Why Am I An Atheist?

This lady was a countess from Hungary. She had sacrificed her life while fighting, to save 650 women sex slaves who were tortured daily and raped repeatedly by various men.

Would you befriend this noblewoman from the Kingdom of Hungary? If not befriend, would you mind spending a day roaming around in the kingdom with her and talking about the sufferings of those 650 women?

Obviously, this is a hypothetical question and she was from the 15th-16th century.

Most probably, your answer to both the question is yes, for some, it may be a big yes. Your answer will be a big no, only if you have read about her.

Now let me turn your yes into no.

She is Elizabeth Bathory. The Guinness World Records considers Countess Elizabeth Bathory to be the most prolific female serial killer. She was accused of torturing, mutilating and killing around 650 women between 1585 and 1610.

Allegedly 650 women. That is a huge number, especially considering the fact that it was done by herself, and not by any criminal organization.

How is your brain processing all the information now? How do you feel about befriending her now?

It is amazing how our perceptions change when we receive new information. And, actually, that is how our brain works - based on the information it receives in different ways.

In a similar fashion, the information and idea of God you hold in your brain is not because of some miracle but it is because of how you were brought up. Since childhood, we are told about Gods. As soon as a child learns to take the first step of his life, he is continuously told about the existence of God in different ways.

The mechanism of religion is based upon the reward and the punishment system. Do this and God will reward you. Do not do this, or else God will punish you. For many years, your brain receives all this information about your religion and your Gods. Add incidents of mere coincidences that are sold as miracles by people around you and now you have a brain that is totally into the belief of God.

Just like 2+2 = 4, for everyone, the idea of your God becomes a universal fact for you because your brain has received information about it since the day it started gathering information.

The information that you have received is mostly positive because you are surrounded by people who too are in the awe of your religion and Gods because they have also received only positive information about their religion and Gods from their forefathers.

Critical and questionable information about religion is hardly received because the fear of being outcasted by society keeps everyone mum about it. The rituals are hardly questioned for the same reason. If a non-believer questions the existing ideas and criticises the beliefs of a particular religion, he is forced to shut his mouth and is labelled as a hate-mongering element.

Many times, you and your brain want to question the existence of God and the beliefs of your religions.

But, religion is based, I think, primarily and mainly upon fear. It is partly the terror of the unknown, and partly, as I have said, the wish to feel that you have a kind of elder brother who will stand by you in all your troubles and disputes.

Your belief in God makes you feel protected. You feel that if you won't be able to do it, your God will help you, well, because you have been a good child of it. Along with that, the fear that nonbelief in God will make you suffer from the wrath of God, also makes you stick to the idea of God. Also, those people who don't believe in themselves are likely to believe more in the existence of a deity which will take care of everything.

Eventually, over the years, this dependence on some unknown force that can make everything good in your life becomes a habit and kind of an addiction too. So, when you are in trouble, rather than working for it by yourself, you might end up praying about it. Sometimes, when you want a thing or two, rather than working hard for it, you might end up wishing about it from an unknown force.

This realisation, after being a theist for many years, turned me into an atheist. But, just because I am an atheist does not mean I laugh off at people who believe in God.

My definition of atheism is that “I” don't believe in God. And, God doesn't exist for me in my thoughts. That does not mean it doesn't exist for you in your thoughts too.

Theism and Atheism, both, are not about right or wrong. It's about beliefs, your beliefs, what you rely upon, and what you trust. They both can exist peacefully. But, sadly, that's not the case in today's world.