HOLIDAY SEASON
Another holiday season is upon me and I get the pleasure of watching people frantically shopping to buy last minute gifts. Why do we do this again? Oh yeah, for the birth of Jesus.
I've been thinking a great deal about what I believe lately. I have, for years, considered myself an agnostic. Riding that fence post just in case what I really think (that religion was created so that people might have a place to gossip and a 'legitimate' reason to hate) might not be right. Well, I've thought about Christianity, Hinduism, Muslim, Buddhism, etc. and never seriously considered taking time to think about Atheism. The fact is Atheism is always presented in the negative-nonbelievers, amoral, hateful. This idea is pure rubbish. I am fortunate to have several family members and very close friends who are openly atheist and I am happy to announce they are some of the most decent, loving, generous people I know. Let's face it-morality has nothing to do with religious beliefs. But think about if it did. What if every person who claimed to follow some religion (any religion) had to be moral to even utter it. Wow! That would be one peaceful planet.
The fact is this isn't a peaceful planet. Considering the number of 'believers'and their mistaken ideas that evil comes from nonbelievers, it should be. We all know this. I don't know if I want everyone to become atheists. The fact is I kind of like being in a minority. What I would like is for that dreaded preconceived notion that athiests are bad people to be completely errased from everyone's minds. Hell, I would like for all preconceptions about religion, race, creed to be abandoned. That would be a great gift to humanity from humanity.
In the meantime, I don't want to hide my beliefs anymore. If a complete stranger can pronounce their christian faith and intrusively ask if I follow their warped belief system, I will proudly proclaim that I am an atheist and a humanist!
If ya got a problem with it, I'd remind you of what your religion states: judgement is to be left to your god.
Here are a few books on my reading list:
By the way, all three of those books are listed as great holiday gifts. Hmm...a little irony there.
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