Deon Barnard

My response to the article:

Do faith in God and science contradict?

From: http://www.gotquestions.org/science-God.html

Here’s the article:

Question: “Do faith in God and science contradict?”

Answer: Science is defined as “the observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena.” Science is a method that mankind can use to gain a greater understanding of the natural universe. It is a search for knowledge through observation. Advances in science demonstrate the reach of human logic and imagination. However, a Christian’s belief in science should never be like our belief in God. A Christian can have faith in God and respect for science, as long as we remember which is perfect and which is not.

Our belief in God is a belief of faith. We have faith in His Son for salvation, faith in His Word for instruction, and faith in His Holy Spirit for guidance. Our faith in God should be absolute, since when we put our faith in God, we depend on a perfect, omnipotent, omniscient Creator. Our belief in science should be intellectual and nothing more. We can count on science to do many great things, but we can also count on science to make mistakes. If we put faith in science, we depend on imperfect, sinful, limited, mortal men. Science throughout history has been wrong about many things, such as the shape of the earth, powered flight, vaccines, blood transfusions, and even reproduction. God is never wrong.

Truth is nothing to fear, so there is no reason for a Christian to fear good science. Learning more about the way God constructed our universe helps all of mankind appreciate the wonder of creation. Expanding our knowledge helps us to combat disease, ignorance, and misunderstanding. However, there is danger when scientists hold their faith in human logic above faith in our Creator. These persons are no different from anyone devoted to a religion; they have chosen faith in man and will find facts to defend that faith.

Still, the most rational scientists, even those who refuse to believe in God, admit to a lack of completeness in our understanding of the universe. They will admit that neither God nor the Bible can be proved or disproved by science, just as many of their favorite theories ultimately cannot be proved or disproved. Science is meant to be a truly neutral discipline, seeking only the truth, not furtherance of an agenda.

Much of science supports the existence and work of God. Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” As modern science discovers more about the universe, we find more evidence of creation. The amazing complexity and replication of DNA, the intricate and interlocking laws of physics, and the absolute harmony of conditions and chemistry here on earth all serve to support the message of the Bible. A Christian should embrace science that seeks the truth, but reject the “priests of science” who put human knowledge above God.

My response in red:

Answer: Science is defined as “the observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena.” Science is a method that mankind can use to gain a greater understanding of the natural universe. (the best method we have by far).

It is a search for knowledge through observation (controlled testing, experimentation and sound reason). Advances in science demonstrate the reach of human logic and imagination. However, a Christian’s belief in science should never be like our belief in God. A Christian can have faith in God and respect for science, as long as we remember which is perfect and which is not. (Huh? What does that even mean? How do you just pronounce something perfect?)

Our belief in God is a belief of faith. (Therein lies the problem!) We have faith in His Son for salvation (from what?), faith in His Word for instruction (have you read this “word” recently? Full of contradictions and immoral teachings), and faith in His Holy Spirit for guidance (How does something that can’t be seen, heard or observed in any way, guide people?). Our faith in God should be absolute (why?), since when we put our faith in God, we depend on a perfect, omnipotent, omniscient Creator (huh? Says who? Where do these ‘facts’ come from, and why aren’t they plain to science and reason, let alone all contrary religions?). Our belief in science (we don’t ‘believe’ in science. It’s a method of inquiry) should be intellectual and nothing more (that’s exactly right). We can count on science to do many great things (yip), but we can also count on science to make mistakes (yip. And?). If we put faith in science (we don’t!), we depend on imperfect, sinful, limited, mortal men (uh, yes, that’s why we don’t put ‘faith’ in science…). Science (you mean scientists) throughout history has been wrong about many things, such as the shape of the earth, powered flight, vaccines, blood transfusions, and even reproduction (who said they weren’t?). God is never wrong. (Jeez! SAYS WHO? Have you read the Bible lately?)

Truth is nothing to fear (could have fooled me), so there is no reason for a Christian to fear good science (Christians have good reasons to fear good science). Learning more about the way God constructed our universe (Science demonstrates clearly that there is probably no creator God) helps all of mankind appreciate the wonder of creation (uh… nope). Expanding our knowledge helps us to combat disease, ignorance, and misunderstanding (Yes! Yes! Yes!!!). However, there is danger when scientists hold their faith in human logic above faith in our Creator (Oh enough already! Scientists don’t do faith, and there is no creator!). These persons are no different from anyone devoted to a religion; they have chosen faith in man and will find facts to defend that faith (sigh… this is hopeless).

Still, the most rational scientists, even those who refuse to believe in God, admit to a lack of completeness in our understanding of the universe (damn right, but a knowledge that surpasses the church’s by a million fold, and growing). They will admit that neither God nor the Bible can be proved or disproved by science (Nor can the tooth fairy, Easter bunny or flying spaghetti monster… because its bull shit!), just as many of their favourite theories ultimately cannot be proved or disproved (They’re called theories for a reason). Science is meant to be a truly neutral discipline, seeking only the truth, not furtherance of an agenda (yes. And?)

Much of science supports the existence and work of God (What?! How? Where? Since when?). Psalm 19:1 says (and this matters because?), “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” As modern science discovers more about the universe, we find more evidence of creation (exactly the opposite is true). The amazing complexity and replication of DNA, the intricate and interlocking laws of physics, and the absolute harmony of conditions and chemistry here on earth all serve to support the message of the Bible (Message of the Bible? Which particular message is that? How do we even begin to draw that conclusion?). A Christian should embrace science that seeks the truth (correct), but reject the “priests of science” (hahaha. Really?) who put human knowledge above God (Which God is that?)

There is a branch of fence sitters, ‘Agnostics’ if you will, that insist that there is no argument or antagonism between Science and Religion, or that there need not be, because somehow they’re both doing the same thing in different ways. These people insist that scientists ought not to overlook or belittle the efforts of the religious in their journey to discover the mysteries of God; while the religious need to recognise the achievements and potential of science.

As always, this sort of “let’s all get along” speak, sounds good at first glance – after all, wouldn’t the world be a better place if we all just accepted our differences and strove toward peace? I believe it is disingenuous, and at the very least naive for an intelligent person to think this way. Science is a method of discovery that goes against the very fabric of religious thought – in fact religion sees scientific enquiry as a dangerous threat and would surely disintegrate if all its adherents started to think scientifically and rationally. Religion requires an unquestioning attitude regarding certain key doctrines or it becomes meaningless. Religion can be nothing but fearful and resistant to science if it is to remain what it is. Similarly science is a method of discovery that, to be called science, must adhere to a strict process of self criticism, testing and experimentation, none of which religion does or could subject itself to. Science seeks to build on previous knowledge through actively looking at all empirical evidence and doing its best to disprove its own theories.

