Conversion

After debating with many theists, both within the confines of essays and verbally, I’ve come to a stunning realization; I do not believe I can change their opinions. This is rather confusing to me; I spend a ton of time reading, researching, and thinking about religious beliefs. I and many other atheists that I connect with online all agree with the arguments that I have. I see my positions as an atheist as VERY strong. I’ve read large portions of the Bible, both good and bad, I’ve debated and researched and yet I seem to hit brick wall after brick wall. Why? Why aren’t theists willing to convert (I hate to use that word, but feel no other will really convey this message) to atheism? Is there some sort of stigma, some type of fear that is put into a theist by their beliefs for non-belief? Does one just believe because they fear the unknown? Is it just religious indoctrination?

I don’t think so, and here is why.

Theists are too invested in their beliefs. They’re committed in many aspects; emotionally, financially, physically, socially. Theists, mainly Christians, have traveled too far along that path to let themselves be swayed another way by an atheist. Why? They need to save their intellect.

Let me explain.

A theist has probably spent a large portion of his/her life devoted to a god. They’ve probably prayed hundreds of times, gone to church functions, called upon a god to help, seen a religious ceremony, ect. For most theists, their religious beliefs are a very big part of their life. If one were to come to the stunning realization that all gods were false, it would be massively embarrassing on a whole new scale. They would be truly shaken to their core. Who wouldn’t be embarrassed to have spent so much time and sacrificed so much just to bow down and worship something completely and totally fabricated? Personally, I would feel depressed that I’d been so stupid as to believe such insane myths. I’d be outraged that my parents had taught me things that are mere conjecture as verified, solid fact. If I was a theist who was losing my faith, I’d be terrified of the consequences. What are my parents going to say? My church members? My friends? Even my girl/boy friend? Am I going to be accepted? The theist cannot and will not allow himself to be convinced that he has been bamboozled.

So what does the theist do?

He saves face. He doesn’t admit that the atheist is right; he cannot be intellectually embarrassed. He can’t let the atheist win by conceding a mere point, so he rationalizes his beliefs. In this part of the debate, the theist will usually break out the “The Lord works in mysterious ways” argument. It’s a logical no-no, and here is why. You cannot claim in one sentence that your god is the one, true way and then claim in the next that he is just ‘mysterious’. That is a weak argument, and a rather poor attempt to save your intellect by rationalizing the facts presented. As a theist, you’ve sacrificed a lot to attempt to please your god. You quite literally need to have that faith; the alternative is very embarrassing. This constant rationalization is what theists call ‘strengthening’ their faith. A Christian could see a building fall and kill 10,000 people, yet call it a miracle when a child is found among the rubble. It’s a terrifying cycle of rationalizing and self-deception. On one hand you hate god for killing the people, then try to see the majesty in the small child. The theist cannot and will not explain such horrible catastrophe; so the theist will ignore or rationalize the event. This internal battle is what truly tears apart the theist. However, again, the theist refuses to be incorrect.

Theists believe in some crazy shit, but at least they do so under the guise of numbers. They’ve got thousands, millions, even billions others that believe in the same exact fairytales as they do. That sort of popular delusion is comforting. When one can hide under the cloak of thousands of others, it makes the intellectual decision easy. If I can just go along with everyone else, I don’t have to think. When I can follow the crowd and ‘fit in’, I don’t have to make any difficult decisions. It’s really easy; perhaps too easy to become a ‘Christian’. It is merely a label that you can throw upon yourself, motivated by selfishness and your need for social acceptance.

On the contrary, the atheist has nothing intellectually at stake. An atheist has spent no time devoting himself to any cause; he just has spent time analyzing the evidence while looking for the truth. As the evidence for god is indeed nonexistent, he makes his decision based upon logical, rational thinking. The atheist has lost nothing at all if he is indeed wrong. If we found 100% factual evidence for a specific god tomorrow, the atheist has lost nothing at all. He might be confused and inquisitive for the evidence, but has not been really embarrassed to label himself an atheist. He’d just convert to that particular religion. Oh well. One mark against my decision making process. If such evidence was found, I would feel a certain level of embarrassment; but would still be in complete defense of my previous views. After all, if such evidence were to be found, it would be the first piece to ever be presented for the existence of a god. I see my current beliefs as 100% rational and correct. There is nothing that I have not already seen or been directed towards that will change my mind.

So you see how the street isn’t two ways? In one way, a theist has simply too much invested, too convinced to concede a point against his delusion. The atheist has merely made a logical rational observation based upon the evidence. If the entire planet were to find out tomorrow that there was a specific god, the atheist has lost nothing at all. However, if the opposite were found to be true, it would intellectually RUIN the theist. He’s spent so much time and effort to please a non-existent celestial being. Not only is that painful from a common sense point of view, it makes one distrust what you’ve been taught. If god isn’t real, what else have I been lied to about? It’s a dangerous path of freethought for the theist, and simply refuses to be lead down it.

