Atheists

I can understand why a person would be an atheist, and not just because I once was one. If you look at the superficial layers of this world it is easy to conclude that there can't be a God. A God wouldn't allow these things to happen. Of course, if you dig deep and don't allow your own prejudices to color your judgement you can't help but conclude that there is a God.

But I could never understand militant atheists. If you really don't believe in God, then why would others believing in a fictional being make you angry? A more reasonable reaction would be amusement or indifference. When someone believes the nonsense in a tabloid rag about Hitler's brain being kept alive inside a jar, I don't get angry at them. In fact, it takes some effort not to laugh at them. And I feel a little sorry for them for being so gullible. But I never get the slightest bit angry. Their silliness is no threat to me. (Although I wish there were a reasonable way to keep them from voting.) I don't feel the need to put my face on a billboard professing that I don't believe it. Some angry atheists in my area have done that very thing.

The anger is the giveaway. They are angry at something they profess they don't believe exists. I have never once become angry at gremlins, because I don't believe in them. By their anger, militant atheists admit that they are lying to themselves and everyone else. They do believe in God, but they are angry at Him. Whether it is because of some disappointment, or that God doesn't do what they think he should, they don't want to be responsible to anyone's morality but their own, or some other reason, they must feel that professing that God doesn't exist and trying to convince others He doesn't exist is a way to hurt God or get back at him.

Some are so mad they try to make fun of God and belief in him. So-called "Pastafarians" who say that the universe was created by a flying spaghetti monster in an attempt to ridicule belief in God only prove that they really do believe in God. One guy spent a lot of time and money suing the state of Florida for the right to wear his "religious head gear" (a spaghetti strainer) while having his driver's license photo taken. He won his case, but he lost the argument. That he would go to such lengths only proves his belief in God. If people were forced to be members of a Church, or if their money was being taken against their will to support a Church then their anger and attitude would be warranted. That no one is trying to make them do anything (excluding muslims) means their anger would be silly if it wasn't so tragic.

Those who try to erase belief in God from everything, even history, are beyond ridiculous. I don't think the Pharaohs were gods. That doesn't make me want to destroy the pyramids, or remove them from the history books. They existed. People believed they were gods. These are facts, and to deny them would just be stupid. The fact is that Christianity has had a huge impact on history, culture, music, books, etc. To try to remove it from the account is to tell a lie of omission and deprive oneself of some of the best that culture has to offer. Even when I was an atheist myself I still enjoyed music inspired by religion. The Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's "The Messiah" was still an extremely emotional and moving piece of music even when I thought it was based on a work of fiction. But then, I wasn't being silly about it all. And when I let go of my own prejudices and sacred cows, and dug into real science and pure logic I proved God to myself.

If that last sentence confuses you, I understand. There are years of thinking and reasoning behind it. Much more than I can detail in a single article. If you want to understand it, I would suggest you read the first two parts of "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis. It's not the whole path I walked. But it covers the essentials.