Freedom From Religion Fridays: My Obsession With Atheism

This episode is brought to you by me:

The Diehard Disbeliever







I think that has a nice ring to it. DiehardDisbeliever. It may be said, that it sounds slightly better than my current pseudonym. Besides, I am not even dark skinned. I am lighter than I am dark. I was just trying to use alliteration for better publicity. Dark Skin may scare white people off. Who wants to do that? Damn. I should have picked Diehard. Then more men would have visited this site. I (like most other guys) love Bruce Willis. Diehard was one of the best action series ever. Fuck!

I talk a lot. And I mean non-stop. I could talk someone up in the morning and later that day put them to sleep. Some of my friends call me a know-it-all because I read a lot and gave my opinion. Who were they to tell me I couldn't speak my mind. Everyone was so busy with trying to be cool, a teachers pet or some other socially acceptable norm back in high school. I was trying to be an individual. Thankfully, I made people laugh a lot. If I didn't, I probably would have fought everyday.

It's not like being an individual made me any type of hermit. Like I said, I made people laugh. I did piss a lot of people off though. But I did have friends and girlfriends. Still do. Most of them are minimalists in the search for knowledge and understanding of damn near anything. I know that it would bring some slight discomfort if I told them about my atheism. But that's not the primary reason why I keep my atheistic views a secret. It is simply because they will either a) be too damn stupid to care b) they will all of a sudden try to become religious and try to convert me or c) stop talking to me. The latter would not be either bad or good. Friends come and go.

I also work nights. This means that when all of my friends are usually waking up, getting ready for work I am at  home. When I do get back home, I don't go straight to sleep. I have enough energy for up to 4 hours. During which time I talk about religion.  Well, it doesn't begin with religion. It could be anything, such as vaccinations.  I'll go on a rant about how people are so uninformed about measles or some disease that Teddy Roosevelt could have caught will return if people don't get vaccinated. Sound enough. But it's something in me that has to correlate the ignorance of science with the ignorance of religion.  Why? Well the easiest argument would be evolution vs creationism or "intelligent design".

The real reason is because I am obsessed with this stuff. The answer to why I am so obsessed and whether it is a good or bad thing will be discussed. Let me get through these two more examples. 

I have a few siblings.  My oldest sister - let's just say- has no affinity towards the law or moral culpability. However, she is like most silly black people and think that Jesus (and not extraordinary luck) has saved her so many times. My oldest brother is deeply religious. I mean like so religious that he was in his 30s when he lost his virginity. A remarkably similar description would be Ned Flanders from The Simpsons. Boxed haircut, glasses, never swears, two curly head boys. It's so funny whenever I see him. 

I got that out of the way to talk about my sister "Maya". Her intelligence is something that I grew up envying and admiring simultaneously. She was always direct. I never recall her celebrating Xmas and would explain why at an early age. Then I realized that she is kind of "New Age". If it is anything I hate, it's New Age. I have conversations with her, and I realize that the whole "prayer altar, astrology, tarot card bullshit has caused her to think irrationally, just like religious people. For example: She was trying to fuse creationism with evolution. When I explained that it was virtually impossible, she asked "why?" I was speechless. Just 10 years ago, she was studying to be an anthropologist. That doesn't stop me from taking mental notes about everything she claims to be true. It turns out that a lot of what she believes is just plain nonsense. However, it does help to argue with someone with a superficial level of intelligence. You do have to do a little research if she misquotes Sagan,  misinterprets Darwin or states theories as fact. Ever since I was 3, she has jokingly gave me the nickname "birth control" because I irritated, argued, and called her so much that I was supposedly the poster child for "the pill". It is good to see that things haven't changed all that much since I was 4. She doesn't know that I am an atheist yet. This is because she reminds my mother (with frequently regularity) that I am not a Christian, therefore a heathen. Nevermind the fact that she is not a Christian either. 

Then there is the second person in my trinity. My mother. She is someone who I love very much. She has not had the best life based on someone who has been very "Christian-like" my whole life. She is very introspective and tries to do what she sees as the "right thing". In today's age - where routine kindness, politeness, and selfish behavior is becoming more the norm, it's good to see someone who does have a moral barometer. She also is very into politics and supports the little man. I wouldn't call myself an activist , but I do have those tendencies. This comes directly from her. She marched with King, supported the Panthers, and taught her kids to  do the same in a time where that was considered extreme behavior*.

