Atheism trusts in humanity's potential

By: Matt Schirano

Posted: 12/7/07

All you believers out there humor me for a minute (or more, depending on how fast you read). Use your imagination and run with what I'm saying, I think it's worth the time.

The argument between atheists and those who believe in a God, Supreme Being or deity is well known to most of us: followers of religion see atheists as shortsighted, immoral and self-centered. Atheists see the religiously devout as shortsighted, na've, and blind to reason.

I am an atheist, and I feel that many of my friends don't understand what atheism truly means, because frankly, it's a lot more than believing there's no God.

First off, there's a common assumption that being an atheist means we don't have faith. That would be wrong. Our faith is placed in human beings, not God. When you erase the element of God, all the things "he" has done in the past falls back to us.

All the credit people give to God, his glorious love and vengeful wrath, without him becomes our own doing.

This is a double-edged sword because it means man has a propensity for horrible atrocities as well as wonderful love, but it also shows us how amazingly diverse we are, that there are limitless capabilities even within just one person.

This is what my belief in atheism is based on, that throughout history Gods have stolen the credit for most great human achievement, while our faults have been the product of our ineptness and lack of devotion to him. Take away God, and all that is left is us, and I believe that to be much more comforting and inspiring.

How could it be more comforting? It means there's no heaven, our lives are the only time we have. And it also means no one is looking out for us, but that's not all there is.

Realizing that this life is all we have is the ultimate empowerment. When you're not living for the after life you live for today, and you utilize the precious time you have doing what's important to you, not what's important in the eyes of some omniscient God.

And when you realize that no one is looking out for you, they never were, and that there is no outside influence, you understand that all the power you assumed God had was actually in you all along.

This is an important point; God's power is actually your power. It means you have the ultimate control of your life. That might seem obvious to some, but many people assume the bad things that happen in their lives are a test of God.

How can you improve yourself when you believe your problems are imperative to your eventual acceptance into heaven?

If anything, that mentality is a hindrance, not a support.

Sure, it makes you feel good thinking God is testing you because he wants you to go to heaven, but if you disregard God's existence (imagination time, believers) it just means you refuse to help yourself make your only time alive decent.

I think there's also a misconception that atheists don't believe in anything.

It's not true, we just don't believe in a middleman. When you say, "God did this," we say, "people did this."

When you say, "God loves you," we say, "people love you."

To atheists, God is just an extension of the human mind. It's the way people express feelings they don't want immediately connected to them.

Think about it. "I don't hate gay people; it's just that God says it's wrong." Take God away and that says: "I don't like gay people." Is that logic flawed? I guarantee you 99 out of 100 devout Catholics who think homosexuality is wrong based on the Bible don't like homosexuals anyway. People join clubs and organizations that share similar interests and views, how is religion any different?

That sort of logic breeds external problems as well. The blame shifting that "God" utilizes in claiming that your problems are your own fault not his, is used by his followers when they say that problems in society are inherent and have nothing to do with them.

You can't solve political corruption or class inequality because that's just the way reality is designed.

Just like you don't have the power to change decisions God has made, you don't have the power to change society because it's out of your control, it's too much of a meta-concept to alter.

That's the ultimate problem, I think, that atheists have with religion.

Its rules are stifling, and set limitations on humanity that aren't real, and are ultimately damaging.

In reality, you can change anything you want to, the only limitations set on you is by you.

But if you believe that God has created a world with rules and unalterable realities, you translate that to believe that society has the same unchangeable facets.

Atheism doesn't ruin the world by removing a pivotal structure of social stability and order.

Atheists don't believe religion is what creates social stability; we believe it limits our potential as a limitless species.

Remember what I said about God's power being our power when you remove him as a concept.

Imagine what we could accomplish if we believed that we could achieve what God has achieved throughout history. If God was in us all along, then technically we are already in heaven, we just haven't created it yet.

We could make heaven a reality, and our accomplishments would only be restricted by our will to create.

So please don't think atheists are soulless people. If anything, we have more love for mankind than anyone else. We also probably have the most faith, except ours lies in each other directly, not through a made-up fantasy.