How can religion get along with Science? That would mean having to admit that the evidence is overwhelmingly stacked up against that particular religious mythology. That would logically mean that all religious myths are just that, myths, and not reality to base our lives on. Of course, for the religious, logic has nothing to do with it. The religious play the ‘Faith’ card. “I don’t need evidence… I have Faith.” But even that argument is disingenuous. You may have faith in deity X and myth Y, but someone else has faith in deity A and myth B. So what external device do you have of working out which myths are more likely to be real, if any at all? Some seem to think that all or none are ‘real’ in scientific terms and that’s OK. Why? Why is that OK? These same people certainly don’t use this crazy logic to run any of their other affairs.

Let’s make it very clear why science and religion can never ‘get along’ intellectually:

1. Science requires evidence to determine a truth value. Religion claims complete knowledge of a particular truth despite all evidence to the contrary.

2. Science has an internal self criticism control through peer review, experimentation, publication and questioning. Religion cannot tolerate criticism and has invented words like ‘blasphemy’ to keep people submissive and humble.

3. Science rewards those who convincingly disprove established knowledge. Religion rejects and disciplines those who question its doctrines.

4. No questions are taboo in science. All questions are encouraged. Religions ask no questions, and certainly don’t encourage them. Religions simply hand out pre-packaged answers.

5. Science is always looking to improve our understanding of the truth, with the understanding that we may never know everything but we’ll certainly keep searching. Religion claims to have access to the ultimate truth despite the fact that most of what they know cannot be verified in any reliable way.

6. Science produces the goods. Science changes the world daily and every religious person depends on the products of scientific enquiry. Religion claims to offer the world only those things which humans can provide each other without the myths anyway. Community. Morality. Philanthropy. No Gods are required for these.

It is important to understand that Science doesn’t say, “There is no God”. Science says, “If there is a God then let’s all see him. If there is a God then let’s answer the following questions. If there is a God then let’s test what we think we know and asses the results.” Religion says, “There is a God and that’s that. Accept it and believe it and live as if it’s true and don’t worry if it doesn’t make sense.” Of course the danger of that type of thinking is that if the particular God demands death or sacrifice or suicide bombings then we’re all screwed, and we have been, for thousands of years!

The Agnostic folk of which I spoke at the beginning of this article tell me that Science doesn’t know everything. That there are mysteries in the universe we may never uncover. My response is YES, and…? There are thousands of gaps in the scientific understanding of the cosmos, and this might always be true. So we’ll keep searching for the answers and improving our knowledge. What purpose does it serve to fill all the gaps with God, only to remove him from the gap when we understand the reality? A mystery is simply a presently unexplained phenomenon, not a reason to believe in God. Science is quite happy with mysteries, it gives us an opportunity to ask questions and make discoveries. Religion provides me no intellectual comfort in the spaces of the unknown.

While the majority of the world’s population are steeped in religious and magical thinking; while we teach biblical creationism in schools as a valid history of our planet; while we have prayer meetings for flood victims instead of rebuilding cities; while we believe that plastic wrist bands with magnets can keep us healthy; while we believe that faith is a valid substitute for vaccinations in infants; while we believe that stem cell research is ‘of the Devil’; while we believe that Harry Potter is turning our children into suicidal witches… we will never be free as a species to see the universe for what it really is and evolve into the magnificent creatures we could become.

I’m writing this under a tree in a field somewhere between Caledon and Swellendam in the Western Cape of South Africa. It has been some time since I wrote on my blog and I’ve been promising a few articles over the holiday season. I thought I’d start the blogging frenzy off by looking back at 2010 and working out how I feel about the past year of my life.

I was unmarried for the whole of 2010, having finalised my divorce in December 2009. This fact made it a very different and interesting year for me. It has certainly been the least confrontational and most peaceful year I’ve had in over thirteen. It has been a year of consolidation and even recovery in a way. For an entire year I’ve come home to smiles and calm, and looked forward to the sanctity of my castle on the hill… which it almost is, having the best view of Johannesburg possible! I have spent many nights this year looking over the world below and contemplating the mysteries of life with a good scotch and a cigar or pipe, feeling a little like Gandalf or Bilbo Baggins.

The reason for the peace at home is a most wonderful specimen of woman called Heather, who has lived with me in my castle all year. I have never met a more understanding, unflusterable, kind-hearted human in all my life. We talk together, walk together, cook together, read together, dance together, camp together and share pretty much everything without stress or defence or score keeping or the need to control. This alone could make life almost perfect, but there’s more. We’ve actively reawakened our youth together. We’ve visited interesting venues, clubs and restaurants. We’ve read important books. We’ve mixed fantastic cocktails and shooters. We’ve investigated and invested in our sexuality. We’ve made home together. We’ve explored rustic camp sites. We’ve created new gourmet recipes. We’ve nurtured our kids together. We’ve walked away from religion and established a wonderful group of friends together.

This year was also the launch of my blog (the one you’re reading); Rumble in the Pub (a philosophical discussion group that meets in a pub); and Primordial Soup (a podcast of interest to Atheists and Secular Freethinkers). Many of these activities have overflowed onto Facebook or vice versa resulting in a year of passionate debates and discussions on very stimulating topics and holy cows. I’ve been branded a Satanist and a cult leader on several occasions, despite the fact that I’m sure Satan does not exist and I have no ‘followers’ and preach no mysterious ‘doctrine’. I have offended hundreds of people by asking uncomfortable questions about religion and highlighting the scientific improbability of Gods and Pink Unicorns. I have read Dawkins, Harris, Sagan and Hitchens this year and dived wholeheartedly into scientific enquiry and philosophical thought experiment.

This has also been a year for physical recovery. I started the year hardly able to walk. My sciatic nerve was pinched, and combined with poor fitness and the shortest hamstrings in the galaxy, I could only tolerate standing for five minutes at a time. In desperation I visited a Biokineticist for three months, once a week, who stretched my legs and back until at times I felt I would snap in half, until finally I had mobility again. I also started wall climbing which instantly became my favourite sport ever. The combination of stretching and building physical strength has restored me to be able to run and hike and stand and walk for hours and hours again. If there was a God I’d probably thank him… but as it is I’m just extremely pleased J.

