When I became Atheist, religious beliefs that I held began to make me angry. I was angry at the deception I unwittingly followed. I felt, at the time, that hitting back at religion with a lot of bad mouthing would smooth over my anger. It didn't. All it really did was make me think more and more about how I felt like I was being manipulated and deceived, which only served to make me even angrier.
When I quit smoking a few years ago, I didn't join with some group that extolled the virtues of quitting every time they met. Instead, I just stopped smoking, and left it there. I assume the same thing about AA. All they talk about in their addiction. To me, getting past this means staying away from the source, and staying away from constant reminders about alcohol. I am fortunate that in Canada, no tobacco ads are permitted, no displays allowed in retail stores. So, I am not always bombarded with reminders. All that is to say, if you are atheist, then leave the religious people alone. Stay out of the path of proselytizers, and avoid shouting matches with them on the street. This is NOT to say that we just lay down and let the religious abuse us. But like all toxic things, we have to give it up.
Do I still doubt my old relgion? Not always. I am in the same boat as Martin Luther "I regret ever having been born a Catholic." Every now and then, the voice of 'you know who way' comes begging coins from me, but with the voice of the Syth (Star Wars). "If you're not with me, you're against me." George Bush said that too.
Please feel free to publish this, using my name.
Thank you for your time.
- Franky
