100 ‘Damned’ Good Reasons to Be An Atheist, Part 4
Many religious people will tell you that it’s better to believe than it is to not believe, and bring out a whole suitcase of ‘logical’ arguments for why that is the case, but they’d be lying. Here’s why it’s better to be a Heathen like me.
31. No violent ‘Crazies’ — No one goes nuts and kills in the name of Atheism. Our oddballs tend to be entertaining rather than violent. Also, we try to help our mentally ill instead of merely praying for them and leaving their well-being in the hands of a fictitious deity. There have been Atheists who have done bad things but an Atheist who kills is not the same as someone who kills in the name of Atheism.
32. We don’t do codified doctrines — Sure, we care about accurate science. And we definitely care about intellectual honesty, but such things do no a religion make. We just don’t invent arbitrary rules to control our community or demonize outsiders. Hence, no need for a multitude of absurd condemnations.
33. Birth control — Atheist women understand the value of free access to sound family planning tools and strategies. Atheists also understand the pitfalls of overpopulation and the effect of too many people sucking up an increasingly diminishing pool of resources. And I’ve heard that sex is better when free of the anxiety that one might get pregnant…
34. Ritualized cannibalism? No Thanks. — Atheists have never eaten the brains of deceased relatives, as a form of funerary cannibalism, in order to commune with their essence. (yes…this really has happened. See Kuru)
35. We try to act in the face of adversity — When bad shit goes down, Atheists are more inclined to operate in a manner that helps the situation (like buying food for starving people) rather than offering up a prayer or two and going back to reading their bibles.
36. Our god doesn’t hate everything — …because we don’t have a fucking god with childish, vengeful tendencies…said fictitious god being nothing more than a mere reflection of humans and their backward, childish, vengeful tendencies… Suck on that, WBC!
37. We take the word ‘Natural’ seriously — Earthquakes are natural, hurricanes are natural, tornadoes are natural, droughts are natural, forest fires are natural. No gods caused these disasters. Furthermore, it can be demonstrated that the actions of humans are exacerbating the intensity of these things. So instead of harping on what’s natural, maybe we should take a close look at our behavior and its unnatural impact on the natural world.
38. No masquerades or obfuscations to hide true intentions — Atheists don’t use the illusion of belief as a means to hide the fact that our true intention is trying to make money, unlike some religions one could name. The human tendency to exploit the need some humans have for comfort in belief is beyond unethical. If there were a hell, I doubt there would be a circle dug deep enough for these charlatans.
39. No bad street theater — Atheists don’t walk through city centers reenacting a crucifixion myth that never happened in the first place. Furthermore, Atheists don’t fetish-ize an implement of capitol punishment the Romans used frequently in order to uphold and reinforce their version of law and order.
40. Science knows best how to inform today — We base what’s natural on the astute observations of scientists and their methods of discovery. We don’t reach back to the wastebaskets of history to inform modern sensibilities.
Continued in Part 5.
DISCLAIMER: For those who are curious, I do not allow feedback on posts of this nature due to the fact that religionists have nothing original to say on the matter. They continually trot out the same tired, unqualified arguments for why they are right and I am wrong and I refuse to waste another second of my life re-litigating these issue with people of limited imagination.
