Deon Barnard

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!

I’ve been reluctant to write this article primarily because I’m not enthusiastic about wading through a mountain of Christian “we’re praying for you” responses. The reason I write this article about my journey from Christian leadership to atheism is that I’ve had numerous people, mainly Christians, asking me on Facebook, “what happened to you?” or “how did you become so anti?” or something similar – and even though I generally point those people in the direction of my blogs, the truth is you need to read several articles to put the whole picture together; so I’ve decided to put the answer in a single blog so that I can point newcomers here when the question is asked again.

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.

This article has been a long time in coming and is the result of many hours of internal struggle, research, comparison and discussion. Four years ago I physically left the church – about four years before that I was already putting aside faith for reason. During these last four years I have tried not to categorize my religious views with any labels, partly because I needed to assimilate the full depth of understanding what terms like ‘Atheist’ actually meant and partly because I still carried an aversion, implanted by the system, to many of these labels – after all, I had always thought that being an Atheist was synonymous with being allied with Satan (as do most religious folk) – and when you’ve been led to believe your whole life that something is “bad” it’s pretty hard to throw off that conviction. Until now I’ve stuck with the safe categorization of “Agnostic” (someone who doesn’t believe there is enough evidence to prove the existence of God), and I took the safe and simple approach of, “you worry about your life and I’ll worry about mine”, i.e.: Let’s agree to disagree – or – You go ahead and do your religious thing and leave me in peace. I no longer hold this view. I will now actively oppose religion and am relieved to be able to call myself an Atheist, or Anti-Theist. I will discuss why this approach is necessary after I give a better understanding of a few terms and concepts that will help readers digest what I am saying.

Let’s start with defining the terms Theist, Atheist, Agnostic and Faith.

• A Theist is someone who believes in a god or gods, i.e. God exists in reality.
• An Atheist is someone who does not believe that a god or gods exists, i.e. God is not real and does not exist.
• An Agnostic is someone who thinks that God cannot be proven or that we cannot know God, i.e. there is no evidence for God.
• Faith is the act of believing without any requirement for evidence or proof. With evidence or proof there is no need for Faith because we have Knowledge – so Faith can be substituted for Knowledge in the absence of evidence.

It is not uncommon for people to be Agnostic-Theists, i.e. someone who doesn’t really claim to be able to prove God but believes in God anyway for reasons other than evidence and faith. It also makes sense that you could be an Agnostic-Atheist, i.e. someone who does not believe in God because of the lack of evidence. In all my travels and dealings with Christians and other religious people around the world I have noticed two main distinctions; I will call them True-Theists (Believers) and Agnostic-Theists (Religious by convenience). My opinion is that the majority (more than half) of all Christians are Agnostic-Theists rather than True-Theists. These are people who attend church and adhere to all the trappings of their religion because of the personal benefits like: a sense of belonging; acceptance; acceptability; community support, comfort, friendship, financial aid, status, opportunities etc. – all good attributes of the church, but none of which make it true, or right. These people don’t really believe that all Earthly languages originated from the tower of Babel; or that every species of animal lived in walking distance from Noah’s house; or that Daniel really stayed overnight in a pit of wild, untamed and hungry Lions and survived – in fact they don’t really think much about God at all; they simply choose to adopt the mantle of Christian because it’s working for them, and being anything else would damage their reputations, relationships and other aspects of their lives. If you’re one of these people, this article is for you! On the upside you already think rationally and suspect that everything you stand for is based on mythology and superstition – on the downside you think that all the good stuff about church adds enormous value to your life and is irreplaceable – hopefully I can convince you otherwise.

To the other group, the True-Theists, there is little I can do to change your minds, mainly because you’re not using your minds. No amount of evidence or science or history will convince you that your belief is misplaced. You believe through sheer blind faith, (faith is blind by definition), that: there is an invisible being in a place called Heaven; which we can’t see or find until we die; who has declared you sinful from birth; and will throw you into hell if you don’t acknowledge him unquestioningly; and yet who loves you “unconditionally”; and who is somehow influenced by your particular choice of words in prayer; who allows confusion and faithlessness and hunger and disaster on the Earth for reasons you don’t fully understand; and who cares who you have sex with and how; and who judges your sin even in your mind and while you sleep; and “came to earth” on an arbitrary day in history to a dry Roman province via a virgin, so that in dying, somehow getting to heaven would be easier than it was before… hmmm.

