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!

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.

“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!

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.

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?

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.

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!

On Pluto the average E.Q. of people is about 12 – there are small shrubs on that planet that are more socially captivating – however, the average I.Q. is about 200. Ask them what a female g-spot is and you’re likely to be drowned in a chorus of blank stares (and wondering if you’ve stumbled across the set of ‘Village of the Damned’), but ask them the statistical probability of a five rank unit of spear elves with a standard of balance breaking a unit of witch elves with ASF and a death hag in it in one round of combat and they’ll instantly respond with percentages ranging from 15.7 to 42.3 as well as a heated debate about the pros and cons of paying for a musician.

Another puzzling phenomenon on Pluto is the incredible focus and endurance of Plutonians. These people can play five back to back games, each lasting two to three hours, and at the end of 15 solid hours of gaming interrupted by nothing but two toilet breaks, they will proceed to explain the results of every dice roll that occurred during that day to anyone willing to listen. After an hour or two of passionate recounting they will go home and sacrifice a night of sleep as their brains continue to process every move, roll and decision they made during the day, again and again. On waking the following day they are able to do it all again on nothing more than a bacon roll and a cup of coffee. Truly remarkable!

From time to time a daring Plutonian will attempt to start a conversation not related to gaming – usually when this happens there is some nervous twitching and frightened looking about. If the group feels that their status quo is not in danger of being completely devastated they will tentatively add to the pool of conversation, all the time hoping that the diversion doesn’t last too long. A typical conversation might go like this:

• So, anyone see the news about Eugene Terreblanche dying?
• Uh, yes. Hmmmph.
• Oh well, I guess he had it coming.
• Yeah. Yip. Poor guy, he had no chance.
• Nope. Got hacked by two guys with pangas.
• Fuck. That’s like an Empire captain with one wound left getting taken out by two black Orcs with extra hand weapons…
• Geez! You’re right!
• No way! Did you see how Sean took out my black Orcs with his Hellblaster!
• I hate Hellblasters… (etc)

One of the most visible signs that they come from another planet is their immunity to Venutian magic. Take a pretty Venutian to an all Martian braai for instance and she can single handedly stop all proceedings as Martians drop braai tongs, spill beer and cease conversation, completely bewitched. Take a pretty Venutian to a Plutonian event and nobody skips a beat – in fact most Plutonians are not even aware that she is present, such is their supernatural focus and cerebral distraction.

Martian expats are not always easily accepted on Pluto, but if you’re planning an extended visit any time soon, here are some tips for getting by on Pluto:

1. Read the rule books. These are Plutonian dictionaries. It’s easier to get by when you can speak Plutonian.
2. Don’t hug Plutonians! They don’t do hugs unless they’re French. (You might be able to hug their Venutian mates, but don’t push it.)
3. Tone down your enthusiasm. Plutonians are cool and reserved on the whole, unless they’re rolling 1′s or 6′s.
4. Don’t mention cheese. They don’t like cheese – especially the smelly blue kind.
5. Black T-Shirts with gothic prints are essential.
6. Paint your shit. Plutonians respect painted shit.

You will not see this article on National Geographic!

I’ll start by dismissing the first assumption that comes my way, which is that I was ‘hurt’ by someone or some church and therefore rejected God in some kind of emotional tantrum. This did not happen. Sure, there were people within the ministries I was involved in that I didn’t see eye to eye with, but on the whole I enjoyed my time in Christian ministry and enjoyed the people and communities I was involved in. I generally had good relationships with my leaders and was happy to carry out my responsibilities with enthusiasm. If I had disagreements, we talked them out. People did not chase me away from God. If I believed God actually existed I would not be as stupid as to think people were any reflection of his character. So to all you well meaning Christians who are convinced I must have had some sort of “fall out” – sorry to disappoint you.

