'Coming Out' Success Stories
Reply #9 - October 26, 2014, 07:25 PM
In one of my previous articles I wrote that I became an atheist. After sharing my article with
friends at one of the atheist assemblies and discussing with them, I discovered that anti-theist
might have been a better word to use. Before then I could not tell the difference between
atheism and anti-theism. But having spoken to some experts, I made note of the differences and
.categorize myself as a person who is more anti-theist than only atheist
Christopher Hitchens said that a person "could be an atheist and wish that belief in god were
correct", but that "an antitheist, a term I'm trying to get into circulation, is someone who is
relieved that there's no evidence for such an assertion”. Perhaps Atheism and anti-theism
occurred together in me that it's understandable if I failed to realize that there is a difference
between them. I am not still able to measure the level of my anti-theism views however, I
clearly believe that I am an atheist unconditionally who is often an anti-theist too. Atheism is
simply the absence of belief in god that I totally feel whereas anti-theism is a conscious and
deliberate opposition to theism that I also have most times. But some other atheists might not
be anti-theists at all. It is said by Richard Dawkins that anti-theism requires more than either
merely disbelieving in gods or even denying the existence of gods. Anti-theism requires a
.couple of specific and additional beliefs
I see myself as an anti-theist because I believe religions are harmful to me, to my soul, to my
feelings, to human rights, harmful to society, to politics, to culture and nations. For an instance,
it is deeply immoral to force a child to follow a certain religion and tell them if they do not do
so, they will go to hell. Muslim children have been told by parents and society that the
punishment of apostasy is death penalty. An atheist father would never persecute his children if
they decided to choose their own religion. On the contrary, a Muslim father would be capable
of killing his own children if they left Islam. This is what only religious people do to their children
.and I found it deeply immoral, mental child abuse and utter disgrace
I am more of an anti-theist than just an atheist because I am opposed most religious myths. For
an instance I believe that it is a horrible idea to believe that we are born in sins and the only way
that we can be redeeming in sins is through Jesus’ death. It is a horrifying idea that god couldn’t
find a better way to forgive our sins instead of torturing an innocent person who is called to be
his son ‘Jesus’. Perhaps most people think they need religion to be moral and be forgiven, but I
.believe that religion and morality are separated
It is unethical and wicked that unlike Western countries in Islamic countries there is no place for
freedom of expression. In 1988 Rushdie published a book criticising Islam for having too many
rules and seeking to control every aspect of life which is understandable. His book also
attempted to investigate conflicts between religious and secular viewpoints. In return, in
1989 Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran issued a fatwa ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie. Numerous
killings, attempted killings, and bombings resulted from Muslim anger over the novel. The
author went underground, living under police protection for almost 10 years and his Japanese
translator was murdered. This fatwa was the opening shot in a war on cultural freedom which
proved how irrational, immoral and close minded religious people could get. I am not able to
comment on his book but if I can’t support Rushdie, I can’t support the fatwa either but it is
outrageous to kill somebody for expressing their opinion. Especially when it came from a
dictator whose country is suffering from corruption, high rate of death penalty, torture and
.misery
To conclude, I have no faith in any religions. Faith means believe in something without evidence
and if you believe in something without evidence that could justify anything. You are no longer
vulnerable to somebody coming to you and argue with you about your beliefs. If you have faith,
you will not argue with them because you believe this is your faith, it is perfect and not
.negotiable. This is scary...
Topic: 'Coming Out' Success Stories