What Being An Atheist Does (And Does Not) Mean To Me

10 Myths About Atheists, Debunked?

My definition of an atheist: someone who does not believe in any form of deity (god or goddess). Nothing more, nothing less. Unfortunately, there is a lot of misunderstanding, so myths and assumptions abound. I intend to explore and explain a bit about my own version of atheism so people aren't so bound by their preconceptions.

There are no atheists in foxholes.

This is one myth that does need to be debunked, and I have anecdotal evidence of it. Back in 2006, my ex-husband (we'll call him Jack) and I were robbed at home at gunpoint. At one point, one of the robbers pushed on my back to get me down to the floor. There were two thoughts that went through my head:

1) Okay, this is it. I've studied about it in my feminist classes, and now I'm going to get raped. (I didn't.)

2) I really hope my cats don't run out the front door. (The robbers had left it open)

The cats didn't run away. They were under the bed the whole time, even after Jack and I were told to get into the bathroom and wait (a ploy to give the robbers time to escape). God never entered my mind. Not for a second.

Atheist don't have a moral code.

Also a ridiculous myth that needs to be debunked, and related to the idea that atheists have no concept of charity or altruism. The reality is that atheists are willing to admit that morality and altruism have little to do with the inherent goodness in people, and more to do with surviving in this world with minimal difficulty. Read "Superfreakonomics" for a very enlightening discussion on altruism and apathy.

I do not believe there is any form of true altruism. Even Mother Teresa, for all her good works, was still trying to get into heaven. Does this devalue what she did? Of course not, but let's not kid oursevles into thinking that anyone does something for zero gain. There is always gain, even if it's just the warm, fuzzy feeling you get after doing something nice. If you really weren't into the payoff, then why do you get pissed if someone doesn't thank you when you open a door for them? Atheists can have an understanding of the greater good despite not having an almighty Guy-In-The-Sky who dictates it to us. Don't kill, steal, lie? These seem like pretty easy morals to figure out on your own.

For the record, I volunteer to help garden at a local museum. Why? I'm having difficulty finding a job, and figure that spending six months helping older women cut roses might help me get a reference and at least shows I'm not sitting on my butt writing blogs all day. I also go to church and volunteer there; the personal gain there is mostly the warm fuzzies, but also networking.

Atheists don't believe in an afterlife

Also appears as: Atheist don't believe in a soul. Atheism is not nihilism--the negation of an aspect of life that is commonly considered to be meaningful, like morality, religion, or politics. My own judgment is that nihilists tend to believe in nothing; that nothing is meaningful, there is nothing after this life, etc. (Feel free to comment to correct me on this) Atheists aren't like that. I do believe in an afterlife, and I believe in reincarnation. Neither require a god. My afterlife is a huge library where I can spend eternity reading and learning, coming back to earth as many times as necessary to gain perspective. I don't understand why anyone thinks you can learn enough in one lifetime. It would be much more valuable to come back several times, experiencing the perspectives of male, female, black, white, Asian, tribal, rich, poor, starving, etc.

A word about death

My family has a rather unique perspective on death. For us, death is not an ending, simply a change of state, like a solid melting into a liquid. The essence is still there, still existing, it's just the shell that's gone. When people ask me how many siblings I have, I generally stutter. The truth is that I have three siblings - two sisters and a brother. But the two sisters are deceased. Doesn't make it any less true; I still have two sisters. Unfortunately, because our society has a weird discomfort with death, I generally don't mention my sisters, out of respect for other people's comfort levels. I'll talk about them to anyone who asks, and while I'm sad, I realize that I'm sad for myself, that I didn't have a chance to get to know them as they grew up, not sad for them because they are dead. Consider this my coping mechanism, instead of the idea that I'll meet my sisters again in some version of the Elysian Fields.

Atheists aren't educated about religion

Something that never ceases to amaze me is how little people assume atheists know about their religion. I've taken two university courses on the Bible and religion. I've practiced Ramadan, and celebrated Eid with the local Muslim community. I done some very cursory studies of Buddhism, Shinto, and Hinduism. For my personal beliefs, I've taken bits and pieces from them all and added in some of my own elements (see my version of the afterlife). Atheists are often very educated on religions; they have to be. When you're constantly confronted with "But the Bible says this!", you're only defense is to be more knowledgeable. Does it work? Sometimes, but usually not. The funny thing about beliefs is that people are very unwilling to change them, even when confronted with the text of their own religion.