On the down side (there’s always a down side), my ex wife moved to Natal with my children. Finances and distance has resulted in me not seeing them nearly as much as I want to. The times I’ve had with them have been special and precious, but I’ve missed out on a bunch of the good stuff, the daily gems of life. There are times when this overwhelms me with sadness and I have to stop myself crying out loud in random public places. I also know that they have a good life, both in Natal with their mom and here with me, and they’re growing into fantastic, and I deeply hope, rational human beings. I’m hoping to remedy the time issue this year, but it will be a challenge.

This has been an enormously busy year with many personal and public events taking place. I helped organise a 20 year matric reunion which was a roaring success in November. South Africa hosted the Fifa world cup football event in July (I attended the France/Mexico game in Polokwane with my boys). I hosted a rocking fancy dress birthday party in November. Heather and I moved into our home on the hill in May. We both started new Jobs early in the year. We went camping in February in Amanzimtoti, and October in Nottingham Road. We hosted a Rumble in the Midlands in December at the same Nottingham Road camp site. And the list goes on and on.

All in all I’d have to call 2010 a watershed year. A year of rebirth and success. A year of writing and reading. A year of friendships and discovery. A year of sex and wonder. A year of food and drink. A year of health and prosperity. If 2011 is even half as good as 2010 I say, “Bring it on!!”

It’s eight in the morning and several strange hominid species including war gamers, comic collectors and sci-fi fanatics start to congregate outside the Jabula Recreation Centre in Sandringham where the spectacle that is Icon has taken place for many years.

The odd human stands in the queue tentatively glancing about at the growing strangeness that surrounds them. Witches, elves and armoured knights high-five each other as they locate their pals from whichever local geek club they happen to belong to. Others sit in random places in the parking lot pouring over their tournament rules and preparing themselves mentally for world domination. A strange looking chap with a bushy beard opens the door and begins to holler out the rules and requirements for entry into the hall among expletives of the generally censored type. Human mothers cover the ears of their not-so-innocent children. The queue begins to move and Icon is officially opened.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about then you’ve never visited the annual fantasy and sci-fi event that is Icon! Every year in July geeks and gamers, fanboys and fairies, wizards and warriors, all gather for a weekend of fantastical fun and gothic goings-on. On entering the main hall you pay your R20 or so and get some cheap, but cool, trinket – like this year’s Superman badge (button if you’re American). A few metres on and you can purchase a branded coffee mug which you can fill with cheap coffee, free of charge, all weekend long to keep up the energy requirements. Across the passage is the Anime theatre where sexy Japanese cartoons play all day featuring huge-eyed girls with perfect bodies and tartan mini skirts… or alternatively sword bearing ninjas and fountains of arterial blood from severed limbs; either way worth a 20 minute detour or two.

On entering the main hall your senses are attacked by the sounds and sights of crowds of fantasy enthusiasts, some in elaborate fancy dress (including the odd tartan miniskirt wearing manga girl), all goggling over the various items being sold by comic and gaming stalls all around the hall. Whether you’re looking for a rubber sword to bash your siblings with, or a unit of plastic soldiers for your collection, or the latest Batman (who is no longer Bruce Wayne because he died and was replaced by Nightwing who is really Dick Grayson who used to be Robin…) comic – you will find it at Icon.

In the side halls and gardens you walk past various gaming tournaments being held for various game systems – Warhammer, 40K, Magic the Gathering, Hordes, Settlers, Role Playing and more. You can’t help but stare at some of the spectacularly painted miniatures and marvel at how focussed everyone is on what they’re doing. Handfuls of dice are being rolled, decks of cards are being dealt and screams of disappointment compete with cries of victory all around you. Outside on the lawn the LARP (Live Action Role Playing) and SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) folk are busy beating the flying phlegm out of each other with swords and similar weapons of reasonable destruction, and as they do, eager crowds gather to witness the spectacle and call out the odd word of encouragement or roar with laughter as the loser clutches his bloody nose.

Of course by now you’re feeling a little peckish so you head to the kitchen to see what’s on the menu and, same procedure as last year James, it is salad rolls (kind of) and pink hot dogs, a favourite of nerds everywhere… well that’s their story and they’re sticking to it. Of course the lady who sells the instant noodles near the entrance makes a killing each year.

So if you haven’t taken a trip to Icon before, do yourself a favour and get there next year July. Whether it’s to buy a gift for your nephew or a graphic novel to prepare for an upcoming DC or Marvel flick, or maybe just to remind yourself how normal you are – you’ll want to be adding this event to your bucket list!

I have been particularly bewildered by the nonsensical use of certain linguistic conventions on my Facebook wall recently. In layman’s terms, I can’t believe the illogical bullshit people speak! I’ll simply launch into a couple of classic examples of said fallacial weirdness.

Sample post: We have no reason to believe in a personal loving God. All the evidence suggests better and simpler natural causes for phenomena, like the way that evolution via natural selection explains species.

Crazy response 1: Evolution is just a theory! What a load of crap. We all come from monkeys? You’d have to be stupid to believe that.

Let’s look at this stunningly ignorant and smug response that ironically demonstrates just how close this person is to a monkey (his words)! Firstly evolution is not a theory at all in the way that this visitor is implying. Neither is Pythagoras’s theory a theory. Neither is germ theory a theory. For all intents and purposes these are practical facts. We may not know everything about these facts but they are undeniable and provable in a variety of ways and they all allow us the benefit of prediction. In scientific terms Evolution is as much a fact as electricity. When I flick the switch on my wall I understand (although only roughly) that it is electricity moving through a really thin wire that creates energy and therefore light. I don’t for one minute believe that God makes the bulb glow every time I flick the switch. God is the theory here (a really poor one) and electricity is the fact. Has this person ever read anything other than the Bible or Mills and Boon??

Secondly, highlighting his ignorance he demonstrates that he has no idea how evolution and common ancestry works. Who said we come from Monkeys? Modern monkeys and modern humans have a common ancestor somewhere in history. For that matter modern man and seaweed has a common ancestor too. But then again how can I expect people to know any better in a system of educational and ecclesiastical indoctrination such as the one most of us live in in the English colonies.

Finally, I don’t BELIEVE in Evolution at all in the way this gentlemen uses the word belief. I see the facts and come to a logical conclusion. This is not a faith position. So yes, I’d have to be stupid to ‘believe’ it – I’ll settle for simply thinking it through.

