Why promote atheism?

Many Christians don't understand why anyone would take such a strong stance in professing a position of failing to believe in something. It's a valid question from the vantage point of a lifelong Christian. As they see it, God has told them to go forth and spread his word. Even if a really important person told you to go spread his opinions, you might refuse, but to put forth the fact that you don't believe in something? "I want to put forth the viewpoint that I have no faith in the existence of hobgoblins. I'm an a-hobgoblin." It seems completely pointless.

The road to atheism is hard. Once you've come to the ultimate conclusion of there not being a god, you're not done. Everyone wants to know why. Some refuse to believe you don't believe. "Why are you angry at god?" Angry at something that isn't there? If I were, it would certainly be a valid question. "It doesn't even exist, so why the anger?" Or worse, it is claimed that we wanted to live a life of debauchery. "You're refusing god so you can act out your sick fantasies." Um, may I ask how I can refuse what doesn't exist? How would that work? "I refuse the existence of the non-existent!"

In my own experience, I felt from a very young age (certainly younger than ten, if not far earlier) that good people were Christians. I had never felt Jesus in my heart, so I must be bad. Moreover, I was bound for hell. What was wrong with me? Was God mad at me? I actually wanted and choose to believe. Even if for no other reason than to avoid being an outcast. The problem is, that's not possible. No matter the level of your desire, you cannot force yourself to buy the existence of sasquatch. It can't be done. You can claim it, but sasquatch (in this scenario an all knowing, though furry, deity figure) would not. Sasquatch would be able to tell you were mailing it in (I mean he is an 'all knowing' sasquatch, after all). Again, so, what was wrong with me? Sasquatch is love. Am I unworthy of love? Sasquatch's (God's) love? That's hard for a kid. A kid who strove to be good, who's told he's good and believes he's trying to be good, but secretly is aware of the awful truth. I was bad. Even Godsquatch thought so.

This brought me to directly confront the idea of Hell and the Devil. When I snuck a cookie or cheated on my homework, it seemed my motivations weren't to be evil, they were to succeed at something. I wanted the cookie. Purely selfish, but evil? Not quite. Cheating on the test, was a way to attempt to right a wrong of not studying or not understanding, I wasn't trying to hurt anyone. In fact, I never sought to hurt anyone. I looked around me and it seemed that at times when people did hurt others, it was either unintentional, or in response to pain they themselves were facing. I never witnessed purely evil actions. It became clear that the idea of an eternal hell and/or a devil who constantly tempted me was foolish. People might be crazy or angry or hurt, they may feel any number of things that caused their behavior, but I did not witness or read of anyone who acted based on a spiritual cause. Their causes seemed particularly earthen and understandable or at least conceivable based on circumstance. Mistakes aren't evil or supernatural, quite the opposite, they're entirely human.

It was quite a revelation to discover that my decade long belief of the goodness of Christians was completely bogus. Plenty of so called Christians were lousy people, but then, they weren't 'true' Christians. All the 'true' Christians had to be good. Heck, they were Christians. But then I learned that being good was not a required for entry into heaven. Acceptance of Jesus and different and completely contradictory baptismal beliefs asside, you could be a lousy person and forgiven if you accepted Jesus. Now, the claim was that having the eternal border of the holy spirit residing in your heart would fill you with a love that would make you a good person, but I'd yet to witness a Christian, or anyone for that matter, who hadn't made mistakes, hurt people or generally became pretty pissy now and then. An adherence to doctrine seemed competely unrelated. People who drank, smoked and swore seemed as likely to be good to their fellow man as those who refrained from these activities. In fact many of the Christians I knew drank, smoked and swore. Many of the non-Christians I knew (my self included) tried not to do these things, but it seemed in no way connected to our behaviors towards others and our contribution to the furtherment toward the reduction of human suffering. I became insensed by the constant seeking of the answer to the question, "What would Jesus do?" It is presumed that Jesus would do what was right. So... why not just do what's right and skip the trip to Church? I mean, would Jesus do what was wrong? If something is innately right, then it is right with or without Jesus, is it not?

It was a long journey to realize that I was good, or at least strove to be. I actually judged people with less immediacy and greater compassion than most Christians. A person's character should not be based on their adherence to any doctrine or creed, but on their actions and situation. Least of all their sexual behaviors. Christianity seems to see the world differently. Less judiciously. If Christians as a whole reflect what Jesus would do, then perhaps I didn't want to be a Christian. I wanted to be good. I want others to know they can be good without God. The world may be far better without him. Especially seeing as it very much appears he isn't there in the first place. Living in reality is far superior than living in ignorance, despite its presumed bliss. Living in reality is the only true way of living.

Rather than sit back and watch others struggle as I did, I choose to tell others simply, "It's okay NOT to believe. In fact, in my experience, it is far superior. This is why I promote atheism.

Should Atheists fear a death without an afterlife?

A Christian recently posed a question similar to this on another site. My spontaneous answer follows (I mention spontaneous because I set up a series of points in the first paragraph and fail to follow-up in the remaining paragraphs):

There are a couple ways to look at this. First, there is the ridiculous Pascal's wager that says you might as well believe in god because the alternative is far worse. Well, that all depends on which doctrine of which religion you choose. Through the ages there have been millions of religions with billions of contradictory doctrines. Which will end you in the great weenie-roast and which will seat you at the hand of god? Who knows. What if you pick wrong? Is it better to imagine going to sleep and never waking or burning in hell for all eternity?

I fear death, but I think you do as well. I, however, treasure each moment on a far deeper level than do you. Every moment I hold my little girl or read with my son or see my wife smiling is one more prescious moment. There is no other world, there is no better place, there is no future life or sudden knowledge and peace awaiting me. There is here. There is now. There is the unfathomable chance that I ever existed. There were the millions of years before and there will be the millions of years after --this moment is glorious.

I lost my father last year. I hold him in my thoughts. I pass on his spirit to my children. I smile at sudden memories and mourn the inability to pick up the phone and share a laugh with him or even to ask him how to repair the sink. But I know he's not watching over me. I know he was here and I had a prescious few moments to share with him and if I'd wasted them waiting to see him again instead of feeling the full weight of that loss, I wouldn't be the father I am to my son. I'd be less of a man, teacher, husband and father. No question.

So, do I fear death? Certainly. Am I crushed by the weight of this fear? To be certain, I'm instead enlivened with it. I'm inspired and driven to live every moment to it's grandest potential. Nothing less would be acceptable. Nothing less would be living.