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Disclaimer: This is purely the view of the author. Both Coin neither agrees to nor share the view of the author.
I am an atheist. No, make it an agnostic atheist; yes, I am 99.9999999999% sure that there is no God but there is a crumb in me that prods and pokes me that God might exist in the crumb.
People don't become atheists overnight like theists popularly believe. It is not like waking up one day and decide to get godless - it is a gradual process, propelled by the hunger for reason, initiated by critical thinking.
As for me, I was a theist, then I became a pantheist, then agnostic and added atheism beside my agnosticism.
And, I find being an atheist all round awesome!
One has to be a realist before becoming an atheist. So, an atheist is totally in touch with ever-changing reality. Atheists evolve; theists stay stationary. They neither progress nor regress spirituality wise. They are stuck in a time warp called religion and believe that their religion is the true religion. It is indeed brave of theists - they don't worry if they go to hell in afterlife for worshiping the wrong God. Atheists are even braver! They are not afraid of going to hell for not praying to any God.. Atheists' gamble is,"Since there is 99% possibility of me praying to the wrong God, I might as well not pray to any God." Atheists are cool people - afterlife in heaven or hell, I will cross the bridge when I come to it. Yes, atheists live in the present when it comes to the concept of non belief in God. Heaven or hell, is second!!
Atheists tend to develop extreme patience. They don't get offended when theists speak openly of their religion or god and follow their respective religions' conforms but, the minute an atheist profess his atheism openly, he or she is told to keep atheism to themselves and the aggression increases if the atheist is female.
Almost always, atheists give theists their space. The same is not true for theists - they invade atheists' personal space and indulge in diatribe. This veracity ends up making the atheist insanely patient. The only times atheists can express themselves are when they are in the company of other atheists or atheist Facebook pages and groups. But, atheists are not spared from the salvos of onslaught from theists even on Facebook. They religiously report atheist pages on Facebook and tirelessly condemn atheism. I have never seen an atheist do it on religious pages in Facebook. Atheists don't waste time condemning religion unless it is brought onto their face or imposed on them. Then the atheist will show what is he or she is made of.
Atheists tend to know more of religions than theists. Ironical but that is the absolute truth. In the quest of searching for reason, atheists peruse books of God's words. Atheists also have an elevated level of curiosity and drive to learn because questioning is what atheism is about. So, atheists have a motivation to grasp and restore knowledge and skills.
Atheists rely on themselves - they feel they are the cause of their own downfall and their own success. Atheists don't blame God for their failures and don't praise God for their victories. Atheists tend to cultivate an in built life coach; they are able to motivate themselves when things don't go smoothly and thank and appreciate the people who work with them, the team players who gave a hand to make a feat come into being rather than thanking God. Atheists don't buy the adage, "If you help yourself, God will carry you the rest of the way." Atheists buy that, "You have to help yourself and carry yourself the rest of the way."
Atheism makes human relationship stronger. With divinity out of the picture, what is real remains and atheists thrive on realism. Atheists try to make the best of what they see in a person - their religion is the last thing on the atheist's mind - it is otherwise for theists. My family is Hindu. I have an aunt who is allergic to air condition - the cool air gives her headache. She is the only person I know who fully blankets herself while taking her noon nap while the Equator sun gives all its got. In air conditioned places, this aunt of mine ties a scarf around her head and it unmistakably looks like a hijab. So, one day, at a hospital, an Indian Muslim woman came to my aunt and initiated conversation. My aunt is a chatterbox and she was talking away with the lady until the lady asked what Islamic sect does my aunt belong to. My aunt promptly said that she is Hindu. The lady reacted by saying, "If you are a Hindu, why are you wearing the Islamic hijab?" and my aunt disclosed her 'allergy.' The lady got up and left. At that scene, I was reminded of famous Indian actor, Kamal Hassan's quote, "Asking about one's religious belief should be taken as the same offence on how well you laid your wife/husband last night." Kamal Hassan is an atheist and a positivist and has come under fire because of his atheism.
Being an atheist saves money - yes, you don't have to celebrate religious festivals and conform to taboos and religious establishments. Instead, you can invest, make more money and give back to society. I am sure that the latter will be more rewarding and any good God would approve it. God never asked for humans to give Him (God is somehow almost always male but in Hinduism, God is formless) this and that; it is all corporeal conduct. An atheist marriage is most cost effective. Go to the registrar office, get legally hitched and throw a wedding dinner for family and friends. Wedding done! The choice of dress too can be made practical - one you can wear again and again or just rent dress. My sisters have their wedding saris languishing in their closet - they won't wear it because in their eyes, those saris are too gaudy to wear to any place. And, the saris were earthly anything but cheap. I was asked once, when I was engaged in a dialectic about atheism and Hindu Indian culture, whether I will have melam taalam (South Indian wedding music) or effing rap songs played in my wedding. I coolly said that I would have AR Rahman's hit songs played in my wedding- the power to choose. Awesome right? Wink, wink..
Atheism allows one to choose. Since atheists are free from the shackles of organized religion, it is extremely liberating. Atheists focus on life. While theists are busy demanding action to be taken on those who condemn a particular God or rituals linked to a religion, atheists are busy moving forward and making long term goals and work on what actually matters. Religion is so effortlessly politicized and those who espouse religions fall hook, line and sinker into the snare. Politicians know all too well that dealing the cards on religious sensitivity will provide a leeway for them to steal from the people. Atheists see this ruse right through- theists are blinded to this; all they want to do is defend their God and their religion and engage in protracted discords, demanding apology, justice and punishment. I tried to drill this in recently and all the response I got from the bigoted lots was, Meh.. At least I tried. <patsback> Funny people - if you know that your religion is the right religion, why get insecure when others of a different religion ridicule your religion? Since your religion is the true religion, the criticizer will go to hell. So why push, fret and sweat and get agitated?
Atheism is directly linked humanism and free thinking. When my beloved mother walks up to me and lovingly streaks vibuthi (Hindu holy ash typically streaked on forehead to symbolize piety), how can I tell the lady that birthed me, "Back off! Your religion is bullshit!" Just because I don't believe in God, it doesn't licence me to be rude and hurtful. As far as I am concerned, my parents are my God. You say religious people are not dogmatic. Will a Muslim allow a Hindu to streak vibuthi on his forehead? Your guess is as good as mine. I have been to churches but not mosques - where I live, non Muslims are not allowed to enter the premises of mosques. Speaks volumes about bigotry.
All said and done, I say that being an atheist is awesome!
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