She would appear to be the perfect fit for an atheist. Sadly this is not true. She is deeply religious and regards her faith with such natural clarity. A belief in the bible is not seen as belief, but fact. This is clearly where our minds split. I never try to argue with her, but I do try to throw little jewels that should - on the surface - change her mind. This is a clear lesson in futility. 

Since I do credit her with my thirst for knowledge, I try and try to explain things on which she may not be clear. 

"Mom...

...evolution has little to nothing to do with monkeys and apes."

...the 'Big Bang' was not necessarily a big bang."

...Atheists are not 'of the devil'"

...the first time West African people came in contact with Christianity was slavery"

It doesn't matter to her. "I believe what I believe" is what she likes to say. She is not concerned with science. Truth, facts, always attempts to get in the way of her beliefs. She will have none of that.

The third (and most important) person is my wife. Her finest strong point is quite possibly her biggest flaw. She is very quiet. That makes her a great listener. When you are good at listening, people tend to talk ... a lot. I am a big time talker. She has to listen to me all day long. That could be okay for a few hours, but when you get up to several hours, it gets irritating. I work nights, sleep days, and only hang out once a week, maybe. After being married for a half a decade, it can be nauseating.The fact that I have this new found obsession with atheism has to be the worst. I have to talk about my blogs. It's also used to inform. I think it would be great for her to learn things that I just discovered. Maybe I am wrong. But knowledge is still the key to growth. I promised her that I wouldn't talk about religion or anything today.
That's because just yesterday, we had a small discussion. I should have blamed it on the hay fever, but there was some validity to her annoyance.  She began asking me why I talked about religion so damn much. She was beginning to question what I was even doing. "Who are you helping with all this atheism talk?"

See a pattern here people? My sister is misinformed therefore sees my view as non fulfilling. My mother believes in Jesus Christ and no science can tell her any different. My wife is agnostic and thinks that all of this talking and blogging might be unnecessary. I am not angry with these assessments. I know why they have them. It is very common for most people to think like this. Oh well. I gotta keep it moving. That type of thinking only helps to motivate me, but does little to silence.

So why do I do it? Am I obsessed?

These are very easy answers once I sat and cleared my mind. The first reason is interest. I have an interest in the human race (specifically black people). This interest could be called love or deep affection. As humans, we have only scratched the surface of our existence. There is so much more to learn. But there are certain institutions, beliefs and routines that cause us to become ignorant to reality. Science, history, politics, philosophy, and psychology - when studied and analyzed properly - assist us in unlocking mysteries and discovering the truth. I don't see how anyone could not be interested in the truth.

This site is designed to assist your average guy in their search for the truth. Freedom is the truth. Knowledge is truth. These articles are not research papers. They are small essays. These essays are just a few words to introduce you to what the world is really about. There is so much war, destruction, starvation, hate, and bullshit in the world. I can and will connect it to religion, belief, nonsense, and superstition. I am unwavering with this position. I will attempt to prove this everyday.

The articles are reminders of our past, present, and future. It reminds us that people are susceptible to bullshit. Religion is usually the culprit. Slavery, The Holocaust, The Crusades, The Dafur conflict, 9/11, Iraq. What the fuck do we think all this shit ties to. Religion.


So I guess I am obsessed. I am obsessed with making the world a better place for my children and our next generation. I am obsessed with removing superstition and nonsense from our daily lives. Fostering humanity, critical thinking, logic, reason, and rationality will make solutions to all the problems. I think it's a beautiful thing to be obsessed with. 




To everyone out there, I seriously need your help. Not "me" in the sense of a single entity. I need us all to be the pioneers in the world of atheism. Argue, make a blog, teach some kids, spread literature. Do anything you can. Join a group. I want to join these organizations that are willing to change the world. 


I am proud to be obsessed with human advancement. I have been an atheist for 2 months. Imagine 2 years from now. I have only just begun.