Things that affirm my atheism

[EnergizedLib]

Believers will point to the fact that while the existence of a God cannot be proven, neither can it be disproven.

I do, however, think that a lot of things can be used to support the theory that there is no God.

For starters, think of all of the atrocities in human history and what our planet has had to endure. One might say it's because humans were given free will, but I think much like ancient Greeks used Greek deities to explain things they didn't understand, so too do people of today, including the existence of any God. An all willing and all-knowing God would prevent some things, but wouldn't prevent the Holocaust, disease, disasters, apartheid, AIDS, famine, etc.?

Furthermore, it seems to me what a person's God wants aligns very closely with what they want. To say that TFG was God's chosen candidate (If there is a God and he supported trump, he's not worth worshipping), that GOP candidates in 2012 said that God told them to run for president (How'd that work out?) You think of people saying their God blessed them with their romantic partner, or their God wanted their favorite sports team to win. It's also easy to find a loophole in this. Think of after LSU scored that touchdown in the fourth quarter Sunday against Florida State. If a Florida State fan like myself were to pray that LSU didn't tie or win the game, while an LSU fan prayed for overtime or for a victory, one of us was bound to have our "prayers" answered, but that doesn't mean that any "God" exists or any prayers were answered, just that bets were hedged.

I can tell you that my life hasn't been perfect, hasn't been everything I'd hoped or dreamed of and had some struggles after college, but I bounced back and have been in my career for five years and have had my successes. I also did well in college in spite of being a non-believer. Why would a God reward any success at all to somebody who doesn't believe in him?

Sodom and Gomorrah. Who remembers the meltdowns when Obergefell was decided? The Netherlands first legalized same-sex marriage in 2001 and many countries, including the United States, have since followed suit. Yet, seven years later and counting, the United States is still standing. Don't you think a God who existed and was going to bring fire and brimstone to this country over the progress the LGBTQ+ community have made that said God would've destroyed us if he really wanted to?

Faith Healing. Think of people, including children, who died, and they very easily could've lived with proper medication instead of resorting to faith healing? Instead of targeting gay and trans youth, why not crack down on parents who try to get their kids better by faith healing? Adults who want to use faith healing are exercising their First Amendment rights. Adults who resort to faith healing for children are putting them in danger, since kids can't consent. This isn't My Sister's Keeper where every child is medically emancipated.

Birth and birth control. Jim Bob Duggar and his wife said that they don't use birth control and that they were going to let their God decide how many children they'd have. Surprise, surprise - 19 kids the Duggar Family has had, which probably couldn't happen by birth control, using a deity to explain science and common sense.

Televangelists and preachers. These people are wanting money for their big, fancy jets to go around and spread the word. John Oliver even did a segment about these people many years back.

"You get to that phone, and you put that seed in the ground and watch God work it out."

"As you use your faith, God is going to wipe out your credit card indebtedness."

Do you think televangelists endorsed TFG because they admired him for being even more prolific con artist than any of these people were?

The Anti-Christ. It's the Pope, whichever one that is. No, wait, it was Hitler. No, wait, it's been nearly every U.S. President since World War II. It's Macron, it's Zelenskyy, it's Putin. It was Saddam Hussein, as Pat Robertson told all of us.

Every single time some charismatic leader comes into the spotlight, doomsday predictions and the rapture are being cited by people. Every single time, it doesn't happen.

Nothing makes sense. From Biblical contradictions to people living hundreds of years, to burning bushes and talking snakes and talking animals. People ask how we got here. Then I ask how did any God here? They say that their God has always been here, but that makes no sense. And them saying that things are just beyond our comprehension goes back to what I say that this is their way of explaining things they don't understand. Furthermore, how could any God be perfect and infallible and also be jealous of others who receive adoration and worship? A perfect being, in my opinion, wouldn't have jealousy.

I'm all for freedom of religion and people governing themselves according to their religion. It's when they try to govern others, especially with something I believe to be fictitious due to the aforementioned and even other reasons that I haven't mentioned, that's when there's a problem.