Atheism is for fools

I’d love to be an atheist. I could say anything, do anything, my promises would mean nothing, and I’d never be held accountable for anything. Unfortunately, I live in a society of free people, and having no moral compass is a bad thing for such a society. Allowing everyone to choose their own – however idealistic even seemingly benevolent – leads to multiple definitions of right and wrong. A society must have at least the basic precepts of justice and equality, and without a supreme force of guidance, where does that to come from? Are we to rely only on human nature – since most atheists subscribe to the theory of evolution – when human nature is so contrary to the idea of civilized society? Are we to rely only on laws, when laws are simply made by other men, and when those laws at some point violate our rights as free people? Quite the puzzle, isn’t it?

Take for example the concept of fidelity in a relationship – a cornerstone of trust between two people in our society. Human nature finds no need for such silliness; survival of the fittest requires promiscuity. Although laws have been created by religious zealots in the past to dictate fidelity and even prudence, we as a society have since demanded that our individual moral compasses dictate what is right and wrong with regard to fidelity, not our government. So, where do we stand? How are we to know right from wrong when we each have our own compass and each point in its own direction? Well the fact is, as a society of people, we can’t.

When we are all floating around in this huge universe with no god, who the fuck cares? Although I do not belong to any established religion, I choose to believe in god (little g,) or at least that there is some reason for our existence beyond our pathetically meager understanding, or short-sighted belief that we just are. Many physicists theorize that over 83% (some say as high as 99%) of the matter in the universe is unknowable to us – it is simply invisible. If this is true, how could anyone be so arrogant as to say there is no god, when we know so very little? Would it not be better to simply accept that we know no god, but that knowledge does not preclude the existence of one?

All academic arguments aside – and in the end that is all they are - it’s fun to be an atheist, but it’s hardly worthwhile.