On Being an Atheist

DesertBeing an Atheist is not about ruining other people’s religious parties or crapping on dogma. It is not about rebelling or being different. It is not about disrespect or an urge to crinkle the noses of the powers that be.

Being an atheist is about seeing things for what they are, unencumbered by myth, opinion or ritual. Its about understanding the natural urges that live inside you, rather than denying them, it’s about using that knowledge to guide and steer our humanity. It’s about seeing the beauty that is nature and understanding the minute and varied processes that shape and create the world. To see a river running is not a static thing as God had created once and always, but a river is a changing thing, a force of creation and change.

Being an atheist is about pulling the veil of nature away and understanding it without the need for magical creation stories. It’s about understanding our place within this system. Its about understanding the wear and erosion of that river and understanding the flow of sediment, nutrients and life that flows with the river. Not simply saying it was created.

Being an atheist is about understanding why things are, not just buying a blanket explanation that leaves gaps and inconsistencies. It’s about asking why, without fear, without guilt. It’s about getting answers from the source, inquiring, figuring things out and applying that knowledge to your life.

Perhaps when I can freely inquire and live in this world naturally without stepping on the fleeting laws of God, perhaps then I can accept religion, until then, nature is the Alpha and the Omega. When I can live this life without playing to the posibility of another life after this one, perhaps then.

When I look into my baby daughters eyes I don’t see a life of sinful avoidance. I see a life of understanding, a life of humanity, love, sex, work, heartbreak and all the things I expect her to experience. I want to arm her with knowledge about why you shouldn’t have premarital sex, things like early pregnancy, disease and emotional distress, not tales of fire and brimstone, not eternity in damnation, just facts. That is being an atheist. Fear is the domain of religion, understanding and knowledge are for atheists.

*Sadly, being an atheist has often focussed on the battle between evolution and faith, but away from that battlefield we live peaceful and meaningful lives with an understanding that this life is all we get and from that comes a great respect for this life and others we share it with. We have become guardians of science and logic by default, because it is a natural ally to us and a natural enemy to faith.