Crazy response 2: So where did everything come from then. Huh! Huh! You think you’re so smart. Can you create a rose???? Can you!!!?

I see men in white coats dragging this girl across a neat green lawn to a small white truck… Who the hell knows where everything came from? Science has some interesting and logically reasonable ideas based on available evidence. What does she have? An ancient myth that she accepted without half a peanut of evidence to support it. I go cold at the darkness of the human condition, if this is what it looks like.

Can I create a rose?? Uh… no. Nor can I create a watch or a car or a pencil – and your point is? Is she trying (nauseatingly) to infer that a rose is too complicated or beautiful to have come into existence by accident? She obviously doesn’t understand natural selection (or sexual selection) and its role in the evolution of species over millions of years. I’d suggest reading a book on the topic, but that might lead to her having to question her beliefs (gasp), so I won’t hold my breath.

Crazy response 3: Why do you have to hammer away at religion? What’s your problem? Why can’t we just all get along instead of forcing people to believe what you believe?

Ah, my all time favourite! The – ignore the proposition entirely and change the subject to something that will make everyone see what an evil monster bully this guy is – tactic. Is this a joke? I can say with full confidence that I have never ever gone onto a Christian’s Facebook wall and responded to a post like “Jesus is so cool, and his might and grace and everlasting love doth reign in mine heart like an oak planted beside still waters and lo! I behold his glory… (You get the point)… and then posted a response like, “you Christians are all backwards and stupid and why can’t we all just get along without God and manipulation and… (You get the point)! Why, because firstly, it’s their wall and they can post whatever they like on their own wall. Secondly, if there is no invitation for rational debate on the particular facts or logic of their post then I respect their unspoken rules. It’s very simple folk – you stick to the rules of the wall you’re visiting. On my particular wall the rules are simple:

1. Stick to the facts of the proposition or initial statement/post. Talk about the topic I’ve put up for debate, not your personal offence at being subjected to my thoughts simply because you happen to disagree.
2. If you have the temptation to change the subject completely, then feel free to take it offline or start a new thread on your own wall, or ask me if I’m interested in discussing your thread on my wall in a separate discussion.
3. By all means disagree – in fact disagree with all your heart, but then tell me why you disagree. Present the evidence, or at the very least present a string of logic that calls my own into question. This is what makes debates interesting and how we all learn something new.
4. Refrain from emotional observations like “you seem so angry”, or “why are you so scared of religion”, or “you’re clearly a very unhappy person” etc. These observations have nothing to do with the post and quite frankly I don’t give a continental what you may or may not think of my personality or my state of happiness. Worry about your own personality and your own happiness. I’m certainly not going to come to your wall and post, “You seem like such an insane individual… have you gone for a psychiatric analysis recently? J”

Crazy response 4: Dude, there is no evidence for evolution. They never found the missing link. Carbon dating doesn’t work.

Dude. Read a book! Almost anything from Richard Dawkins should set your facts straight. PS: Dawkins is an elderly gentle British biologist chap who has dedicated his life to researching and explaining the evidence, the links and the facts about evolution. A little research will also help you understand that although Carbon 14 dating is only accurate to about 5000 years, using Uranium-Lead and other dating techniques we can accurately date the earth at about 4.5 billion years old. I say it again; Evolution is as much a practical fact as the theory that stretching before playing football is a good idea.

The examples above are just a few of the many bewildering types of ‘argument’ that are regularly posted on my wall. I understand that many of us didn’t take Science even into the tenth grade, and certainly not as a college or university subject. Neither did I. I also understand that many of us go to church every week where we are preached a version of how the universe works as though it were scientific fact, by preachers who haven’t the faintest idea what the facts are except what they interpret from ancient scriptures that were written millennia before the facts were discovered. I can understand this too because I was just such a preacher. But for God’s sake people (figuratively speaking), we live in the year 2010! Are we seriously going to base our entire understanding of the universe on the facts presented by one book or one preacher or our parents?

I know that logic is not everything! I certainly have no visions of a Vulcan utopia on earth, but almost everyone uses logic and reason to live their daily lives at work and home. We use logic to use computers because we work more efficiently that way. We use logic to plan our holidays, job interviews and weekly schedules. We use logic to cook and all sorts of other things we may have convinced ourselves are all ‘creativity and imagination’. Without logic it is almost impossible to have a mutually enjoyable or beneficial conversation. I love imagination. I love creativity. I also understand the importance of logic, and when it comes to God and church and the doctrines of the church, logic tends to get set aside and replaced with dogma, defensiveness, fear and unwarranted emotional outbursts of anger.

So, next time you read a post somewhere that immediately triggers all your defensiveness and anger because at first glance it seems to be contradicting what you have been told to believe by church and holy books, stop and ask a few simple questions before responding:

1. What is the post actually saying?
2. Do I really understand the post and all the terms and ideas being put forward?
3. What do I think/believe about the facts being presented?
4. What do I agree with and what do I disagree with in this post?
5. Do I need to clarify something before I can intelligently respond to this post?
6. Do I understand the reasons why I disagree with certain facts in this post?
7. Do I just want to voice my anger, or do I have something meaningful to contribute?
8. Would I want someone to respond like I’m about to on my own wall?
9. Do I have facts / evidence / information that will benefit the conversation?

I look forward to better, calmer, more interesting and thoughtful conversations going forward.

One of the ironic problems with a religious mindset is that you know everything, and everything you know is fact – and nobody else knows anything (of value).

“Why are we here?” “How did everything come to be?” “What does it mean to be alive?” “What happens when we die?” “What is right and wrong?” “How should we behave?” “What is wisdom?” “What is truth?” “How should we raise our kids?” “Does God exist?” “What is God’s will?”

These are all questions religion claims to know the precise answers to. The answers to these questions are not presented as possibilities or theories but as fundamental facts requiring no scientific evidence and tolerating no opposition.

Life was a lot simpler when I thought this way. When I woke up every morning I understood exactly how the world worked and felt comforted by my immortality, not to mention my ability to move mountains. God was on the throne and I was unstoppable. Anything anyone thought they knew about the universe was fundamentally flawed if that knowledge did not involve Jesus, and I was happy to reveal that wonderful truth to them. “Are you sick? Just trust in Jesus and you’ll be fine.” “Do you need money? Stop sinning (smoking, drinking and missing church services); pay your tithes (that’s 10%, but preferably more), and my God who owns all the cattle on a thousand hills will pour his abundance on you so that you cannot contain it.” Cattle? “Don’t worry about pesky academics and their so called knowledge – their knowledge is foolishness in the face of my faith!” “Why are babies born brain damaged? God has his reasons and we should be happy with that, (or maybe their parents sinned, or maybe it was Satan).” “Millions of people homeless in Haiti? Maybe God is just testing their faith, or the faith of all those he’s calling to help by going there to spread the gospel, (or maybe they all deserved it because of sin, or maybe it was Satan).