Story time

Three women stood at the base a very tall mountain. One was a rather large woman, with no experience hiking. One was a mom who'd done some rock crawling in her younger days. The third was a very experienced climber. Each decided to set off on her own.

The large woman came upon a very easy trail, with a very slight incline. She couldn't see the other women, and thought to herself, "Wow! I've got the best trail! I'll be the first to reach the top!"

The mom came upon another trail, this one requiring a few jumps and a little bit of rock climbing. She was excited, and since she couldn't see the other women either, she thought to herself, "Wow! This trail is perfect! Surely I'll get to the summit first."

The climber came upon a sheer cliff. Her face lit up as she began scaling the wall. Like the other women, she couldn't see her partners, and thought to herself, "Awesome! This rockface is the best I've ever climbed! I'll get to the top in no time at all!"

When the climber reached the top, she was shocked. Each of the women arrived at the top at the exact same time, because each of the paths had slowed them down exactly the same, according to each woman's abilities.

CNN's Belief Blog

Here's something a little different: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/08/10-things-the-belief-blog-learned-in-its-first-year/?hpt=hp_t2

I found #4 to be the most interesting personally. I've been on various chat platforms, and I used to hang out in the religion rooms. It never failed to amaze me how little the Christians in the room would know about their own book. I could quote passages from the Bible that Christians argued didn't exist until I put up chapter and verse.

I don't have a problem with the Bible. It's filled with all the same stuff you'd see on TV today; blood, sex, violence, porn, drugs, rock and roll. But for me, the Bible is a snapshot, a guidebook for a culture that existed 2,000 years ago. Does that mean the Bible isn't valuable? Of course not. We don't claim that major works of fiction aren't valuable, but we also aren't claiming to be worshipers of the White Whale.

In current cultures we treat religion as a separate piece of our lives, a distinct room which we fill with whatever we decide our beliefs to be. In the past, religion was much more practical. It was meant to be used as a daily guidebook, constantly consulted during applicable situations. Even though I don't believe in the Bible, my family still followed its advice when we planted a lemon tree. There are 600+ laws in the Bible, covering all aspects of life from birth to death to marriage to agriculture to specific architectural designs for their temples.

Given the demonstrably practical nature of the Bible, I'm not sure if that ancient culture would have even identified what they were doing as a "religion." I can certainly imagine an ancient Israelite working according to the Bible because it's the way she thinks, the way she feels, part of her identity. One of my professors in college described a lot of the laws in the Bible as a way of making Jewish culture distinct from those around them. The laws of the Bible become a "this is what I do because I'm Jewish, that is what they do because they aren't." Perhaps the world's first written form of discrimination?

I don't know if many Christians want to actually read the Bible. It may force them to think, which is something they may not want to do. It is certainly easier to swallow what your preacher tells you, and go on your way, thinking you're doing right by your fellow man. But are you really?

I respect Islam far more than I do any other Western religion that I've been exposed to. Islam requires consistent, daily practice. You cannot be a "Sunday Muslim" the way people are "Sunday Christians." The religion doesn't allow for it. Most Muslims I've met are far more informed about what their religious books say; this stems from the belief that they are supposed to study and understand the Qu'ran for themselves. Yes, they have Imams, just as Christians have pastors, but the individual comprehension of the Qu'ran is key. If Islam had not valued individual education, we likely would have lost all of the ancient scientific information we enjoy today. Instead, it would have been destroyed in the Dark Ages, a Christian endeavor which obliterated many many ancient works of literature, art, and science.

In the "Information Age," ignorance should be viewed as a cultural disease. Now, access to information is simply too easy to permit intelligent people to allow themselves to be lazy thinkers or followers. The way forward is not rooted in the laws and traditions of the past, though they offer value in providing a glimpse into human nature. Instead, the future belongs to the trailblazers, the thinkers, the rebels. Jesus himself was a political dissident, and he challenged established authority to the point that they felt the need to put him to death. To say that slightly differently, the established authorities considered Jesus to be such a threat to their way of life that Jesus was put to death. To be "truly" Christian, shouldn't one follow in his footsteps?