Some people say I was ‘on fire’ for Jesus! One of the most enthusiastic Christians they ever met. That’s probably true, but not because of the ‘power of God’ or anything supernatural – simply because I’m one of the most enthusiastic ‘anythings’ you’ll ever meet – it’s called personality, and mine is extrovert, charismatic, and crowd oriented. I’d be just as enthusiastic a Muslim if I was one, but I’m not. The level of someone’s enthusiasm or charisma has nothing to do with the truth content of their beliefs. It is precisely because there are a bunch of good communicators in the church that masses of people are led to believe absolute myth. I often feel a great amount of regret for my part in so many people being so ‘sure’ of something so wrong. I also regret the amount of time I wasted on those activities for so many years – but that’s another paragraph.

Like pretty much everyone else in South Africa I was raised Christian. Christened in the Anglican church, confirmed in the Methodist church, baptized in a Pentecostal church and later worked in various denominations around the world as a missionary and pastor/speaker. Like most Christians I never doubted the truth of anything I came to believe – the Bible, the sermons, the teachings etc all became part of the foundation of who I was. Muslims were bad, Hindu’s were mysterious, Atheists were demon possessed and Jews were confused cousins. By age 20 I was set firmly on the path of expanding ‘God’s Kingdom’ to all the poor unbelievers of the ’10/40 window’ and beyond (you’ll have to Google that one). Between mission trips and preaching in the middle of Africa I was doing theological studies and reading the bible, over and over again. Later I moved into local church ministry where I led youth groups, music worship teams, taught Bible studies and preached sermons. I was a Christian fanatic that wanted to save the world for Jesus.

By the age of about 25 something new was happening in me. My youthful, unquestioning, overzealous self started to be replaced by a thinking, tolerant, more observant me. I started developing a distaste for cliché, which Christians are so prone to use when they have nothing intelligent to say. I started realizing that the average Christian really had no idea why what they believed was true, except that it was, and that was that. This was not good enough for me. I thought that maybe a revolution was required in the church to make it more practical and relevant to an emerging post modern society. I started having church services where I would put all the chairs outside or bring in a rock band to liven the place up. I had people communicating with each other in church services and sharing real problems. The congregation in Bakerton grew from 20 people to 120 in a month, but no amount of transforming the physical activities from wooden pews to electric guitars, or bible studies to prophetic healing sessions could help me shake a growing niggle in my conscience that there were some fundamental problems with everything we stood for – primarily the exclusiveness of our beliefs and the idea that God would create billions of souls only to leave the vast majority to the whim of the devil while the Christians enjoyed all sorts of ‘advantages’ in this life and the life to come primarily because they were privileged enough to be born in a Christian country. My faith was fighting with my intellect and losing. I was becoming less and less satisfied to sit around giving the same message every week to Christians and never forming loving bonds with anybody else in the world. For some time I stopped preaching and active ministry involvement, although I remained an elder in the church. During this time I sat quietly and observed. I listened to the stuff we were proclaiming and watched the lives of people. I considered the truth of what we said, and did so rationally and calmly – and as I did, the illusion started to crumble all around me. I prayed frequently during this time for wisdom and clarity.

By 2005 I had stopped ‘paid’ ministry totally and had started what felt to me to be something more genuine and honest – I started corporate training. In that year I moved up to Johannesburg to improve my marketing opportunities and during that time I visited a few churches looking for my new ‘home’ (another cliché). Wherever I went I threw my weight into supporting however I could, but as much as I loved the people I had serious issues with the facts underlying the faith. I couldn’t help but feel that it was all just an incredible waste of time and resources. I was also doing a lot of training for a very broad range of people – Christians, Muslims, Hindu’s, Jews, Agnostics and Atheists and I realized just how little I really understood any of these people. I understood what they ‘believed’ sometimes better than they did, but I had never tried to befriend non-Christians without the hidden agenda of ‘getting them saved’. I realized how frighteningly arrogant Christians can be – at least those that actually do what their scriptures suggest they should do. I also started studying Philosophy and Anthropology, and in a very short time was inspired by the beauty of logical thinking and the integrity of scientific observation, hypothesis and testing, both of which were conspicuously absent in all religions, including my own. By 2007 I had decided that even if Jehovah existed, there was no clear mandate for Sunday services and all the trappings of church life, and decided to stop looking for a local church to be part of. Shortly after that I entered an agnostic phase, because intellectually, logically, and scientifically, I simply couldn’t see how any of the facts presented by Christianity could be true – but at the same time I was reluctant to give up the faith that had consumed a large part of my life and had come to define me.

