This premise is quite simple. Every human being, like every other animal on this planet, is born an atheist. There is no divine intervention or blessed soul; just as there is no divine right of kings. Moreover, God, Religion, Souls, Belief, and Faith are creations of the mind. These self-created manifestations may be inspired but this inspiration does not come from a Grand Creator. In fact, inspiration for such ephemeral thoughts is more likely to come from societal control and hierarchal structures within societies. For example, if we view the Ten Commandments we see that the majority of these commandments center on God. No idol worship, only one God and so forth. However, these ‘laws’ are created to establish a system of control. And of course we can not forget the consequences for failing to follow these laws: DEATH. So, I hope all the devout followers have never told a lie!
Moreover, religion and the illogical belief in God must be indoctrinated into every person. Children are forced to go to church and placed in situations where questions are not answered or their curiosity is placated by two simple words: FAITH & BELIEF. In fact, religion is the only area of societal discourse where these two answers are accepted without any further recourse. Imagine a doctor explaining to you that his faith is the proper prescription for your pain due to abdominal surgery. Imagine a lawyer defending his client by using the doctrine of infallibility. Or a judge explaining to the condemned that his fate was sealed by God before any evidence had been produced. Ironically, all of these examples are part of the human experience. In other words, there was a time and place where these exact sentiments were valid: faith healers, the Inquisition, Divine Right of Kings and the infallibility of the Papacy. So what changed? The Bible or Koran has not changed. The Torah has not changed in thousands of years. So if these infallible books which are inspired and written by God have not changed and our interpretation has clearly shifted, then what is the difference between now and the 1st, 8th or 13th century? Or more to the point has anything changed?
If we step back and analyze religious history, lets say, during the inquisition we find that Christians were actually performing exact instructions from the bible. (Historical accounts of Islamic actions need not be introduced here, just open any newspaper and the evidence of jihad is evident) Heretics and non-believers must repent or die. The auto-de-fa was a societal response to a biblical mandate passed down from a book written by men 40 years after the ‘savior’ appeared on earth. Logic was suspended and faith carried the day. Now, in retrospect, we find this 400 year historical epoch as a miserable example of human beings capacity for immorality. An immorality vaulted into the public area by faith and belief in a non-existent creator. However, the Inquisition is just one example of religions passion for blood and sacrifice. The list is endless, starting with the Egyptians and the pagan religions of the Greeks and Romans running through the Holy Roman Empire, metastasizing in the White Man’s Burden and seeping into our everyday life.
Our pledge to the flag, our coins and our leaders are molded and shaped by this fantasy of religious myth. Our political leaders must be believers to be accepted as candidates for office. In fact, belief in a non-existent God is the only true litmus test for persons running for office in this country. So again I ask has anything changed? Simply put, nothing has changed. The war in Iraq was spawned from religious edicts (God told W to invade Iraq). The war in Kosovo dealt particularly with ethnic (read religious) genocide. And the Darfur region of African is a clear example of religious fundamentals exerting power and death over a religious minority. People are divided into religious groups then the group with the most weapons forces others to see their truth. Might makes right, and with the blinding power of faith and belief how can one be wrong? The root of all evil and immorality stems from this improvable state of affairs. My God is the one true God and your God is not. Each mythical cult can lay claim to this notion because this statement defies truth, logic and evidence to the contrary. Moreover, the mere discussion of such things is not polite conversation. We are instructed not to talk about two things in public, religion and politics. Why is that so? Because these two philosophical ideas are directly linked, Plato describes the Noble Lie which must be repeated by the leaders to the masses. The Nobel Lie reveals that people are made of differing metals, gold, silver, and bronze and those made of gold are the only ones fit to rule. This Noble Lie and been extended into religious dogma. However, now those made of GOD are only fit to rule. I guess gold was too illogical for the early cultists.
So where do we go from here? The answer may not be the most pleasant but following historical trends sometimes leads us to unsavory events. As all great empires before ours, each must plow through the religious nonsense of Manifest Destiny. In other words, as atheists we must hasten the day that religion takes over our nation, on every level. I know this sounds counterproductive but the reality is clear. Empires only fall after a viral episode with religious conversion. An additional consequence of this fall from grace is that religion is placed in check and never is allowed to rear its ugly head again. In the past, The Holy Roman Empire is a good example; this change took hundreds of years and cost countless lives. After the fall of the Empire religion, and the separation of religion from government became the rational choice of philosophers from Locke to Montesquieu, came the establishment of a continent which is the most irreligious on Earth.
However, we are in a new age, an age of WMD’s and caliphates. Information is moving faster and hate grows even larger, the earth has grown smaller and the reach of religious extremists is limitless. America fears the Muslim world and the Muslim world fears America. Is it of no consequence that the irreligious EU experiences terrorism at a much lower level then America, even though Asia and Europe are connected geographically? Shouldn’t Europeans be bolting the doors and cutting off liberties to save themselves from the ultimate calamity of Islamo-fascism? Or do the Europeans know something we don’t? It is clear that as religion devours the institutions of government; its downfall is not far behind. And with the downfall of political institutions and subsequently religious dogma, a new historical era will be born. An era absent of religious myth and illogical fantasies; an era of enlightenment and self-actualization built on observational evidence and scientific fact.
Thus, we must embrace the Jesus Camps and Christian Soldiers of America for they must take power. They must be put under the microscope of logic and reason. They must debate and respond to charges of lunacy and hypocrisy. After their fall from grace, America will finally be reborn anew; awash with reason, fact and free thinking.