At any rate, everything was simple. Prayer, Faith, Sin, God or Satan could account for every phenomena in the universe from mega atrocities to the opulence of head pastors and successful businessmen. There was no need to question anything, and if you did, your questions were directed at the Bible from where you picked a sufficient number of scriptures to back whatever seemed an acceptable viewpoint in the context of your church and its leadership. The theories of science, despite all their practical applications (which I was more than happy to use to do God’s work) sounded arrogant and humanistic (other words for anti-Christian and ‘of the devil’). The only book worth reading was the Bible which I read about ten times (not nearly enough according to many preachers I respected). Anything based on logic or scientific reason was seen as ‘Greek’ rather than ‘Hebrew’ thinking and soon became a derogatory term for people who were more interested in the wisdom of man than God (a type of blasphemy). We had the facts. Other Christians had some of the facts. Non-Christians had none of the facts and needed to be saved!

During my period of de-conversion it became very clear to me that I would have to honestly ask all the questions again, from the beginning, and start reconstructing a view of the truth using a model that was more robust than simply recounting ancient myths or going with gut feel opinions. Only the scientific model is equally interested in disproving facts as it is in proving them, thereby keeping itself honest through rigid experimentation, peer review and welcoming contrary views that claim better empirical evidence. It is the fact that science is always questioning that makes it the most likely candidate for finding real answers.

Life is very different for me now. When I look at a thing I wonder about its nature. I read about everything and want to know exactly why people think one way or another. I realise every day how little I know and life has become the most amazing adventure of discovery. I’m not moved by emphatic statements like “God did it!” or “God said so!” – I want to know how you know what God did or said. I want to consider the other alternatives and find out what we as a species know already about each of those alternatives. The same applies in reverse – I’m not moved by statements from Skeptics about how inaccurate the Bible is or how dumb homeopathic remedies are – I want to know why and how they came to that conclusion.

Instead of saying this or that is truth, I now say this or that is what we currently think we know and I can’t wait for more to be uncovered. The universe, which I used to think was a pretty picture hung in the sky by God for our pleasure, never seemed too important to me considering it would soon be cleared away and replaced when Jesus returned, now seems teaming with possibilities and discoveries waiting to be stumbled upon. The universe is bigger and more spectacular than anything I ever imagined in my Christian world view and I just want to know more and more while I have the chemistry in my brain to know anything at all.

The one thing I wish for every religious person is that they might remove themselves from the influence and safety of their communities and churches for a time and ask, actually ask all the questions again for all the answers they have ‘known’ from childhood. Then in looking for the answers they would read and research the works of people who have come to different conclusions, and honestly evaluate those conclusions with an open mind. If after that you still think that God created the universe, and that you understand his will, and that heaven and hell exists, and that Adam sinned for all mankind in a garden with a talking snake, and that God answers prayers, and that we did not evolve… then God bless you!

Immediately upon reading the title of this post, numerous moderate Christians will respond with something similar to the following question I found on a friend’s Facebook profile: “so why take a dig at religious people? u have the rite not to believe so they have just as much of a rite to believe? and none of us should be arrogant enough to think that only what we believe is the rite thing”. All spelling aside, this is the kind of response I get on my blogs frequently. Of course, the reason anyone would make such a statement is that they truly believe that it doesn’t really matter what you believe, and that people should just get along. The problem with this view is that any religion, by definition, requires that its adherents reject all other religions and hold its own doctrines and myths up as the ‘only true path’.

No evangelical Christian believes that Muslims or Hindus are going to heaven. No Muslim believes that Christians or Buddhists are going to heaven. There is no tolerance in religious faith, and anyone who claims to be a Christian with the view “live and let live” is either not a Christian at all or has no serious understanding about what is being preached to them every Sunday. Religion, as it relates to believing in gods or ‘God’ is, in my view, the most dangerous and sinister activity of mankind, and I am firmly convinced that our hope of survival as a species is directly related to how soon we can throw off the shackles of superstition and religious ‘faith’.

One might say that religion is a type of spiritual discrimination, born out of exactly the same dull ignorance and supreme arrogance that births every other type of discrimination. As though our skin colour; gender; nationality; or what silly non-existent beings we subscribe to, could possibly make us “better” than anyone else, by some accident of birth that resulted in our being raised in a particular family, culture or nation. Moderate Christians everywhere would take offense to slavery or apartheid, but don’t seem to apply the same reasoning to their own bigoted religious beliefs.

So, why do people need to stop believing in God? I shall present here what I consider to be critical reasons. I will not focus on the overwhelming empirical evidence against the existence of God, or counter specific traditional arguments for the existence of God as I have done this in several previous posts and will do so again, no doubt, in the future. Instead, I want to look at some of the particular dangers and problems that religious faith imposes on individuals and nations alike.

Firstly, religious faith promotes fallacious reasoning and dullness of mind. By its very definition faith requires a suppression of logical thought. I often hear Christians saying things like, “your problem is you think too much… just believe!” These same people apply logic and sound reason to many daily activities like their monthly budgets, holiday planning, purchasing insurance or medical aid, passing exams, and so forth – but in the arena of God and church are quite happy to turn off their minds and believe absolutely ridiculous notions about unknowable beings they’ve never seen and ancient mythologies that have been proven inaccurate thousands of times over. This temporary insanity spills over into daily life where, “I’ll pray for you” becomes an honorable substitution for, “what can I do to help you?” and, “God will provide” becomes a praiseworthy excuse for not doing anything about it. The evil of this mindset becomes more apparent on a macro level when random natural events like the floods in Haiti are seen as God’s punishment on the sinful, and thousands of brainwashed people take to the streets after the event to ‘praise God’ for his mercy in saving them, despite the fact that God saw fit to exterminate thousands of innocent children. These same people will wait for God to show his great provision to rebuild their nation without as much of a consideration as to how radically different God’s actions are compared with his supposedly perfect and loving character.

