Quite often, Atheism is seen as a religion itself (in the eyes of Christians). Just recently, I had posted a meme on my Facebook page, which contained a quote from Neil Degrasse Tyson (God in my eyes), which stated “The Universe is under no obligation to make sense to you.”

Let’s tackle this one!

While this statement made no explicit references about religions or faiths, within and few minutes, an ultra-religious friend chose to chime in and let me know what she thought about me posting this statement. She said something to the effect of: “neither does god; you should learn to respect the beliefs of others if you expect me to respect yours.”
Now I don’t know what grinds gears more; the fact the people are ignorant enough to believe that the acceptance of scientific (evidence backed) truths are akin to a religion, or that they expect you to respect their reality that a book of plagiarized fairy tales (mixed with a few historical references) is the key to the salvation of humankind.

The Great Debate

During the course of our lengthy debate she went on to state that ultimately we were saying and believing in the same things rather using differently articulations. In an effort to not sever another relationship with a sweet, kind-hearted person who means well (honestly I could care a lot less), I drafted a concise explanation to illustrate where her previously stated claim failed to meet logic or rational thought. 

For starters, I stated to her that her statement was a fallacy based on the fact that our views on life are different at the most basic level. I went on to state that the Universe requires no belief because it is real and we are suspended in it; all that is necessary to prove it is to look up in the night sky. I then demonstrated the differences by offering up a comparison.

You view god as an entity that is responsible for your life-I don't. You think god is a he who died a son for your sins-my intelligence tells me differently. My only allegiance is to Nature and the Universe-yours is to a religious doctrine, and two deities-I worry about the condition of people, animals, and the environment and humans' role in their condition-you worry about pleasing your deity and trying not to break commandments and going to hell--I view myself as god (the master of my own reality) The Universe just supplies the energy to  make it happen. I also believe that heaven and hell are complete fabrications of man--that what we encounter beyond life on earth is beyond what we can ever conceive of and to  attempt to do such a thing on the basis of religion is foolish and archaic.

Granted, there is no set of beliefs that atheist adhere to, but we each live by certain principles that allow us to exist with as little restrictions as possible. We understand that in order for us to continue this reality as human kind, it is critical that we; support the endeavors of scholars and scientists who apply their intellect and competencies in order to draw from past information and experiences by utilizing our present resources in order to equip ourselves with innovations which help us to create the technologies of the future which will preserve us as a race—all while causing the least damage to the environment and its inhabitants.

I Hope She Finally Gets Its

What she either doesn’t understand or chose to ignore, is that her religion, at the most basic level, rejects this principle as it calls for the utter destruction of humans and any living organism and the complete dismissal of the role of the Universe which contains such living things, all in the name of acknowledging a fictitious deity as the all-powerful. Morally, who can be more irresponsible and dangerous? In all of my years of being separated from the church, I don’t know that I was ever more articulate about where I stand. I don’t think I have ever been more proud to be on the side of reason and logic. If ever I felt more invigorated to keep on my current path, this topped that moment. And then I exhaled with complete confidence that I had satisfied all points that needed to be made and that she would never again make an attempt to equate an honorable existence with a pointless one. With this clearly presented to her, I expect she can never again (in good conscious) make this mistake nor should she want to. Then again she is a Christian, so I will keep my expectations very low. Checkmate’s in my favor this time theists.