Atheism

I considered myself an atheist for a good part of my adolescence. In turning away from the seemingly ignorant, contrived, and often condescending religious practices I grew up around, I found many of the same aspects in my atheist peers and interactions. Often it seems that people are atheist in opposition to one particular religion or another. Personally, I would rather feel for something than against something else. Also, many atheists are such because of facts in stead of personal feeling. This tends to give their arguments and attitudes towards divinity a negative tone, and can be just as condescending as some religious zealots. Many atheists’ similar rebelliously formed systematic debunking and negative opposing method of reasoning even seems like a new brand of disorganized anti-religion. Needless to say, I was open to new ideas as I usually do not agree 100% with those ideas of atheists or how they present what proof of reality they can conjure up. While most atheists are simply against deities, it does not seem like many atheists speak positively about any hint of spirituality at all.

Later in life I learned that to “believe” something means that you have stopped questioning it. As an independently thinking American, I had already become familiar with the mindset of an “unattached inquirer” in which I can grasp any concept or idea that is communicated, but don’t call it true or false. Applying this paradigm to all areas of knowledge leaves one’s mind open to consideration of any new possibility of reality that might come his way. Not clinging to any one idea, philosophy, or belief might seem like a vulnerable position to be in. However, as consciously evolving, highly adaptive creatures in this world it is not only the most self-informative outlook, but it might also be the safest.