Frank Harrison Final Project Post 1: Why I'm an Atheist

For as long as I can remember, I have been an atheist. Even as a young child when my family would drag me along with them to church, I felt I had no place being there, and it wasn't just because of how bored I was. I was always an inquisitive child who was somewhat prone to rejecting authority; so when I was instructed  to follow the rules of an invisible man, I could not fathom a reason why I should actually listen. My questions regarding the true nature of this supernatural authority figure would go mostly unanswered, as they all just lead back to having "faith". I had none.

"Faith means not wanting to know what is true".
                                                                                                       — Friedrich Nietzsche

 Atheism is most simply defined as the rejection of the existence of deities. Coming from the Greek word "atheos", it literally means "without god". In this respect, I feel that I am an atheist, but the term itself lends to a sense of organized religion; allowing non-believers to be neatly categorized away from the devout. I do not consider myself to be in the same "group" as other atheists. In fact, their core values are often as different from my own as those of faith.

Sam Harris aptly notes:
"In fact, "atheism" is a term that should not even exist. No one ever needs to identify himself as a "non-astrologer" or a "non-alchemist." We do not have words for people who doubt that Elvis is still alive or that aliens have traversed the galaxy only to molest ranchers and their cattle. Atheism is nothing more than the noises reasonable people make in the presence of unjustified religious beliefs."


The main problem I have always had with religion pertains to the nature of God himself/herself. If there were such an omnipotent being overlooking us all, they he really must be quite a bastard (remember this is all just opinion - stay calm). Pain is everywhere. Good people suffer while the cheaters regularly prosper. I don't buy into the blanket response that it's "all part of God's plan" either. One could argue that the immense pain in some people's lives is the result of the work of the Devil, but even so, wouldn't god already know these events were going to unfold? Why would he allow a soul to be created if its life was consumed with abuse? Life is supposed to be a gift; not a sentence.


I don't mean to imply that I was surrounded with pain of any sort. I had a pretty standard single parent upbringing. I wanted for very little and had a fair amount of support. There was nothing that caused me to lose faith. Maybe I was just "born atheist".


I just grew up with the opinion that religion is just a facet for people to cope with the anxiety associated with the mystery of death. I have no problems with this. People often find much worse ways to cope with daily trials. Religion is the result of a deep seeded need to calm the fears of the end of life.


Religion is an illusion and it derives its strength from the fact that it falls in with our instinctual desires.
                                        -Sigmund Freud


In my coming posts, I will discuss both my historical and philosophical reasons for atheism.