Some people spend their entire lives devoted to a religion that claims to be the โrightโ religion... they often deny scientific evidence that contradicts their archaic holy books, they sometimes oppress those who disagree with them, and they always do what they do in the name of an unknowable deity... but sometimes, they wake up. Occasionally, they realize that all religions are man-made and that none of them are โright.โ And when they do, they can live happy and fulfilling lives without dogma and without anticipating or fearing an afterlife.
David G. McAfeeChristian apologists who argue that a story about an empty tomb is convincing evidence of a resurrected body are likely unfamiliar with Occamโs razor, which states that among competing hypotheses, the hypothesis with the fewest assumptions should be selected. They assume that the most likely explanation is miraculous resurrection through some unproven divine connection, but more likely scenarios include a stolen body, a mismarked grave, a planned removal, faulty reports, creative storytelling, edited scriptures, etc. No magic required.
David G. McAfeeIf you are religious, you believe that your religion is the 'right' oneโand, in many cases, all others will be sent to hell. Similarly, a nationalist believes his or her nation is better or more advancedโand a racist believes that an inherent difference between each race make his or her ethnicity superior. All of these ideologies spawn the hate, philosophical disagreements, and prejudices that have been the catalysts for various atrocious acts throughout history.
David G. McAfeeI donโt claim to know an over-arching โMeaning of Life,โ but I do operate under the understanding that life should not be lived under the pretense that it is simply a test propagated by an invisible, intangible, Creator-God. And it should not be spent identifying with religious traditions and organized groups that, historically, have been at the root of a tremendous amount of oppression and violence.
David G. McAfeeYou don't want atheism shoved down your throat? OK. We will stock knocking on doors spreading our 'Truth,' and having tax-exempt organizations dedicated to atheism that have influential political action committees. We will also stop printing 'In atheism we trust' on all US currency and saying, 'One nation, under atheism" in the pledge of allegiance. We will also stop insisting that everyone who disagrees with us will be sentence to eternal damnation... Wait...
David G. McAfeeReligious people claim that it's just the fundamentalists of each religion that cause problems. But there's got to be something wrong with the religion itself if those who strictly adhere to its most fundamental principles are violent bigots and sexists.
David G. McAfeeWe are all born free from all religious affiliations and only come to believe in such things after being introduced to it โ so, atheism is the default position. Although some children are not indoctrinated with a specific religion before the age of reason, there are many more who are.
David G. McAfee