The compelling case against religion
And why you should look on the bright side of life instead.
If you have read 5 Minute Break before, you’ll know that I make no secret of my disbelief in all things religious.
Let me see if I can quantify this for you. In The God Delusion Professor Richard Dawkins puts forward a 7-point scale of belief, where 1 is certainty that a god exists and 7 is certainty that none exists. I understand Professor Dawkins rates himself as a 6, saying, “I cannot know for certain but I think God is very improbable, and I live my life on the assumption that he is not there.” I go one step further, and put myself firmly as a 7. Or maybe even a 7+. Everything I have seen and heard since my mid-teens has convinced me that the only logical unifying explanation for all the contradictory and unproven claims of religions over the past few thousand years is that they are man-made stories. In fact, I am convinced that the god of the old and new testaments is as fictional as the characters that I make up for my own novels. If a lot more cruel and genocidal than they are.
I mention that my atheism started in my mid-teens. Up till then I had been a ‘light’ Christian, broadly accepting and not particularly questioning the religious information that I had been fed. My parents had taken a very liberal view and not forced me into any religion at home, but had sent me to schools that were essentially Church of England. They had then neither confirmed nor denied what I heard in the school chapel services, but left me to make up my own mind.
Looking back, I don’t think I particularly listened to those chapel services, other than to mentally ‘tick off’ that the key points were in place (Jesus loves me – check. Be nice to others – check. Christmas is coming with lots of gifts – yayy! Check).
Then one day when I was in school chapel I decided to actually listen to – and analyse – what the chaplain was saying. And it amazed me when I realised that what was coming from his mouth was utter bullshit! How had I not seen this before? It was a mixture of trite platitudes, vapid clichés and obvious untruths presented as fact. I wondered how I had ever believed in such rubbish. And as I recall, it seemed to me from the way he trotted it out that he didn’t appear to believe in it either.
It was as if a bubble had burst. It was gone! Religion was no longer something I could – or would – accept.
I think it was shortly after this that I saw Monty Python’s Life of Brian, a brilliant deconstruction of mindless faith which definitely cemented my atheism. I have since seen the TV debate John Cleese and Michael Palin had at the time with Malcolm Muggeridge and some bishop who seemed off-the-scale in pomposity.
If you haven’t seen it, check it out on YouTube – you might find it very entertaining.
How John Cleese managed to keep his temper amazes me, and at one point it looks as if Michael Palin is prepared to sacrifice his ‘nice guy’ image and punch the bishop in the face. Personally I wouldn’t have blamed him if he had - the old bloke certainly seemed to deserve it. One of his and Muggeridge’s arguments was to suggest that if a fourteen-year-old boy saw this ‘tenth-rate little film’, what would it do to his faith? Well, I am here to tell you exactly what it would do – as I was that boy. It would demonstrate just how laughably man-made religion is, and how unworthy it is of any respect.
So here I am, all these years later, a committed unbeliever in religious twaddle, and a firm believer in the power of humanity to do good without the need for religion. I am always ready to champion the cause of rational secularism / humanism, and defend it robustly in an open-minded discussion with any theist. If it is possible to find a theist who is not too militant to have such a discussion.
Sadly it is often the theists who accuse atheists of being militant; trying to force their ‘atheist beliefs’ on others. What? Atheism is not a belief-system in its own right - but simply the lack of belief in the unsubstantiated claims of theists.
For me, the case against religions in general - and Christianity in particular - is very clear. Unlike Christianity, atheism does not actually seek to force any sort of creed on others:
Atheism does not send out missionaries to convert indigenous populations against their will.
Atheism does not forcefully indoctrinate vulnerable children by filling their heads with nonsense when they are too young to distinguish fact from fiction.
Atheism does not preach hate against out-group minorities, nor burn non-believers at the stake.
Atheism does not claim to own morality, and especially not a morality that is derived from a religious book written by ignorant bronze-age goat-herders and therefore irrelevant to modern society.
Atheism does not massively hinder human progress by closing its mind to proven science.
Atheism does not demand money in return for the promise of a vague, unsubstantiated reward after death.
Atheism does not champion the rights of an insentient clump of cells over the rights of a living, breathing, feeling woman.
Atheism does not propagate AIDS or poverty by refusing to allow condoms, nor protect peadophiles who abuse children in their care.
Atheism does not terrorise children with threats of an all-seeing, all-knowing, judgemental god who watches them 24/7 and even peers into their innermost thoughts.
Atheism does not encourage a lack of personal responsibility by suggesting that all actions are the result of either divine or satanic will.
Atheism does not suggest that by having conversations in your head with an imaginary friend, you can make change happen in the real world.
Atheism does not send its followers out to kill those who believe in a different imaginary friend.
And - atheism does not suggest that we all need to be ‘saved’ from the actions of a mythical talking snake and a woman created from a man’s rib.
No, atheism is not a belief system, and it does not force its philosophy on anyone. It simply presents the case for a rational secular life that is more progressive, more open, more inclusive and more rational than anything offered by religion.
Which is why I for one, will continue to make the case for atheism as much as I can.
Always look on the bright side of life, everyone!
Picture credits:
Life of Brian still: © 1979 Python (Monty) Pictures Limited.
TV debate: Friday Night, Saturday Morning", 9th November 1979.
My day job is as an author of historical action/adventure fiction. Who do you know that loves reading just such a book? Why not give it to them as a gift this Winter Solstice (sorry, Christmas)?
Click the pic below to go to Amazon, or click this link to go to my website for a signed copy.
Is there a category for people not interested in knowing whether or not god exists? I think I’m one of them. I barely want to debate it because I came to the understanding that no one wants to be convinced of a fact if it opposes their belief. The belief itself is core and they will create a blind spot and stuff it in.
All the same, I do like how celebration of equinoxes, concentration on personal renewal make me feel. It’s a conscious choice to recognize the change of seasons and treat both negative and positive as seasonal. That’s about as far as I get. I have felt the twinge to reread the works of my early 20s and see what’s new in skepticism. I had Dawkins, Hitchens, and even Penn Jillette. I’m not sure there are so many outspoken non-believers these days or maybe I just don’t know them.
In any case, this was a nice read. Thank you. 😊
Hmmm, just a few thoughts. Reading this it seems you are referring to the Christian religion in particular. Well, maybe Judeo-Christian religions. Do you feel the same way towards other religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, Native American belief systems, etc? Do you have any spiritual beliefs or are you a pure atheist? I know a lot of people who came to question their Judeo-Christian roots as they grew up and left them in the dust. many still have some kind of spiritual beliefs whether they are pagan or "starseed." Whether you are a pure atheist or not really doesn't matter to me, I am just wondering. As we transition from the Age of Piscses into Aquarius it seems to be a natural progression away from Christianity and toward something more "progressive" as you might put it.