God...and why I'm an atheist

So I thought there was probably no point in holding back. Straight to the point as they say.

If I continue with this blogging, you'll realise very quickly that religion is something I'm very passionate about. Now, to make things clear, I'm an atheist. For those of you who may be a little unsure as to exactly what this means, let me explain.

Theism is the belief in one or more deities (gods). As christianity is concerned with just one god, it is classified as a monotheistic religion, along with judaism and islam. Atheism is taken to be one of two things, either the affirmation that there is no god, or gods, or the rejection of theism. I would argue that they are not mutually exclusive definitions, meaning that you can't have one without the other. If you reject theism, then by default you affirm that there is no god. As least this is what I believe. So, atheism is the rejection, non-belief, or whatever else you might want to call it, of theism, or more specifically, the refusal to accept any notion of a god, higher power, supreme being, etc. 

Therefore, as an atheist, i reject the notion of an all-powerful creator. I reject all the resultant theories of creationism and all the other bullshit that goes along with accepting the existence of god.

Some people assume that atheists 'hate' god. Mostly this is a view perpetrated by die-hard theists. Obviously, if you have even the most basic understanding of what atheism means, you will understand that as an atheist, I can't hate something I don't believe in. So, let me make this clear:

• I do not believe in any form of god or supreme being. I don't hate god, I just don't believe in him/her/it.
• I reject the notion that the universe and all resultant life was somehow 'created'. To assume that the universe was 'created' I believe demonstrates a simple-mindedness that cheapens all we know about astronomy, quantum physics, evolution, etc.
• I reject the notion that religion is were we get our moral guidance from. I find this concept not only offensive, but it also disrespects and downplays the free thought and intelligence that we enjoy as humans. To imply that we need a 'supreme being' to tell us what is right and wrong is an insult.
• I believe that there is no evidence (scientific, provable, verifiable evidence) that god exists. Now, you may well say that I can't prove god doesn't exist. And you know what? You're right, I can't. But I don't have to. I'm not making the claim. If you claim god exists, it's up to you to prove it, not up to me to disprove it. 

The basis of our justice system is innocent until proven guilty - meaning that if you make a charge against someone, it is up to you to prove it. Why should god be treated any differently? You make the claim for his existence, it's up to you to prove it. And I'm sorry, but hearing voices in your head is not sufficient evidence. In the context of religion, hearing voices in your head is considered a good thing. Outside of religion, it's considered a sign of mental illness. 

I like to think of myself as a rationalist. What I mean by this quite simply is that I approach everything from a rational perspective. Is it rational that an all-powerful being created the universe? No, it is not. Is it rational that an all-powerful being is privy to all my private thoughts, and will judge me based on what I think inside my head? No, it is not.

Rational thought, true, unbiased rational thought, tells us that god simply can't exist. 

I will be exploring this in much greater detail in future posts. I have many thoughts and theories as to the non-existence of god, which I can't explore right now otherwise I'd be here all night, and this blog entry would be impossibly long.

I will finish by saying that free thought and rational thinking is the greatest, most powerful gift that we as humans have. If all people learnt how to harness these truly remarkable traits, this world be the most wonderful utopia. To remove the shackles of religious thought, faith and dogma would be to truly harness the power of the human mind. The love, peace and respect that would fill this world would be truly mind-boggling. 

As John Lennon said: 

Imagine there's no heaven

It's easy if you try

No hell below us,

Above us only sky.

Imagine all the people,

Living for today.

*sigh*...if only....