I can hear the groans already even though I haven't even got going yet. Yes, I know that worrying about religion isn't particularly new or exciting; a good proportion of the world are worrying about their neighbours' religions - Protestants and Catholics, Christians and Muslims, Christians and Jews, Muslims and Jews, the Westboro Baptist Church and everyone else. Everyone seems to be at odds religiously with someone else and that causes quite significant amounts of worry for huge proportions of the world. But what I have been worrying about isn't what all the rest of you are up to religiously-speaking, and is more about my own beliefs, or lack of them.
I think... gulp... that I may be an atheist. There, I've said it now, it's committed to paper (sort of) and therefore true. I have been reading* up on Richard Dawkins (*watching YouTube clips) and have come to the realisation that he and his atheist pals' way of thinking makes a hell of a lot of sense. I don't believe in gravity because someone told me to, I believe in gravity because it has been scientifically shown to exist, and work in certain ways. I don't believe in Darwin's Theory of Evolution because that's what my Mum believed and therefore I shall carry on with these beliefs, but because evidence has been discovered, the theory has been tested and the hypothesis proved, just as I was taught to do in science lessons back in school. (a brilliant interview with him here in full http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AS6rQtiEh8 . It is unfortunate that the interview is with an incapable fuckwit, but silently berating her idiocy makes it even more enjoyable).
Now might be a good time to bring up one of my very favourite people in the whole world - Tim Minchin. First and foremost, he is a tremendous musician, comedian and performer; I feel perfectly comfortable using the word 'genius' in describing him. He has also spoken very openly about his thoughts on religion and spirituality, and in between clutching my sides with laughter and wiping away the tears, I realised that there was nothing he was saying that I didn't agree with. I can't begin to put these things into words in the incredible way that he does, so here is an example of one of his superb songs which puts things so succinctly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr1I3mBojc0 (he also has written a song about his love for cheese - a man truly after my own heart)
So millions of people worldwide choose to live their lives based on a book, which is entirely their right even if it is hundreds of pages of contradiction; a book about the horrifying cruelties committed for and on behalf of an allegedly benevolent God (who created everything), several thousand years ago in the Middle East. Other millions of people worldwide choose to live their lives based on a different book, also their right, with slightly different rules and regulations, with a different God (who created everything). Everywhere you look there is another God or Goddess or Gods (who created everything) and millions of people who choose to believe that their choice is the right one. First of all, how could I possibly decide which one is the one to back? And second of all, which of the religions can give me any kind of proof or evidence to suggest that their God is the right one, or that he or she or they even exist at all. I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that none of them can.
Which reminds me of a quote from one of my favourite books on the "proof" of the non-existence of God:
"The Babel fish," said The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy quietly, "is small, yellow and leech-like, and probably the oddest thing in the Universe. It feeds on brainwave energy received not from its own carrier but from those around it. It absorbs all unconscious mental frequencies from this brainwave energy to nourish itself with. It then excretes into the mind of its carrier a telepathic matrix formed by combining the conscious thought frequencies with nerve signals picked up from the speech centres of the brain which has supplied them. The practical upshot of all this is that if you stick a Babel fish in your ear you can instantly understand anything in any form of language. The speech patterns you actually hear decode the brainwave matrix which has been fed into your mind by your Babel fish.
"Now it is such a bizarrely improbable coincidence that anything so mindbogglingly useful could have evolved purely by chance that some thinkers have chosen to see it as the final and clinching proof of the non-existence of God.
"The argument goes something like this: 'I refuse to prove that I exist,' says God, 'for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing.'
"'But,' says Man, 'the Babel fish is a dead giveaway, isn't it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED.'
"'Oh dear,' says God, 'I hadn't thought of that,' and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams.
In my extensive research for this blog (ahem) I have been studying the writings (cartoons) of NonStampCollector - check out his YouTube page http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=nonstampcollector&oq=NonStamp&gs_l=youtube.1.0.0l4j0i10l2j0l4.965.2194.0.3460.8.8.0.0.0.0.131.553.7j1.8.0...0.0...1ac.1.11.youtube.NoZEi-cBX5c . I have come to the conclusion that a) he is right in pretty much everything that he says and b) being an atheist doesn't mean you are a 'hater' or an anti-religion protestor... just that you haven't seen the evidence to make you believe in any deity. And as I haven't seen the evidence to make me believe in any deity, and am myself a generally rational, intelligent and sensible person, I must therefore reach the conclusion that I consider myself an atheist.
But coming to this conclusion hasn't changed me in any way - it's not like up until now I have been regularly attending the local Methodists and now suddenly I'm going to stop going and instead spend my Sunday mornings romping with heathens at al fresco sex orgies (although, now I've thought about it...). It just wasn't until recently that I'd really put much thought to my beliefs, knowing that Christianity wasn't for me but not really thinking about it any further than that. I'm comfortable with my atheism, I won't be shouting about it, or refusing to attend weddings, christenings or funerals. I'll even sing along to the good hymns (but will draw the line at All Things Bright and Beautiful) for the simple joy of belting out a good tune. I don't intend to start any hate campaigns, or anti-Religion crusades, your beliefs are your own and you are entitled to them, as am I.
But if anyone out there has that irrefutable proof, do let me know, just in case I'm wrong?
K x
P.S. I am aware that this entry relies heavily on external sources - this is largely due to the fact that I can't physically restrain myself from watching YouTube clips at the moment, and I thought perhaps that a glorious celebration of my favourites might be cathartic. It is also true that I haven't the patience to do the research that NonStampCollector has done into the inconsistencies, idiocies and atrocities of the Bible, so I would be largely regurgitating his hard work if I were to start listing them here. Also, Tim Minchin, that is all K x
