Common Misconceptions About Atheists and Atheism
David Gleeson
August 10, 2006
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Atheists, therefore, do not positively assert that gods do not exist. Atheists simply withhold belief in said gods because the evidence is not sufficient to warrant the belief. This is not to say that there isn't sufficient reason to believe that certain gods do not exist. There is. But to categorically deny the existence of all gods would require a leap of faith that is anathema to a true atheist. Atheism requires no such leap.
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Atheism, as noted above, is nothing but withheld belief. It does not take faith to have a non-belief. If I don't believe that Elvis is still alive, I am not practicing an anti-Elvis faith. If I withhold belief in Santa Claus, I am not a member of a Santa-less church. When an atheist says, "I don't believe in the Christian God", she is merely saying that the evidence for belief is insufficient. It is the same type of withheld belief that a Christian practices with regard to the beliefs of Muslims, Jews and other non-Christians.
This article isn’t really new stuff to most atheists; we have experience arguing that atheism is not a religion and explaining how a-theism isn’t equivalent to a-morality*. However, I was impressed by the well-worded, non-combative nature of Gleeson’s article and enjoyed reading it for its style and logic.
Gleeson also writes:
Some atheists may have had such [bad childhood] experiences, but I can assure you this is not the case in most situations. For me and for most atheists, the journey from belief to non-belief is simply a gradual process of discovery that eventually leads to God/gods becoming unnecessary.
This is very true. My “journey from belief to non-belief” was as simple as realizing atheism is an option. I was raised a Methodist and rarely saw or heard about people who didn’t believe in a god until high school. Believing in god wasn't a question; it was the standard. Years later, I find it far less “traumatizing” to be atheistic than theistic; I seem to have been born “aweless” (possibly without ”the god gene"**), and a world without a god feels comfortable and realistic.
Gleeson also has a blog that I haven’t had a chance to read yet. However, he appears to mock Ann Coulter in one of his recent posts, so I’d imagine it has to be decent.
* I really want a button that says, “A-Theism (not equal to sign) A-Morality”
** The paragraph at the bottom of the Wikipedia page I linked to reads:
Hamer responded that the existence of such a gene would not be incompatible with the existence of a personal God: "Religious believers can point to the existence of god genes as one more sign of the creator's ingenuity—a clever way to help humans acknowledge and embrace a divine presence."
I can’t resist pointing out that this means god must not want me as a believer, as he/she/it apparently decided to not include “the god gene” in my DNA. Another button I really, really want is, “I can’t help being an atheist… that’s just how god made me!” I apparently need a button maker.