So the theist lies. He says that he’s felt god, or makes up some bullshit story to further his ‘belief’. He’ll go through the evidence for a contradictory piece of evidence and do everything in his power to discount it. Christians spend massive amounts of energy and manpower to argue against evolutionary theory. Why? If your evidence is so convincing, then why do you need your own journals to present it? Why do Christians oppose the teaching of evolutionary theory in the public school system?

It is in blatant contradiction of their holy book. As Christians, they cannot be wrong. They’re much too deep into the pool to turn around and go back to the surface. So they lie. Over and over.

I consider myself lucky to have never been a theist. I was raised in a non-religious home, although both my parents are theists. Religion was never really a topic of discussion in my household. I was never taught biblical stories, never been to a Sunday morning sermon, or even been to a religious wedding ceremony. At one point I guess I was an agnostic; holding no real beliefs but curious about the divine. If I was indoctrinated into a theist, I cannot imagine how difficult it must be to look at your parents straight into the eye and tell them you’re rejecting their god. I mean that too, I really cannot imagine that feeling. It must take so much commitment and honestly to reveal to your parents your TRUE beliefs, not merely a carbon copy of theirs. For many younger theists, I would say that they could never ever tell their parents that they had become an atheist. The stigma and negative perception surrounding atheism is just astounding. For some it was an easy decision to declare atheism. For others, I cannot imagine how much courage it takes to tell your parents such news. This is another reason that younger people cannot and will not let an atheist sway their beliefs. They’re simply afraid of telling their parents. Theistic belief isn’t just a point of view; it’s a lifestyle. You have places of worship, camps, support groups, study classes, friends. To reject a god, you alienate yourself from people that you’ve come to know and befriend for many years of your life. It would be very difficult to break free from all of those beliefs. Brain; off. Belief; on.

Of course I am biased; I’m an atheist. I’ve been through all the arguments and refuted them; I’ve seen every trick in the book. And yet none of those arguments have convinced me. I think less of theists in many ways. I regard them as ignorant and foolish. I see them as hypocrites. I view them with distaste, regardless of which particular flavor of theism they choose. However, most of all, they are full of hatred. They hate anyone to question their intellect. They hate when one questions their God. They despise when one reads verses in the biblical texts as evidence against their creator. They’ve got so much at stake in their belief that they truly despise anyone who dare go against their beliefs. Christians have lawyers and legal teams on call to protect their faith; give them the right to pollute the public school system. They want prayer, bible study, removal of sex education, creationism taught. It’s really disgusting how far these people take their beliefs. They’ve got no qualms with unfairness, so long as it is biased to the theist.

Well that isn’t acceptable at all. As the one who would be intellectually embarrassed, the theist spends most of the time rationalizing or denying various conflicts with their faith. “I cannot be wrong, so I will constantly ignore, delude, and divide.” This sort of view isn’t very conductive to opening your eyes to the truth. It’s a cop-out and a simple way to just back out with your hands in the air screaming “Unfair!”.

In summary, all theists have a level of intellectual risk during a self evaluation of their faith. They cannot think critically about their faith for the same reason a fat person cannot look into the mirror. They truly despise anyone who calls them fat, so they just ignore them and act offended. You’re not offended. You’re just pissed that I can see straight through all of your flaws to cut through all the bullshit. I can see WHY you believe, and I also see why you SHOULDN’T believe. The problem for the theist is that they cannot be wrong. Ever. For a theist, it must be very difficult to get through a session of question from an atheist. As the shield of weak arguments falls one by one, the theist is left with nothing at all. That is what the belief is, isn’t it? Nothing at all.

Cultural Religion

Are you a Christian? Let's assume you are. What does that mean to you? What is it that you think that means? Is it merely a mild faith in Jesus and the Bible? Or does it encompass your life, your very fabric of your existence? These questions are very important to me, as they give me insight to the thinking of a religious person. Can one become simply a culturally passive religious person? Do you attend church only to see your family and friends? Why is it that one can take scripture and apply to our lives, say we believe in Jesus, and not think about it?


I truly wonder how many Christians, or any faithheads, have actually studied other viewpoints. One wouldn't label him/herself a Democrat without knowledge of their opinions and beliefs. So why would you label yourself a Christian without a knowledge of your backgrounds? We can discuss the horrible texts of the Old Testament, or the millions of lives lost in the name of Christ, but I think that misses the point. I am much more curious about your experience with your beliefs.