I was a believer for many years – passionate about my Faith, as I am passionate about everything I do. I remember ridiculing Jehovah’s Witnesses for being closed minded and not open to rational conversation – armed with their nonsensical “proofs” from their nonsensical “Bible”. I now understand that I was exactly the same! Think about it; if I were to ask the average believer what would convince them that God does not exist, they would say, “Nothing! I’ll never stop believing.” and yet they have the cheek to call Atheists stubborn and closed-minded, when in fact most Atheists could easily give a list of things that would make them convert on the spot if they were to occur. I’ll write another article on this point. I can only hope you come to your senses before you’ve wasted your whole life avoiding the freedom of truth and causing further carnage in the world… which brings me to the crux of this article – why religion should be opposed.

I’m speaking again to those that feel, “Why do Atheists get so hung up about people’s religious choices? Just live and let live. Some well meaning person who attends church every Sunday and gives to the poor isn’t hurting anyone, so let them follow their religion of choice!” This is a view I have shared for some time but I have come to realize that it is naïve and irresponsible to think this way. Religious belief on a micro scale (if it were confined to a handful of people on a deserted Island) may not have any great negative impact on the world other than the personal self deception involved, but we don’t all live on our own island – each individual believer supports a system of control and manipulation which, on a macro scale, becomes an extremely negative force in the World. Let’s look at a few simple examples:

A kind-hearted and conscientious Muslim man goes to Mosque and says his prayers as required. He never hurts anyone and always gives to the poor and supports his local Islamic initiatives, believing that he is pleasing God in doing so. Him and millions of others feed energy and finances into a system which advocates violence and the killing of infidels in its core scriptures; and although they are not personally involved in such matters and prefer to interpret their scriptures more figuratively; their church is involved in a holy war against Christians which results in flying jet planes into civilian buildings in New York killing thousands. Is our man innocent in this? Can he claim that he had nothing to do with it? All this for a myth of a myth that doesn’t exist.

A devout German Christian believes in a loving god in heaven and wants to please him. He has come to understand that to please god you have to please your leaders in Christ. He loves his God and his country and is willing to defend both from any unbeliever that would dare challenge the status quo. The new leader of his country, Adolf Hitler, a man of passion and faith has inspired him to join the army to do just that. He comes to realize that Germany is a holy nation surrounded by unclean nations that must be brought into the fold and tamed. He says goodbye to his wife and kids who he loves dearly to go and do his duty for God and country in the concentration camps where they are making sure that the evil influence of Jews and other unclean races is controlled and quelled. He knows that he will be rewarded for his loyalty in the afterlife if not in this life. He is a “good” man. The kind of “good” man you see in churches everywhere.

Religions on a macro scale (which are the accumulation of millions of individuals believing), have been responsible for:

• Countless wars, including the Muslim/Christian Crusades; the Catholic/Protestant wars of Ireland, the U.K., France, Sweden and Poland; the Taiping rebellion in China; Islamic violence in the name of Jihad; the Muslim/Hindu wars of India; the Buddhist/Tamil war in Sri Lanka; the countless wars between the Jews and everyone else; and the list goes on ad nauseum.
• Religious genocide in Europe (Jews), Rwanda, Bosnia, Iraq, U.S.S.R and many other places.
• The repression of women everywhere.
• Resisting (often violently) scientific progress, as well as the persecution of great thinkers for thousands of years.
• Witch hunts and inquisitions resulting in the torture and deaths of thousands of innocent people in Europe.
• The dilution of quality education in schools everywhere to make space for meaningless religious activities that promote mysticism and superstition instead of enlightenment and human solidarity.
• Human sacrifice, slavery and mutilation such as female circumcisions in initiation ceremonies.
• The distortion of historical facts and our place in the universe.

… to name a few!

So you still think religions are good for the world? Or maybe you think that your happy clappy Christian church feeds the poor and teaches people how to be good citizens, so you have nothing to do with the above list? Well here’s a news break – if all that carnage above didn’t exist, neither would your church; and if all your churches didn’t exist, neither would the carnage on the list. Christopher Hitchens is right when he says, “Religion poisons everything”. It’s time for humanity to wake up, throw off the ancient myths of our infancy and grow into the evolved, awake and conscious species that we can be. If we direct the energy and resources that we currently use to maintain our meaningless religious structures and use them for science and progress we could be travelling to the stars in our lifetime. Every good thing you’re doing in your churches in the name of “God” can be done without needing to believe in nonsense at the same time. “But what about fellowship and belonging” you ask? Well join a gym; a golf club; a neighborhood board game group… whatever – there are a million ways to make friends with people who share interests in the real world instead of a shared belief in an invisible friend in the sky.

I look forward to your comments and abuse.