Wednesday, May 2, 2007

I'm an Atheist

I'm an atheist.

“I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.” - Stephen F Roberts

I'm fortunate to have grown up in a country (England) which is pretty secular. My parents are largely non-religious, and this gave me the benefit of being able to objectively assess whether religion in general (and christianity in particular) has anything beneficial to say about, in the words of Douglas Adams, "Life, the Universe and Everything". The answer? No. Ascribing things you don't understand to a giant sky fairy is not a rational belief. You may as well believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster (Pastafarians unite!).

Does Science have all the answers? Of course not. But, there's a verifiable methodology that lends itself to objective understanding of natural phenomena, and there's no reason to assume we won't be able to fill in our current gaps in understanding. Remember, once upon a time, rainbows were magic too.

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