Atheism: the new religion

Dear Atheists,

I just wanted to say, first and foremost, that I respect any person who is striving to better himself physically, mentally, socially, and (optionally) spiritually. This includes you.

But I must advise you the same way I advise everyone else: be sure that your fight for justice does not turn into a fight for superiority. I'm seeing strange things these days. I'm seeing a trend of people becoming atheists and speaking very poorly of religion. This needs to stop before you become nothing more than the very enemy that held you down for so long.

You should know that religion does not do bad things. People do. With that being said, you are just as vulnerable to lies, cheating, murder, molestation, rape, and theft as the pastor at the local church (FYI, I'm not Christian or Muslim, nor will I ever be).

Consider the possibility that the following headlines suddenly started occurring in your news feed regularly:

Local Atheist Caught Embezzling Funds

Leader of Atheist Group in California Guilty of Child Molestation

Scientist who advocates atheism says "People of X group do not deserve to live" 


This stuff happens regularly, but there is never a connection with the person's preference to be an atheist, or inclusion in some atheists group, with the crime. When you post things like this about religious leaders (and specifically adding that they are a religious leader), you are saying something. You're indirectly stating that it's religion's fault. Don't do this. Don't pretend like science (the religion of atheists) doesn't have its dark secrets. I know all about the "publish or perish" trend that exists in the world of academia. So many people are tricked, injured, or killed due to the bogus results of some series of studies. So many people fudge their data to get the results they want because they need to publish to get that job or that grant money. Don't pretend that your way is the new holy path, and that religion is full of crap. You don't know any better than the next guy what's out there, or how the universe began (yes, you have the big bang *theory*, but you have no clue how the ingredients got there in the first place).

Atheists have their silly things that they do, just as the religious folks do. Atheists can be as dogmatic as any Jesus freak. Just join up in some department somewhere and you'll see. The "old trouts" in my department cling to their fading theories for dear life! It happens. We're all human, and errare humanum est. It's okay!

We all need to start treating other better. We need to start celebrating our differences, instead of simply tolerating them (and talking badly behind each other's backs).

I am a spiritual person. My perspective on life is that there is something more to the world than meets the eye. Living a disciplined lifestyle so that one can develop a focused and uninterrupted love for the Supreme is essential for me. Harmonizing with the world, including the animals, insects, birds, etc. is important to me. Treating other people with respect, even if I think they're a little silly acting, is important to me. I do not laugh at Christians when they speak in tongues or catch the Holy Spirit. I celebrate that. I celebrate the diversity in my country. I celebrate their right to be who they wish to be and believe what they wish to believe, so long as they aren't hurting others or impinging on the rights of others. So should you.

Some religious people have a lot to learn. But there is so much bad talk on them already, that I shouldn't need to get into that. This is about you. You are awesome. You are amazing. I appreciate your fresh perspective and truly believe that it can help the world. But you are *not* better than the next person. Wiping religion off the face of the Earth will *not* lead to some Utopia where Captain Kirk travels around the galaxy turning savages into civilized creatures by beating up one person and giving a 15 minute speech to the rest. Some of your ideas are just as silly as any religious view. But I love you for that. That's the difference between us.


***I don't want people to think that atheism automatically = science, or that scientist = atheist. Religious folks rely on religion for many answers about the world. Atheists refer to soft and hard science for many answers. I'm simply pointing out that both methods have their fallacies which, 99.9% of the time, are imposed by us, rather than the method itself.