I Was An Atheist By Third Grade

[Random Boomer]

61. I never believed

My memory of childhood is that I heard all the stories about Christianity, but I filed them away in the same drawer as Greek and Roman mythology. All interesting, colorful tales, but only tangentially rooted in reality.

Perhaps it's because I didn't believe in Santa Claus for very long. At around four or five years old, I asked my mother about Santa and she gently acknowledged that he wasn't real. I wasn't traumatized, rather I realized that humans tell nice stories that we don't actually believe. I was okay with that.

In adulthood I've learned considerable more about Earth and the history of our solar system. A god of any kind seems even sillier given how recently humans appeared on the evolutionary scene (and how quickly we'll probably leave). I see religion as a litmus test for our own morality. Good people believe in beneficent gods with kindly intentions, while angry vengeful people believe in angry vengeful gods.