. I've also known wealthy individuals just as miserable, with the pressure to be a success to be a burden so heavy that they're about ready to collapse.

I only have time for these people, to help them however I can, with words or lessons or a shoulder or a thought, or maybe even money one day. God just gets in the way of all that. God doesn't help in that. God just provides a temporary placebo, with a risk of a heavy come-down if he doesn't answer your prayers. Don't pray. Do.

Pray for Paris, pray for London, Pray for Texas. I get the sentiment, but no. Your job isn't done because you typed a few letters on Facebook. You didn't accomplish anything. All you did is wipe your hands clean of the affair. For me, the blood is always there, building up with every mass shooting and beheading, until I feel empowered enough to contribute myself to this world in whatever way.

I don't get to fly away and never turn back.

And for that, I thank God.