Yes, that's a line from a Nirvana song, "Drain You". It's somewhat representative of my experience of being in the company of fellow non-believers (regarding religion, that is).
I don't believe in any Gods. It's a position I've come to through much that I've experienced in my 42 (soon to be 43) years on this big, blue orb.
I was baptised Catholic. I attended Sunday School, up until the age of about 7. This was by way of my Nana and Grampy, who were raising me during my very early years while my mother went off to 'find herself'. Fortunately for us all, she achieved that goal slightly before I turned 8 years old. But, I digress.
It must've been around the age of 19 or 20 when I really got hit with what I like to refer to as the 'harsh realities' of rational thinking. Investigating the 'whys' and 'hows' rather than opting for the recommended 'believe it because it's in the Bible' nonsense.
So, some years having passed and my having come into contact with all varying degrees of atheists and non-believers, one thing I find discomforting is the 'always on' defense of the aforementioned. I'm gonna admit to having been defensive in my younger years regarding my certainty (as some would call it) that this life is basically without meaning and that all meaning is derived from our perceptions. As time has gone by, I've been less about proving religion wrong as I've been sitting back and rejoicing in the never-ending discoveries of modern science that drive religion (and it's self-professed explanations of the world) further and further into the margins of society. I don't have to defend my viewpoint as vehemently as I once used to, because facts and scientific advancement and geological evidence are doing that for me.
I thinks it's counterproductive, for example, to seek out theists on social sites such as Twitter and constantly point out their logical fallacies. I'm not saying that one should not present facts against fiction when the fiction is directly aimed at YOU, however. Trolling posts for theists and their numerous inaccuracies and delusions......as a mission......seems to me to cast a poor light on atheists as a whole.
And on another note....can atheists just relax a little bit when dealing with each other? Why must it always be about who has read the most books by (insert atheist/humanist author here) or how many 'anti-theism' websites one belongs to? Is that really some sort of accomplishment when what we're all talking about is the fact that we've come to no logical basis for believing in a deity?
Religion may or may not go away someday. I take joy in the fact that more and more churches are closing every year due to low attendance. I rejoice in the 'no religion specified' factor of society that grows exponentially, month by month.
There's no need to be so forceful in day-to-day interactions with regular people regarding religion. It seems to me to be fading away without the assistance of me....or you. Logic and reason will win. Sit back and enjoy the progress.