The greatest thing that could happen to Haiti is for people to throw of the chains of religious indoctrination and see the world for what it really is; then, not wasting another minute in futile prayers and ceremonies, pick up the pieces of their lives and take full responsibility for their own future. This same religious blindness permeates even academic society where those free thinking individuals who tirelessly work at understanding the state of the universe for what it really is, are constantly opposed by well meaning religious buffoons who’s own interpretation of archaic biblical morality puts the brakes on progress in stem cell research or the teaching of the fact of evolution in schools around the world. Belief in God all too often turns otherwise intelligent people into arrogant and ignorant fools.

I was recently talking to a catholic friend of mine about the recent news story where E-TV had an interview with a man claiming that he had plans to kill tourists coming to South Africa during the football world cup. We started talking about whether E-TV had the right to keep the man’s identity and location a secret knowing that public security was at risk. We agreed that confidentiality is important in journalism, but there must be a line where the security of the public is more important than the confidentiality of an individual. Then someone brought up the similarity with priests and how they also vow never to give up a secret that is confessed in the confession box. My catholic friend said, “Well of course that’s different.” I asked how it was different. He said, “Priests have made a vow before God.” I was amazed that an intelligent man could simply turn off his faculties of reason the second the conversation became an issue concerning God – and that’s exactly the problem with faith! Faith and religion lead people to believe that any doctrines of the church (their church) and any issue that relates to God is above question, critique or any application of science or reason.

History has proven, and public news continues to prove, that where millions of people are happy to believe whatever ludicrous thing they hear from their pulpits and religious leaderships, they will from time to time birth fanatical elements capable of justifying, for the sake of God, the murder of innocents, the destruction of buildings, suicide bombings, religious crusades and the killing of doctors, scientists and free thinkers. Moderate religion may deny responsibility for these heinous deeds, but it is the solid core of moderate religion that incubates and prepares the seed of fanaticism, hatred and apocalyptic visions.

There will always be madmen and criminals looking for the power to control people – some of these will use religion to net a large following, and others will use religious techniques, banishing all religions but requiring worship of the state, or even the person of the ruler, as God. The fact that religion still perseveres in the world just makes it easier for these people to accomplish their goals, knowing that they have at their disposal hundreds, thousands or even millions who are willing to set aside clear thinking and give themselves to blind faith and credulity – even calling such gullibility noble and honorable and commendable.

The second major problem I have with belief in God is that it devalues this, the only life we have any reason to believe we have. Almost every religion, and certainly all monotheistic religions (Christianity, Islam and Judaism in particular), have at their core the firm belief that this world of sin and depravity is but a temporary detour on the journey to an everlasting place of happiness (for the faithful), or eternal agony and torment in hell (for sinners, unbelievers, homosexuals, and in fact anyone who doesn’t agree with their particular point of view). That may seem like a reasonable enough lure, or threat to make sure the flock tows the line, but in practice it is a devastating position that results in immeasurable suffering, war and death in this life all over the world. I have seen evangelical Christians ‘helping the Jews’ with the notion that they’re somehow speeding up the coming of Jesus and the onset of a new heaven and earth. I have seen Muslims blow themselves up along with a few infidels in the sure knowledge that doing so will please Allah and result in their receiving their choice of virgins in heaven. Religious wars present no moral problem when you know God is on your side and that he’s coming soon to give you your due reward. Poverty and economic devastation don’t seem so bad when you consider that soon it’ll all be over and your heavenly reward will be in relation to the hardship you suffered in life.

Where once religious conflicts were resolved with spears and stones, we now have the capacity to destroy all life on earth and go out thinking we’re doing the right thing by God. Religion has never been so dangerous and belief in God has never been so stupid. We have all the facts at our disposal to eradicate mysticism and religion and yet we hold onto it more tightly than ever. We know the earth is round. We know what causes floods and volcanoes. We know how diseases spread and how to stop them spreading. We know how species are formed through evolution by natural selection. We know that there is nothing to be scared of in the dark. We have as much reason to believe in a personal, invisible, all knowing, all powerful, all good God as to believe in an underwater civilization called Atlantis, or a flat earth, or unicorns and magic – and yet we persist in nonsensical beliefs that threaten our very existence as a species on this planet.

Belief in God is not honourable or reasonable. Calling that belief ‘faith’ and claiming that faith is better than reason is less than honourable – it’s downright evil.

So… saw Paranormal activity last night, and to put it mildly, it was a load of crap – not to mention a load of woooo.

Several friends I have a fairly high opinion of told me this was a movie worth watching and definitely among the scariest movies they had ever seen. My experience was quite the opposite. I found it dull, predictable and frustratingly obvious and inadequate in its scare strategy.

I can understand how religious, superstitious and credulous people could be taken in by this fragile deception, (I guess I’ll have to admit later that this does include 80% of everyone alive), but I can’t see how any rational, skeptical, thinking person could do anything but laugh at the silliness of the whole thing.

Let’s break the nonsense into a few bite sized chunks…

1. The “I deal in Ghosts (Dead People) not Demons (Malevolent Spirits)” expert would have had me spitting out my tea and rolling on the floor laughing. Then on top of it all he has a friend who specializes in “demonology” who is unfortunately out of town. I could write for hours on the delusion of people who call themselves experts on subjects that have no basis in fact or evidence. Woomeisters don’t impress me at all.
2. Isn’t it convenient that one of the couple always had the video camera in hand. So let me get this straight – if you heard growling in your passage and saw things moving around the house… in fact your girlfriend is being thrown about by an invisible force – the first thing you’d do is go get the camera and film the event?! This aspect of the movie irritated me the whole way through it.
3. Let’s not forget our friendly neighborhood “Demon”, (supposedly a “malevolent spirit”), whatever that is. Let’s assume for a minute that a “spirit” was real and made from stuff not even similar to electrons, protons or neutrons. Suppose such a thing is completely intangible and undetectable by any scientific means, which is what all the woooo experts will tell you (because there is simply no evidence for these things); then how is it that such a thing could interact with our molecules and throw us around; not to mention all the other questions this raises like: How did they come to be? Why would they make ‘footsteps’ (or any sound at all)? Why would they ‘look’ like us, with arms and legs – or have goat hooves? Why would they care to open doors a little or move chandeliers? Believing in demons is about as stupid as believing in flying spaghetti monsters, gods or unicorns.
4. If this demon really was as “malevolent” as it turned out to be in the last scene, then why wait till the last scene? Why not just kill the guy in broad daylight on his first date with the demon possessed girl? I almost guessed perfectly what would happen on each new night time recording. It was entirely predictable.
5. Of course the main scare technique employed in the movie is the illusion that the viewer is watching a “home video” and therefore a piece of “real life” or at the very least a Hollywood portrayal of a “real life” event. If of course you believe this, then the movie will certainly frighten you, because you think all the insane nonsense that takes place in it has happened to real people somewhere – and was even captured on video. You may even think it was some sort of documentary. If you believe this, you probably also believe that the illuminati rule the world and the attacks of 9/11 were orchestrated by the US government. Knock yourself out.

