Posts tagged beliefs

Over and over I see the religious argument boiled down to this simple trite:

Atheists don’t believe in anything!

An Atheist is simply someone who doesn’t believe in any gods. That’s it.

And I certainly do believe in many things.

I believe in personal responsibility. If you choose to screw up, you take responsibility. You don’t blame it on the devil or the voices in your head. Conversely, if you choose to work hard, you take the credit. Sure, some people have natural talents in a certain direction, but if you’re working it and things pan out, it’s because of that not some supernatural force.

I believe in honesty. You tell the truth no matter what. You don’t go along with the crowd if you don’t agree. You stand up for what you believe in and not let others shut you up.

I believe in personal freedom. As long as you’re an adult and what you choose to do doesn’t hurt anyone else, you are entitled. You can do what you want with your body, you can do what you want in your bed, you can believe whatever myth you want. Live and let live as long as nobody is getting hurt.

I believe in science. The best thing about science is honesty. If it’s real science it’s repeatable, testable, and provable. If someone makes a claim, others can take their research and prove it again. Peer review is a wonderful thing. We know the earth is millions of years old. We know all 600 dog breeds can be traced back to one original type of canine. We know humans and apes had a common ancestor, not that monkeys suddenly turned into humans.

I believe in respecting our planet. Whether you buy global climate change or not really doesn’t matter. Using oil destroys the planet. Using up the rain forests destroys the planet. Dumping shit into our water destroys the planet. We should really stop doing that.

I believe in protecting the innocents. Children should always be protected. They should have education and health care. They should be raised by someone who loves them. The elderly and disabled should not have to worry about living on the street.

I believe in equality. What makes one person doing the same thing as another wrong? Nothing. Then they should have equal pay and equal rights.

I could continue listing my beliefs but I think you get the point. I’m a decent human being and I pretty much follow the rules set down by society though I object when the rules are out-dated or unfair. It’s unfair to deny LGBT people equal rights. It’s unfair to force a woman to incubate a child she doesn’t want. It’s unfair to risk other children because you believe some bullshit about vaccinations. It’s unfair that not everyone has basic health care. It’s unfair that some righteous holier-than-thou big mouths can control the decision making for everyone else.

I’m Debbie Walker and I’m an Atheist – among other things.