In 2009 I woke up one morning and realized that I couldn’t stay satisfied with a state of agnosticism in light of the evidence against the world’s religions. The probability that a ‘God’ exists is small, but that any of the specific ‘Gods’ of our known religions (Jesus/Allah/Ja etc) could exist as laid out in the traditions is almost nonexistent. I realized in a moment of terror and relief that I no longer believed in any God at all and that non-belief would forever change the way that I related to the thousands of people who knew the ‘radical Christian’ version of me. All my reasoning and arguments are laid out in my other articles on Religion, so I won’t cover them here.

My period of ‘Agnosticism’ was the hardest time of my life. Everything I was, everything I’d done, had been defined in Christian terms, and suddenly it just wasn’t so clear anymore. I wept many tears during that time and felt a great sense of loss. I knew I would lose friends, many friends, as well as social recognition. The other problem was that ‘Church’ was what I did best and now I would have to reinvent myself, or more accurately, rediscover myself; but at the same time there was a part of me that was evolving and growing up and becoming free – for this I was excited. As the scales of superstition and dogma began to fall away, I kept going over my entire life again and again with new understanding of what was really happening in those times when I thought I was having ‘spiritual experiences’ or seeing ‘miracles’ etc. I have also come to realize what an incredible sense of guilt and worthlessness Christians walk around with and cover these feelings up with clichés about being weak in self but strong in Christ; and how much time and resource is wasted on meaningless activities. When I was a Christian I just couldn’t see any of this because we all just hid behind a language and semantic that kept us all in check.

It is hard to describe just how free and empowered I feel since throwing off religion. There are no ghosts, no Gods, no spirits – nothing that cannot be explained. There are elements, and energy and light and other measurable forces all doing an amazing dance in a mind-shatteringly large and beautiful universe. We are a young and evolved species of mammals that individually have precious little time, only about 80 years so, to add benefit and happiness for future generations as they evolve into greater creatures. For their sakes I hope we realize the folly of war and religion and mysticism and tyranny, and turn our eyes to the stars and peace and longevity and science and reason, before we become the cause of our own extinction.

It never ceases to amaze me how emotional people get about something they didn’t invent and have no responsibility to defend, as though saying something like: “The creation myth is far less likely to have occurred than the possibility of biogenesis followed by evolution through natural selection” could be interpreted to mean: “You’re really stupid and your character is seriously flawed!!” Of course there are people who fit that description, but those traits can be found in Theists, Agnostics and Atheists alike. When I propose an idea, I am simply hoping to get some rational response with underlying reasons for why people agree or disagree – quite simple really… one would think.

I am particularly fascinated by people who say, “I’m not religious – I just love God”, or the Charismatic favourite, “It’s not about religion – it’s about relationship” – a relationship that results in weekly temple attendance, weekly bible studies, prophetic-intercessory-worship meetings, daily devotionals, blessing of homes, religious marriage-baptism-funeral ceremonies… how stupid of me to call it a religion! “Of course, anyone else that does any of that stuff is certainly religious – what we do is relationship because our God is actually real” – ah, I must have missed that very crucial piece of the puzzle…!

