What's Good About Atheism?
What's bad about goddism? Can it go without saying?

by Lloyd Harrison Whitling et al

We all know that theists lie about us, or repeat the lies they have been taught. That does not need to be said for all of us to know it. We all know that religion sucks in so many ways that thousands of pages have been written about it (most of them by the religious about each other). We all know, too, that religion is a dangerous condition suffered by too much of humankind, and that we have reached a stage of technological development that will enable the wrong things in the wrong hands to put an end to our world and all the existences upon it.

What we don't know, and too seldom can express, is what is good about atheism. Here is a challenge for you, and some rules to follow so your fellow atheists can rediscover all the wonderful things our atheism features. If you fail to take this challenge, you endanger atheism by your reticence, and theists will take advantage of that to poke one more ember into their flaming of our absence of their ways. Will you stay quiet, make it obvious we have nothing good to say about ourselves, and allow atheists to even moreso become the butt of jokes while theists scurry to make us a laughingstock?

I dare you to take up this challenge. Here are the rules:

1. First and foremost, you must describe some aspect of atheism in such a way that does not include negative statements about religion, religions, or the religious. It must be about atheism only.

2. If you have references to back up your claims, give them. If you have none, positive "in my opinion" statements will be accepted as legitimate.

3. Flames from theists will be rejected for this page, but may provide meat for an expository page dealing with religious thought, or for future CumBax development.

4. Provide your name in exactly the way you want to be referred to regarding your material. NOTE: I am not collecting names for any purposes. Period.

5. Although copyright remains with a material's author, your submission implies usage permission. The right to edit, correct, condense or otherwise revise your material while still retaining the integrity of its intent will be exercised to its fullest.

6. If you need a good example, use Robert G. Ingersoll's model

So, hurry. Get those statements in before theists have a chance to pick up on the emptiness of content showing here. Write your message in an eMail message and send it to  atheistlloyd'AT'att.net (Insert the @ symbol where the word 'AT' appears, to replace it). (The eMail link is purposefully not made hot because of the overabundance of spammers who use automatic practices to glean eMail links from Internet sites.) Here's your chance to prove that atheists have more to say than just their gripes about religion. Don't let that chance slip away without adding your two cents to it! The box has been deactivated due to spammers, sorry, but don't let that be an excuse. EXPRESS yourself.

From Patty of Florida:

"Individuality" is one of the best things, IMO, I can say about atheism. This encompasses critical (free) thought and most of all "discovery"  To an atheist like myself, these are cherished things. To a religionist they represent heresy, insurgency, evil and  most of all "doubt" in their own carefully cultivated beliefs which in turn creates  fear. I am indifferent to religion, it is just a face of the true problem with any social species....Corporate Opportunism. which goes  hand-in-hand with insurgency against any establishment.

They can NEVER be separated as mankind's history shows and in the animal world. As atheists are considered to be insurgents, so were once the Christians, forced to be reticent and secretive, infidels, their beliefs considered criminal. Oh how the pendulum swings, doesn't it?

It comes down to  "balance of power" whether it be atheism/religion. I am confident humans will outgrow the need for belief in deities, but the primal instincts (opportunism)? NEVER!

From Don in Pennsylvania:

I can see nothing wrong with atheists. They are as good and dependable as any theist. They are all my friends no matter what. As I see it all people are equal and should not be tagged in any way that would make them less than me.

From D. Thump of Germany:

I have been pondering your question: What is good about being an Atheist, and I don't have much of an answer. The Xians have a good delusion going, that is the attraction. Atheists have to deal with the untidy realities of life and death, don't get the "power of positive (gawdist) thinking", and are basically left out of community social stuff. My intolerance of religious nutcases has left me quite isolated, or often embattled.

Atheism is not the road of least resistance. Guess I am missing that religious gene, as the burden of Atheism was no choice - I am not an Atheist because it is a happier way to live, nor a less happy one. I have a brain, eyes, hands, breath and therefore Atheism simply IS. Atheism IS Reality.

I am not fearless in the face of the Unknown - the Universe is a scary place. I think folks who manage to buy their own bullshit probably are happier and have an an easier ride.

Bottom line, there is not much desirable about being an Atheist. The good bits for me are inexorably entwined with relief at not being a dumb religious mammal. Atheism has won me few friends, no personal comfort, and brings on a lot of outrage. Being well-versed on gawdism is akin to knowing all there is to know about the Easter Bunny. For the most part, I cannot be bothered.

Thumpie the Thinking Mammal

From Richard S. Russell of Wisconsin:

What is good about being an Atheist? One of many problems with Pascal’s Wager is that he simply ASSUMES there’s no downside to believing in God. Had he never heard of tithing or sleeping in on Sunday mornings?

Sunday mornings. Sleep late. Lie around in a bathrobe. Read the funnies. Aahhhh!

From You, if you have something positive to say:

Your words, positive statements about atheism, can go here if you follow the simple rules. It has been claimed there are fifteen million unbelievers in the United States alone, and several times that world wide. Unless that leaves you speechless, express yourself. Your apathy will get you nowhere, and your reticence gives others notice that you will be compliant to their agendas and, therefore, an accessory to them. Don't support something you believe to be dangerously wrong. Act NOW.

"To deny a right to the experience of pleasure is immoral unless that denial can be justified by a valid presentation of how pain will result from that experience in an amount that would render the expected pleasure regrettable; or, if it can be shown that pain will be induced in others innocent of any involvement. The role of science in moral issues should be to test that, predict that, and find harmless ways to demonstrate that."

— L. H. Whitling in the eBook, Secular Morality —