I've been an Atheist for a few years now. i didnt just decide to become it or not like the author of you main story in the November issue 14.11, The New Atheism. Like many other things in this world you can't decide if you want to be an atheist or not, you either are, or you are not. there is no middle ground. there is no deciding one way to believe or not to believe. its true about half of the atheist today are born religion, but as i see it, a born christian, i was always an Atheist i just didnt know it until a few years ago.
There have been many 'attacks', mostly verbal against what i choose not to believe. i'm fine with that it. they mostly range from: 'you can't believe in god, your going to hell.' to 'your must be a sinner if you have no reason to do good,' to most recently 'your a fucking idiot.' i liked the last one the best.
I'm a naturally good person and i dont need a book to base my life on and whether or not what i'm doing is right. i can see where the good comes from the bible, but so much worse has come that no single act of goodness can ever repay the debt. Religion has done much wrong in its time, stuff that never should have been allowed, stuff which has never been forgiven for. Religion is an organization in which basic laws are set down, in which each member of this so called religion has given an oath to follow with there life. but in todays world, and the past, no one has clearly followed every single law. i see no one today being burned at the stake for working on the Sabbath (which is either a Saturday or a Sunday) No one, not even the popes, can fully follow there own teachings. they choose to pick and choose those that suit them, them completely erase all those which are deemed unimportant. Religion can not, and will not, follow its own most basic rules.
This is why i believe Atheism should never become its own religion. We have no moral code to follow, and while i follow the law set down by the government of the United States i can not say that for everyone. Not all Atheist are the same, we do not preach about a bible or a god. Now just so you all know, i'm almost 18, almost a United States enlisted service men in the Air Force. so when i see these 'protest' against memorials, against funerals, you can understand how angry i might be. when we have people going oversees to protect peoples freedoms so they can do, this, is just wrong. personally, it should be illegal to protest in front of ANY funeral or memorial, not just a soldiers. freedom of protest shouldnot affect anothers freedom.
Ryan VogelFair Oaks, CA