So in the spirit of calling apples, apples, and to settle the debate about whether or not what you’re doing is religious…

1. YOU MAY BE A RELIGIOUS FANATIC IF
   
   1. You think God cares what banners or objects you hang in your church auditorium.
   2. You thing God cares if you understand how the Trinity works.
   3. You think God favours your church above everyone else’s.
   4. You would kill for God if you really believed he was telling you to do so.
   5. You think there’s a lake of fire somewhere in the universe called ‘Hell’ where most people (except those in your church) will be spending an eternity in spirit form crying in agony and gnashing their teeth!
   6. You think there’s a calm and white place in the universe called ‘Heaven’ where God sits on a chair (possibly tired from standing) and you’ll be going there in spirit form when you die to be very blissful and sing a lot about how great God is for saving you and a few others.
   7. You believe that God has a prescribed way for people to dress and live and love and cohabitate and have sex – and it’s your way.
   8. You believe that no one should ever dare question the existence of your God or the reasons why you believe because doing so would result in a great smiting upon that individual by God, and if God’s not quick off the mark you’ll be happy to do it for him.
   9. You believe that the best way to live is by faith and not intellect. If you can believe something without evidence, it is bound to be more real than believing any silly evidence that may be presented. After all, it’s those Atheists and Scientists (spawn of Satan) that are always asking why, why, why?!!?!!?
   10. You know how to deal with sceptics on Facebook… just ignore everything they’re saying and respond with something that will move their heart like, “It’s not about religion brother, it’s about relationship”, or, “what happened to you my brother? God still loves you”, or, “I’m praying for you”. That’ll show em!!
   11. You only watch God TV, only read books from CUM bookstore and have Hillsongs playing on your radio 24 hours per day – either to keep the demons away or more probably to make sure you don’t hear or see anything that might shake your immovable faith…
   12. You feel guilty when you don’t wake up in time to get to church on Sunday.
   13. You’ve been trying to ‘save’ your husband for 10 years but he’s somehow always happier than you are.
   14. You can’t speak to non-Christians because… well… you just can’t.

    

2. YOU MAY BE A RELIGIOUS FANATIC IF you actually believe any of the following:
   
   1. That every living species of animal made its way, in pairs, to Noah’s house, and survived the journey – then somehow fitted onto a large boat and survived several weeks at sea – then left the boat and moved out into the world, previously flooded, and survived long enough to have offspring – and that every marsupial found their way (across the ocean) to Australia, not stopping anywhere along the way to inhabit any other part of the world, however no other animal decided to take that journey – and that the world’s population started from scratch again after the flood even though we know that Egypt was already in its 5^th dynasty (at least) at this time, not to mention the Minoans or Ancient Greeks or Chinese…
   2. That an all knowing, all powerful, all good, all loving God
      1. Created the devil.
      2. Licensed Joshua to perform genocidal exterminations of every living man, woman and child of at least 7 people groups.
      3. Allowed Solomon to have 1000 wives but sends modern day polygamists to hell.
      4. Destroyed two whole cities because of their sexual choices, not to mention turn an innocent woman into salt for the abominable crime of looking around.
      5. Was responsible for more killing, smiting, punishment, judgment, censorship and changing of rules than any of the most evil dictators of history, if the bible is to be believed…
      6. Answers your prayers about: your football team winning; which job to take; getting that new car; or how to forgive some poor sod who doesn’t know they did anything wrong – but can’t feed a dying child in the Sudan; or save a drowning child in Haiti; or heal a friend with AIDS – quite selective really.
   3. That the end of the world is coming soon and that all the conflict happening in Israel and the Middle East is all just God preparing to return to finally judge all the evildoers so that the good guys can get on with living forever in Heaven – and if there’s anything you can do to make it all happen a little quicker you’ll be delighted to help out. After all, who cares about all the Arabs and Muslims dying and suffering, it’s all part of God’s loving and generous plan for mankind who he made in his image.

It strikes me that it’s pretty hard to be religious and NOT be a fanatic! All the rules (of all religions) require faith-based obedience. The only way to keep from becoming a suicide bomber is to hang onto the ‘good’ bits of your religion and flatly ignore the embarrassing, illogical, insane parts.

Looking forward to your responses!