I have seen scary movies, and this was not one of them. This was practically comedy. It may have been a lot scarier if the “demon” was consistent and seriously malevolent from the beginning. It may have been more believable if the woman didn’t go upstairs to brush her teeth shortly after being attacked by a demon in the same space. It may have been more interesting if they actually filmed the wow sex they had instead of hours of people sleeping.

Movies that scare me have to do with what humans can do when they are deluded – movies like: “Population 436″, “Saw” and “Seven” among others.

What are your scariest movies?

Many of the people who have commented on my blogs and facebook posts have hinted or insisted that my criticism of faith is in some way hypocritical, in that Atheism itself is a faith position, or so they claim. So in my usual fashion I will attempt to turn on the lights of logic in the minds of the religious – hey, if I could be rationally born again I figure there must be hope for Christians, Jews and Muslims everywhere.

Let’s start with the term ‘Atheism’. Wikipedia has this to say –

Atheism is commonly described as the position that there are no deities.[1] It can also mean the rejection of belief in the existence of deities.[2] A broader meaning is simply the absence of belief that any deities exist.[3] Atheism is distinguished from theism,[4] which in its most general form is belief that at least one deity exists.[5][6]

This definition alone makes it clear that Atheism is not a faith position. Atheists don’t “believe” that there are no Gods in the way that Christians, for instance, “believe” in Jesus. Atheists don’t wake up every day having to stir up their faith in something that cannot be proven in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. I’m not even sure that ‘Atheist’ should be used as a term to describe someone who doesn’t believe, or that any such terms are even necessary. Do we have a name for people who don’t believe in unicorns? Do we have a name for people who don’t believe in alien abductions? Why should people who don’t believe in Gods (an equally unlikely myth) be called anything but ‘normal’?

Even Christians are Atheists as far as Allah is concerned, in the same way that Muslims are Atheists regarding Jehovah. We don’t call these people A-Jesus’sists or A-Allah’rists because it’s what they believe rather than what they don’t believe that matters to them. Isn’t it ironic that Christians use exactly the same reasoning as Atheists in their rejection of the ‘truths’ of Mohammed or Bhudda but can’t see how their own myths fail for the same reasons (and vice versa).

Atheists don’t go around ‘believing’ anything. The moment they do they would necessarily become something other than an Atheist. If we were chatting in the kitchen and you asked me whether I believed there were Angels standing around us I would say “no”. Why? Because on glancing around the room and finding no angels I would have no logical reason to believe that they were there. If I were asked to ‘have faith’ that they were there I would immediately wonder why I shouldn’t have faith that there were invisible chocolate cakes or some other unlikely thing in the room. Why angels? Why anything? The logic of Occam’s razor dictates that I assume that the only thing in the room is what can be seen, touched tested etc. until I have sufficient evidence to make me think something else. Notice I said ‘think’ and not ‘believe’.

Atheism is also not a religion. Religion has at its core a few fundamental principles: control; censorship; forced agreement; guilt; infallibility etc. all covered in a convenient goo of fellowship, concern, belonging, music, rituals and the promise of an amazing life after death. Remember Atheists are called Atheists because of what they don’t believe, not the things they do. What do Atheists do? Who knows! It’s like asking what A-Jesus’sists or A-Allah’rists do… anything they choose to do, except believe in God. There are good Atheists (Richard Dawkins) and bad Atheists (Stalin). There are Atheists that have personal rituals (without belief) and others who don’t. There are even Atheists who go to church for any number of reasons (except belief). Atheists are not Satanists either (contrary to popular belief) – Satanists believe in God but choose to fight for the other side, so to speak – their God is Satan.

Atheists are also not by definition Skeptics or Humanists. Skeptics are people who tend to doubt any claims that are not backed by sufficient evidence – obviously Deities would fit that category among other things like homeopathy, ESP, fortune telling etc. So clearly a lot of Skeptics would consider themselves Atheists by definition, but that would simply be an aspect of their skepticism. Humanists generally take the view that we all part of the natural world and that our problems can be dealt with through rational thought rather than deferring to an unseen deity. There is no standard definition for modern humanism except that it focuses on the concerns of man and generally accepts that mankind should decide what is right or wrong for mankind. Not all Atheists are humanists and certainly not all humanists are Atheists.

There are a growing number of people around the world who consider themselves ‘freethinkers’. These people generally reject the authority of religion, tradition and other dogma on the basis of facts, science and logic. I.e. the emphasis is on FREE. Freethinkers could be Atheists, Humanists, Skeptics, Agnostics or all of these together. I am certainly an Atheist and a freethinker. I’m slightly agnostic about humanism and my personality does not entirely suit the contrariness of Skepticism, although I enjoy the company of Skeptics thoroughly.

So, to sum it up: Atheism does not require Faith. Faith is only required when you’re trying to accept as true a set of beliefs that are not backed by any reasonable evidence, logic or even common sense (like most of the Bible). A person does not require faith to believe that there is no invisible man on a throne in the sky who apparently has a name and an opinion about your choices. A person does not require faith to believe that the whole Universe was not created in 6 days, 6000 years ago. A person does not require faith to believe that children’s stories like Noah’s Ark, or Moses parting the Red Sea, are exactly that – children’s stories. A person does not require faith to believe that the religions of the world can’t all be right.

The moment any religion publically produces empirical evidence that proves their assertions to be undeniably true, I will gladly convert (to the belief, if not the religious practices of that religion) along with thousands of other Atheists all over the world.

Recent surveys and studies reveal that there are a growing number of Atheists sitting in Christian churches, and even more surprisingly in leadership positions across denominations. This is of course not because Atheists have decided it’s time to go to church, but because Christians are losing faith and remaining in church for various reasons. Here’s an example of such a study by Dan Dennet and co. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_9w8JougLQ&feature=player_embedded.

I propose that this is not a new phenomenon, but rather that times have changed and people are more honest about their positions on surveys. In times past, confessing “I don’t really believe in God anymore” could have you burned at the stake. Today the consequences are not quite as severe – or at least not in most democratic states.

