Vile Atheist
Loud and Obnoxious
First, a story.
As soon as I popped out of my mother's womb, I was declared and anointed a Roman Catholic despite not knowing my A-B-Cs or 1-2-3s. My beliefs were already chosen for me before I could form a coherent sentence. I was sent away to Catholic schools when I was of age and I was carted off to mass.
To be honest, it didn't mean all that much to me. I just took God's existence as a given because that's what my parents, my teachers, and priest kept telling me. I was told constantly that I am a sinner and that I should repent. I recall being forced to go to Confession at school (there was a church nearby and the priest would come over to do this once a year). I tried to look back and recall my sins at that time, but they were always minor and without consequence. The kids would always say the same thing when asked what our sins were: "Lying, cheating, stealing". We were told to screw off and go pray 10 Our Fathers and to try not to do it again.
Sure, I was not a perfect child by any means, but I certainly didn't think I deserved eternal fire for calling my sister chubby on occasion and never thought this would warrant divine forgiveness. When I started high school, I became a fervent Protestant, but not the proselytizing kind. I wanted to take Jesus' words to heart and try to emulate his life. I apologized to everyone I remembered I had wronged in the past. I was always kind to people and generous. I forgave and I sought forgiveness for past transgressions. I got a euphoric high from doing good and being a good person. Not a perfect person, but a good person. Seeing others happy, in turn, made me happy.
Some time later, when I gradually became an atheist, I found out that I could still get that high from being a good person in general. When confronted with theists who looked down their noses at me and condescendingly and arrogantly declared themselves to be more moral than I, I recalled the justifications for their morality.
While I was doing good for goodness' sake, they were doing good supposedly because some big bearded man in the sky would roast them forever if they didn't. I hear some people claim that this is a moral compass. I get my morals not from "divine law" nor from criminal law. If murder and rape were legalized tomorrow, I would still not murder and rape.
What guides me is a sense of duty and respect towards my fellow man. I do not need to be threatened to be good. I am consciously aware that society cannot function if I violate the fundamental rights and dignities of others. Therefore, I do my best to respect others.
Am I perfect? No. I have flaws, just as all of us have flaws that make us who we are.
Do I lie? Yes. I lie to get myself out of trouble, I lie to comfort others, I lie to avoid embarrassment. I try to be honest and I hope that my sense of duty is strong enough to accept responsibility and face the consequences for my actions.
Am I hurtful? Sometimes. Almost never intentionally, and when it is intentional, only in situations where my emotions override my ability to think clearly.
I am by no means perfect, but I have a sense of honour, loyalty to my friends, respect for those who reciprocate it, and the ability to admit wrongdoing. I'm not a saint, but I'm a generally good person. Most people are generally good people and shouldn't feel guilty for being human.
If the only thing holding you back from going on a killing spree is your delusion that there's some god out there who will roast you forever if you do it, I am honestly scared of you. If you cannot refrain from killing simply because you are fearful of punishment, you do not have a moral compass. You have a gun to your head.
And should I ever lapse from my ideals and commit a transgression towards another, I will be sure to ask that person for forgiveness and to make reparations to them personally. I do not need to mutter to a middleman to settle the score. Guess what? The person I just transgressed doesn't give two craps if I clasped my hands together and muttered to myself in private.
We are all generally good people. Our moral compass comes not from "god" nor from law, but from within.
As soon as I popped out of my mother's womb, I was declared and anointed a Roman Catholic despite not knowing my A-B-Cs or 1-2-3s. My beliefs were already chosen for me before I could form a coherent sentence. I was sent away to Catholic schools when I was of age and I was carted off to mass.
To be honest, it didn't mean all that much to me. I just took God's existence as a given because that's what my parents, my teachers, and priest kept telling me. I was told constantly that I am a sinner and that I should repent. I recall being forced to go to Confession at school (there was a church nearby and the priest would come over to do this once a year). I tried to look back and recall my sins at that time, but they were always minor and without consequence. The kids would always say the same thing when asked what our sins were: "Lying, cheating, stealing". We were told to screw off and go pray 10 Our Fathers and to try not to do it again.
Sure, I was not a perfect child by any means, but I certainly didn't think I deserved eternal fire for calling my sister chubby on occasion and never thought this would warrant divine forgiveness. When I started high school, I became a fervent Protestant, but not the proselytizing kind. I wanted to take Jesus' words to heart and try to emulate his life. I apologized to everyone I remembered I had wronged in the past. I was always kind to people and generous. I forgave and I sought forgiveness for past transgressions. I got a euphoric high from doing good and being a good person. Not a perfect person, but a good person. Seeing others happy, in turn, made me happy.
Some time later, when I gradually became an atheist, I found out that I could still get that high from being a good person in general. When confronted with theists who looked down their noses at me and condescendingly and arrogantly declared themselves to be more moral than I, I recalled the justifications for their morality.
While I was doing good for goodness' sake, they were doing good supposedly because some big bearded man in the sky would roast them forever if they didn't. I hear some people claim that this is a moral compass. I get my morals not from "divine law" nor from criminal law. If murder and rape were legalized tomorrow, I would still not murder and rape.
What guides me is a sense of duty and respect towards my fellow man. I do not need to be threatened to be good. I am consciously aware that society cannot function if I violate the fundamental rights and dignities of others. Therefore, I do my best to respect others.
Am I perfect? No. I have flaws, just as all of us have flaws that make us who we are.
Do I lie? Yes. I lie to get myself out of trouble, I lie to comfort others, I lie to avoid embarrassment. I try to be honest and I hope that my sense of duty is strong enough to accept responsibility and face the consequences for my actions.
Am I hurtful? Sometimes. Almost never intentionally, and when it is intentional, only in situations where my emotions override my ability to think clearly.
I am by no means perfect, but I have a sense of honour, loyalty to my friends, respect for those who reciprocate it, and the ability to admit wrongdoing. I'm not a saint, but I'm a generally good person. Most people are generally good people and shouldn't feel guilty for being human.
If the only thing holding you back from going on a killing spree is your delusion that there's some god out there who will roast you forever if you do it, I am honestly scared of you. If you cannot refrain from killing simply because you are fearful of punishment, you do not have a moral compass. You have a gun to your head.
And should I ever lapse from my ideals and commit a transgression towards another, I will be sure to ask that person for forgiveness and to make reparations to them personally. I do not need to mutter to a middleman to settle the score. Guess what? The person I just transgressed doesn't give two craps if I clasped my hands together and muttered to myself in private.
We are all generally good people. Our moral compass comes not from "god" nor from law, but from within.