Supernatural deities that have the ability to perform any task at any time would surely provide His followers with some sort of insight or knowledge, wouldn't he? If you gain nothing from the belief, then I truly wonder what the point of it all is. Is what you feel real in every sense of the word? Are these 'religious experiences' merely delusions of the mind? How does a Christian explain the 'feelings' that Muslims get? Or Jews? How about the Greek people? Why can you dismiss their encounters with their Gods so easily and then expect me to subscribe to your claims? It is easy to show you that you're dismissing the same exact thing you expect others to respect.


Supernatural beings could hypothetically come in and change our lives at any moment. I understand the rationalizations for why this doesn't constantly occur, but is that fair to you? I would consider myself to be extremely fortunate. I know of thousands, perhaps millions of people that aren't as fortunate as you and I. However, as much as I feel lucky, I don't attribute that good luck to God. Just as there are thousands that aren't as fortunate as myself, I'm not as fortunate as many others. When a football star catches a touchdown pass, he kneels down and praises God. But sitting on that other bench, there is another man who probably has an equal faith in God. Why didn't he drop the pass? Both men are pulling God in opposite directions, so how does he pick who deserves it? It cannot possibly be based upon past moral decisions, as immoral people often succeed more than moral ones. It cannot be their faith, as both are equal. You can now come up with an irrational excuse for God and his actions; but that is merely a rationalization. The truth is that you cannot explain it; so you dismiss or rationalize. But both these options are not helpful to understanding, are they?


But that cultural attraction is still there; that desire to worship. I don't believe that desire is pre-programmed into us, software that God installs. I think it is simply a culture that is massively appealing. Let us all attend Church, see Jimmy and Suzy, and be forgiven for the atrocities committed during the week. That sort of delusional is massively appealing. There is so much that religion offers but so very little that it delivers. Religious people create beliefs in their head to explain the world around them; but these beliefs are not facts or even theories with any evidence. The texts offered to us from ‘divine beings’ are nothing more than a collection of first century writings slapped together with gold-leaf paper.


Ignorance will provide us with happiness. Humans desire happiness, and if turning a blind eye to rationally and science is what you call happiness, then good for you. Keep on calling the atheists idiots, attend your church, and pray to God. But if you want to know what the truth is; you need to dive headfirst into knowledge. I'm not saying that all people who study evolution, the Old Testament and atheist viewpoints will become atheists. But a dip into the pool of knowledge will help you on your one path to the truth.


After all, isn’t the truth so much more beautiful and wonderful than persisting in delusional beliefs? Isn't it enough for you to see or do something truly incredible and just appreciate it? I’ll leave this blog with a quote from Richard Dawkins:


“If we are to ever unweave the rainbow, it will not be any less majestic.”

God... insecure?

Why is God so insecure? This all-knowing, all-powerful can do anything to his Universe at any time. He could create a new galaxy or end suffering. Why does he require you that you worship him?

The Bible speaks endlessly of worship. In fact, God places worship at the top of the commandments. Obviously, he sees your worship of him as absolutely necessary. It's imperative that you worship God. But why does he need this? Why does God need his little creations spending their lives to building churches, saying prayers, and reading the Bible? It seems as if God is VERY insecure about his worthiness. I mean if I created the Universe in 6 days, I'd be pretty proud of myself. I'd merely sit back and watch the planet grow and sip a cold drink. But that is not good enough for God. He's massively insecure. Of all people to have such a big ego problem, God shouldn't be it. He is supposed to be the answer to life. I am sure there is nothing that a mere human could provide to a being like God, so what does the worship actually do for God? Does he keep a list of positive comments so that he can read them if he's ever feeling down in the dumps?

To top this off, God has an odd way to admit people into Heaven. He will let you into Heaven for a belief in Him, and damn you to Hell for non-belief. Really? Are those actions the type of a just and loving God? Perhaps the most perverted doctrine of Christianity are the requirements for entering Heaven. You need to have believed in God, asked for forgiveness, and not denied Him.

That is all.

You could have killed six million Jews, been a convicted rapist, or even a child molester. But he'll throw you the keys to Heaven as long as you ask for forgiveness as long as you mean it. Is that really all there is to it? He would let an immoral Christian into Heaven and then deny the same rights to a moral atheist. Sorry Christians, but that is just fucked up. This sort of behavior isn't a good thing to add to a resume for a just and caring God, is it? You provide no evidence for your existence, give us a book full of errors, and then have the nerve to murder thousands of your 'children' everyday. There is so much in this world we cannot change. Religion wants to take your free will and ability to think critically too.

Free Will

After debating with many theists I have heard tons of arguments. Many theists bring excellent points to the cultural affects of religion and one main concept; free will. I never had a solid response for the concept of free will. I'm an atheist, and all the theists tell me that it's a personal choice to do so. But to me the concept of free will is perverted in the Biblical sense. I'd like to address a few points. Please keep in mind that all these ideas are under the basis that the Christian God is real and the concept of Hell is real. (Note: nearly all religions have this same belief system. One wonders how many Hells exist. Is there a Hindu hell, a Muslim hell, a Christian hell?)