The reasons Atheists remain silent about their unbelief within their communities are varied and valid. I want to go through a few of them and encourage any closet Atheist to take the plunge and protect your sanity and integrity. As an ex pastor myself I can relate to all these fears and therefore do not judge anyone who keeps up appearances for the sake of their families and churches. Here are some of the ideas that closet Atheists war with – some have to do with what they would be giving up by stepping away from religion, and others have to do with misconceptions about what being an Atheist actually means.

1. I will disappoint lots of important people in my life.

Yes you will. If you’ve been a Christian for a long time you will have a network of people, usually including your family, that are secure in the status quo of who you are in religious terms. Most, if not all of those people will be horrified or confused or saddened or angered about your decision. Many will assume that you’re just going through a phase that will pass. They will reprimand you, pray for you, plead with you and possibly even disown you. They can’t accept your choice because accepting it would mean having to question their own faith, and religion by nature censors that line of thought. People you love will be hurt and feel that your choice is a personal criticism of their own faith. You might hear things like, “So what are you saying? Are you saying I’m wrong to believe in Jesus?” Scientific or logical reasoning will often just fuel the emotion of their reaction. If it’s your own family it’s even worse, after all, who wants to disappoint their mom or dad or brother or sister? All of this is exactly why you’re still pretending, and going through the motions. I can’t tell you there is any easy way to do this, but I can say that many others have survived the experience and are living a more honest and free life as a result. In time you will rebuild your circle of friendship and support. You will wake up every day knowing that you’re not being thought-policed and that the universe is a spectacular and beautiful mystery that is slowly being unraveled through a process of rational enquiry. People will get over their disappointment and carry on with their own lives. If you’re lucky you will find others you have know from Christian circles that have walked a similar path – this is always very encouraging, but not guaranteed.

2. I don’t have any other skills. How would I survive financially?

This can be a truly frightening thought! Most people, Atheists and Christians alike, are concerned about financial security. Often the issue here is our indoctrination in the timeline myth, which leads us to believe we need to have a job, a degree, certain experience, etc. to ensure our survival. We almost have the notion that we will surely die without these things. This is a ludicrous thought. Billions survive every day outside of the timeline and have meaningful lives – in fact many of the people I know living on the timeline really struggle to find meaningfulness in the monotony of suburban bliss. I guarantee you that the skills and experience you have developed as a missionary or pastor or counselor etc. are all extremely useful in the secular world and with a little planning and effort and deursettingsvermoe, it won’t be long until you’re able to make a living from them.

3. My reputation will be destroyed and I’ll have to start again.

In the book ‘U2 by U2′ Bono says, “You don’t become a rock star unless you’ve got something missing somewhere, that is obvious to me. If you were sound of mind you could feel normal without 70 000 people a night screaming their love for you.” I could relate to this immediately! In my 20′s I needed crowds of people shouting Amen at me to feel normal – to feel like I was making a difference. Not everyone has this extreme crowd personality, but all of us enjoy our reputations. I have found even those that come across as really humble, enjoy being known as ‘really humble’, and become quite ruffled when something tarnishes that reputation. Among Christians it is very common for people to build reputations that seem morally ‘above reproach’, although I have never met anyone whose life matches that label. Let people think of you what they will. I have discovered over the last few years that being true to myself is far more fulfilling than being true to my reputation. I have also learned to feel normal with a fishing rod alone by a river, without a crowd to be seen.

4. I would be admitting that I’ve wasted many years of my life.

For me, this was the hardest part of my journey to freedom. It’s a lot like a divorce – every now and then an old photo of happy times emerges from a box somewhere and a million mixed emotions wage war in your head and heart. Nobody wants to study 5 years of engineering only to become a human resource manager. We’d all prefer to invest time into the thing that matters – anything else seems like loss. I have come to realize though that nothing that happens to us is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ – they’re simply experiences that shape our minds and character and personalities and lead us to the next set of experiences. I wouldn’t be who I am now had I not gone through 14 years of Christian ministry, and why should I think any other version of myself would be a ‘better’ option? So I live in the present and enjoy the now for what it is.

5. I will lose fellowship and be completely alone.

This is a common critique Christians aim at Atheists. I recently saw this graphic and laughed out loud. Half a bean of logic will dismiss this outright, after all, why should religion have the monopoly on relationships? One positive thing I have to say for Christians is that they provide endless gatherings and opportunities to meet people and grow friendships. On the down side however, there is a tendency to only befriend people who agree with everything you say and therefore strengthen dogmatic stances and narrow viewpoints. The other night I joined up with a group called ‘Skeptics in the Pub’ and had an absolute blast. One thing about Skeptics is that they’re prone to disagreeing with just about anything you might have to say, and that is exactly what I enjoyed about the evening (other than the Guinness)! I came away with a whole lot to think about and even a few new friends. What religion you are (or are not) will not determine your ability to make friends – your attitude and participation will. If you’re looking for a free-thinking friend, hook up with me on Facebook, and I’ll introduce you to some others.

6. Without God and church my life will have no meaning.

Ah, this is a biggie! Some of my closest closet Atheist friends are scared to leave faith publically because it seems to them that at that point their lives will cease to have meaning. “But why are we here then?” and “I can’t believe relationships and beauty and memories etc. are for nothing – that it’s all over when we die. There must be something more.” These are the sorts of things I hear in conversation. These questions really need a whole article to address but there are two important things to keep in mind. Firstly, we don’t require a God for life to be meaningful. Relationships and careers and project etc. are meaningful in their own right because we make them meaningful. Why do we need a supernatural reason for something to be important or meaningful? Also, why should something be less important or meaningful because it has an end? Were my teenage romances meaningless because they ended? Certainly not! Secondly, we add value to the lives of future generations by what we do in this one. Sure, we don’t have to care about that, and many don’t, but it adds an enormous amount of meaning to my own life. For me life is full of wonder and purpose and I don’t fear death at all. I was oblivious before I was born and it didn’t inconvenience me at all – why should I be concerned about going back to that state?

I have an enormous amount of sympathy for ‘Christian’ Atheists and Agnostics who quietly plod along in the daily routine of their traditions, who force a smile when someone greets them with “God is Good!” and a lot of teeth, who listen to the blah blah of idiotic sermons week after week, and drag themselves away from an interesting project to go to cell group with their wife who they don’t want to offend. At some point the pain of your prison will have to become greater than the fear of your loss. I hope you find a way to ‘come out’ and be truly yourself!