Why I Am an Atheist

A recent poll showed that atheists are among America's least trusted minorities. While I am as bothered by this fact as any other atheist, agnostic or freethinker in America, I am anything but surprised. The religious majority of the United States considers non-believers to be blinded by their own arrogance. But this all stems from a complete misunderstanding of atheism by the general public.

It has been said that atheism requires as much faith as theism as there is no positive evidence for the non-existence of God any more than there is evidence in favor of God's existence. To counter this claim, one must understand that there are two types of atheism - strong and weak. While the strong atheist actively rejects the existence of God, the weak atheist treats God on the same level as leprechauns or unicorns. The reason that any rational person considers leprechauns a myth is because he has seen no evidence of their existence. If I have seen no evidence of God's existence, why should I not react the same way? Stephen Roberts said, "I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours."

In light of this fact, I have had many theists attempt to present evidence in favor of their deity. For all that I have seen, I have yet to see an argument for God that isn't undermined by all logic. Among the most common is the argument that life and the universe must have originated from some source, and since science offers no alternative to religion on these matters, the cause must be God. This is often known as the "God of the Gaps." In other words, theists find gaps in our knowledge and fit God in. Millennia ago, the ancient Greeks did not know the source of thunder. It was miraculous in their eyes. Therefore, the only possible source, to them, was Zeus. Theists do the same thing when defending God this way. We do not know where the universe came from, or where life came from. This does not mean it was necessarily God. An atheist is not afraid to say, "I don't know."

Theists will also argue that the Earth is so conveniently perfect for human life that it must have been designed. An atheist will argue that human life is designed for Earth, and not vice versa. Had the conditions on Earth been different, a different form of life would have evolved - one more suited to the planet's conditions. In a game of hearts, the odds of getting any particular hand are approximately 8.07*10⁶⁷ to 1. Is it rational to be dealt a hand, find it utterly unlikely to receive that hand at random, and therefore assume the deck was stacked?

I could go on, taking each argument in favor of theism and explaining why it has failed to convince me. That, however, would be a waste of time, both for me and for you, reader. You will have to take me at my word that I have considered all arguments in favor of God and rationally dismissed. What I wish to dispel are the multiple misconceptions about atheism. For example, many believe that as an atheist, I consider life meaningless. This could not be further from the truth. Since I do not believe in life after death, I find more value in my temporary life than the theist, as he believes he has more time beyond his allotted few decades.

I have also been told that as an atheist, I cannot have a sense of morality. I ask why I should need a dogma to tell me that killing is wrong and helping people is right. The Bible has many positive messages in it, but it also condones slavery and stoning disobedient children. Every person of conscience rejects such atrocities. We take good messages from the Bible and reject the horrors. The conclusion we can draw from this is that people are not drawing their morality from the Bible at all, but from their own conscience.

Most criticisms of atheism assume that I am an atheist because I am a cynic. I consider myself an optimist more than any person of religion could possibly be. Many theists credit man's achievements in life to God. I credit them to our own capacity. To quote Henry Drummond (the character from Inherit the Wind based on Clarence Darrow): "In a child's power to master the multiplication table there is more sanctity than in all your shouted amens, holy holies and hosannas. An idea is a greater monument than a cathedral, and the advance of man's knowledge is a greater miracle than all the sticks turned to snakes or the parting of the waters."

It is easy to take man's brilliance for granted, but try appreciating even a basic human accomplishment some time. Have you ever stopped and admired a brick wall? Consider the utter mathematical and architectural revolution it must have been ages ago. The brilliance to realize that rocks joined together to make a larger wall; the knowledge that the rocks needed to be joined with an adhesive; the geometric revelation that flat, prismatic rocks would be more conducive to being joined; the knowledge that staggering them in each horizontal line would make it more sturdy; all of this seems second hand knowledge to us, but it is in fact a work of genius. And the fact that even our simplest accomplishments are so utterly praiseworthy shows just how brilliant we are. Imagine telling the person who built the first brick wall that some day a man would walk on the moon.

What does this have to do with atheism? Consider how the first brick wall was built. Did God tell the builder how to mix an adhesive? Did God flatten out the bricks? Did God even point out where the rocks were? No. A man built a brick wall because he was a mastermind. We never have needed God to accomplish incredible things. I would say that as an atheist, I not only believe in God, but I believe in more gods than any theist. I believe in 6 billion gods here on planet Earth.

If you and I stood at the edge of a cliff and I suddenly jumped, you'd think I was a fool. That's how I feel about your leap of faith.