Question:
WHAT IS ATHEISM
Atheism is characterised by the absence of a belief in the existence of a deity. This absence of belief is not borne out of ignorance as some may say; it is however, quite the opposite. My own personal atheism is borne from an ongoing personal search for answers.
For my entire life, I like us all, have read, listened, cogitated and postulated over the big question, and have come to my own answers. I say answers because I believe that a single answer to such a complex universal question is not only naïve but also arrogant of us to believe exists. And if you are religious then you also believe that this question has an answer, but the credibility and believability of that answer (or indeed those answers as multiple religions and answers exist) is not sound, as if it were, we would all be religious and pray daily.
There is a lot of arguments and philosophy on the subject of atheism and this generally comes from our inability to face facts and fear of having ourselves labelled with an accusation that does not necessarily fit our picture of ourselves as we see it from the interior perspective of our minds eye. This of course comes from 2 things, lack of information and guilt. The lack of information is the fact that we have no physical evidence of God, only generalist ideas of what a moral supreme should be, therefore we cannot categorically deny the existence, only postulate over the possibilities. The guilt, well, that comes from not knowing as well, and the fact that you are making assumptions with no physical basis, but then, so does religion. To publicly state that you are an atheist is tantamount to treason for some, for others it is a thing to be kept quiet about, and given the history of atheists, that probably a good idea.
I think that sometimes religion is like the Wizard of Oz, and that the human race is Dorothy, clicking our heels together (or hands) and praying “there must be a god, there must be a god”! However, much to my dismay, I don’t believe my house is going to fall on George Bush and I would then get his shoes.
Anyway, to the point, categorization, atheism is not any more than a general and indeed intellectual need to believe that a deity does not exist. We are alone, we live day to lonely day inside our heads, with only a façade to show the world while we die a little each passing second. We laugh at religion and also cry at the wonderful way in which a religious person can justify appalling actions by taking a verse from the bible and interpreting it in a way that suits them. Is this religion then? Something we use to justify our own moral compass? Surely that is what the Ten Commandments are? God cannot just command that something is bad and that in opposition that by not doing that bad thing, we are by default being good. He can however, re-enforce our ideals and built in morality by stating the obvious. This then gives the question, why would God state the obvious? Maybe the obvious was stated by us, and attributed to God to add weight.

The problem is you see, that although we instinctively understand and know right from wrong, we can override the guilt, and go ahead and do the bad anyway. This then leads to my point, religion is used as a backup to our morality, to guide us and inject us with a guilt boost when we even think about crossing the line of immorality. Colin McGill is an eminent English philosopher and anti-theist who maintains that this moral reaffirmation is to help us do the right thing, however, I would say that it is also the opposite, it gives our guilt a bolster of fear, if we don’t do the right thing, God will smack our bottoms, we burn in hell or something of the sort. Given this, imagine a world where every person was an atheist, where we knew that God was a figment of our own desire to become whole and not lonely, no moral backup, left to our own devices as it were, alone in a wilderness of lonely inconsequential being. The world would be a nightmare, people would not care at all about consequence and dog eat dog would be the byword. Hang on, isn’t that the 21st century you ask? Well, no, nowadays we believe in God still, but not principally.
There are other factions arising, that are religious in a sense, but without deity as we understand it. The phenomenon of Aliens for example, surely this is a new age religion that comes from a lack of credible answers from our existing religious dogma. A looking up for answers, as we have no credible evidence of answers as we grow intellectually weary of men spouting promises of an afterlife and nirvana for those leading a morally just life. Because as we all know all to well, not one of us does.
Answer:
So what of the evidence, the Bible, the Koran, the miracles of Jesus? Well, if you look at them from my perspective I can say only 1 thing, they were all reported and written by men. The human race is elaborately reporting on events that have little basis in fact, willing the implausible to be true, to fill a whole in a lonely existence.
In reality the only true possibility of proof comes from our own existence. This is the fact that we and the universe exist and that we can even begin to contemplate the nature of it all. But then even with this, other questions arise, why give us free will? Because if God is all knowing, then surely the destructive consequences of this letting loose of our moral compass are all too apparent, and even obvious. Is it to test our moral fortitude? If so does God make people suffer, to test them? Does that then make God bad? Surely this cannot be? A contradiction within religion? The God that everybody believes in is a just, good all knowing, all powerful, morally perfect and even an omnipotent being is he not?
Also, he is apparently vengeful and will deliver his wrath to those who do not abide by the moral judgements laid down. And apparently also all forgiving and loving. Surely this is a contradiction as well, how can you be one thing and another, do you lay down your wrath, strike someone down and then apologise, kissing it better?
Answer:
Of course all this is mere facetiousness, but goes a long way to show the reasons why atheism is even an option.
However being an atheist I recognise the overwhelming need for religion, odd as that may seem. I am able to take responsibility for myself, my own action and indeed my own moral compass, but others are not. People all over the world need the crutch of reason, even if it is a fiction. To believe and to have faith that something will in the end will all end up with the castigation of one belief and reward for another is of course poppycock, but it can change peoples lives.
If you believe in something strongly enough, it can change who you are without a doubt. Your moral compass is retuned to point to true north and with wind in your sales you move through life with a holier than thou mentality that can be a shield against all the questions and woe’s, you effectively close your mind to possibilities so fantastic that you become incorruptible. It will be only the normal human weaknesses that become the sins you battle. Your everyday battle with keeping yourself on the straight and narrow with your holy book as your set of rules, interpreted by you to fit your existence.
If atheism was to propagate to an extent where the religions were in a minority, how long do you think it would be before the idea of a deity disappeared completely? What would replace religion? Chaos at the moment, there are far too many people in this world with no idea, let alone any idea. Could you imagine what a religious person would do if religion was proved, beyond all shadow of a doubt to be a false perception of a internally projected longing to understand?
I think that knowing a God does not exist can be detrimental to your health, depression and the age old question (why?) will set in and overtake your every waking thought and some dreamed thoughts. Eventually, some will go mad, some will commit suicide and some will do some will just go into a shell. Of course, others like myself will not bat an eyelid, and indeed will feel vindication. However, just like any argument for or against, the resolution will not be as interesting as the argument itself. And anyway, until we understand our own conciousness, and have proof as to why we are here, however obvious it is, we will always argue, as neither religion nor atheism have any basis in fact.
Answer:
This is all very interesting, and usually our users would be happy to discuss this type of stuff with you, but (for various reasons) our apologetics forum has been shut down until the middle of December. As such, I have to close this thread because it really doesn't belong here and has nowhere else to go. Feel free to peruse the rest of the boards and make yourself at home, and you can start this line of discussion over again in December if you're still around. Thanks.
In His love,
Nate