What is free will? I looked it up. Free will is the ability to exercise control over your actions and decisions. In other words, you have the free will to scream a curse word in public. Nobody could stop you from doing that. The punishment for those actions and the silliness of it would probably prevent you from doing it however. But that is the idea that free will exists. At any time, you can make a decision with regards to everything you control. You can intentionally cut your hand, drop a box on your foot or even crash your car. Of course these decisions are irrational and pointless. They would be painful and serve no purpose at all. But free will extends beyond just physical actions. I can choose to believe that Jesus was born a virgin. I can choose to believe that the world is 6,000 years old. These decisions would not be judged at all. In fact, they would be accepted in our culture. But the ideas presented in the Bible about free will are perverted. In terms of the Bible, there is not free will, but rather 'conditional will'.

The punishments for non-belief that are presented in the Bible are clear. If you don't believe, in blind faith, that Jesus died for your sins, you go to Hell. There is no way around that. One might wonder why a just, loving, caring entity would send his children to Hell for such a belief. Certainly he doesn't send us to Hell for trivial matters. I mean, you have to mess up pretty bad to be sent for eternal suffering. Forever, I think, is a long time. So if you don't believe that Jesus died for your sins, I'm sent to Hell forever. In this sense, free will is very perverted. How can one make a rational decision when the consequences are so clear? If I were to tell you that you can either believe in pink unicorns or I'm going to burn your flesh off your body, what you would you tell me? Would you rationally think there are no pink unicorns and stand up to me? I'm going to burn your body. Most would TELL me that pink unicorns are real, but actually believe something different. God has given us the same option. You either believe in Jesus and the Bible or he's going to send you to Hell forever. What kind of option is that? That's not faith, that is torture. Just as you don't really have faith in the pink unicorns, your faith in God is merely on the condition that you're going to Heaven.

How selfish and petty is that?

How is it possible that Christians tell me I have free will? There is nothing free about the decision. You have two options. Believe, in a harmless sense, that Jesus died for you. Or, you can deny all of this and be damned to Hell. I cannot comprehend what kind of sick entity God is. Any human that presented this choice to another would be seen as sick, cruel, and unfair.

Why is it that you have no problem believing in God? I will tell you why. It has been made so easy! Our entire culture is based upon Christianity. You can attend a Church on Sunday, be forgiven for your sins and then believe that you're going to live forever in Heaven. That is amazingly comforting. If I believed, I have no doubt that is where my thoughts would end. There is no need to believe anything else. God is going to save me, I'm going to Heaven. Awesome. Most people don't want to believe in anything else. They turn their eyes from the truth and deny science. I honestly believe that they want to believe all this based on their selfish ambitions, not true faith.

But it's not about the comfort, is it? It doesn't end there. To me, the truth matters. I can understand that many people don't care. They have a mental list of things to do, and the worship of God is simply a box to check on my path to eternal bliss in Heaven. I cannot make any sense of this perversion.

Aren't you interested in the truth? Doesn't it bother you that you may be wrong? Can one live the fact that God isn't real? Would it ruin your life? Or simply your selfish ambitions of eternal life?

What is God?

God. It's such a powerful word. It can evoke many visualizations for different people. The Greek saw God in a polytheistic light; many entities controlling their world. The Abrahamic religions see God as only one; the almighty. Deists see God as a force that is separate from this planet.

With all these definitions for the same word, how does one nail down one definition? It's not a simple task. Often theists and atheists have debates about the existence of God and fail to come to a understanding about the definition in the beginning. These debates never end in any sort of agreement, as one debates about Sharpies and the other speaks of pencils. All of my blogs come with a similar definition. I define God as an all-powerful, all-knowing creator. God is actively engaged in our universe and posses a physical location. Any entity that doesn't fit into that definition can still be discussed, but not with the word God. Other definitions should include words like 'celestial being' 'supreme being'. These beings, real or not, do not require worship nor a discussion. If that sort of creator is real, then the points discussed are irrelevant. They don't interfere with our universe, don't answer prayers, care about us, or perform miracles. If you believe that this type of creator is the one then good for you. But I won't discuss this entity in my blogs. It's simply pointless to discuss something that will not control or change our planet. We might as well discuss the weather conditions on Pluto.

With this definition in mind, I will speak about one version of God in particular; the Christian God. I might dive into Judaism or Islam, but in general I will discuss the Christian God. Now that I've laid out a definition, I don't expect comments about the divine nature of anything other than this God in mind. Other beings don't warrant a discussion, real or not.