I have now argued that the proofs of the existence of gods are wrong and that the ideas of gods contain all manner of contradictions and absurdities. Now I will turn to other issues, such as morality and the dangers that religious thinking contains.

Are the Gods Worthy of Worship?

Even if the god of the Bible one day proves his existence to me, I wouldn’t worship him (though I would of course believe in him), because if you try to take a look at the Bible and see how it describes God’s behaviour, then you’ll quickly see, that he commits one despicable act after another.

He kills all the first-born of Egypt, mainly for something that he himself makes a pharaoh do (Exo 7:13 and Exo 13:15). He seems to endorse slavery (Lev 25:44-46), rape (2 Sam 12:11), murder (Lev 20:9) and the slaughtering of those who aren’t a part of his chosen people (Deu 2:21). He makes bears rip apart 42 children, simply because they mocked a prophet (2 Kin 2:24). One could go on for a very long time just listing the atrocities that the god of the Bible has committed or endorsed, and it boggles the mind that anyone would want to worship him.

Not only is God apparently committing acts that are abhorrent to most humans, he is also the reason that I was born with the personality I have, and with his omniscience he must have known that I would be an atheist. He would have to know that I value proof above blind faith. Therefore it follows that when he created everything, he knew that I and countless others, were destined to burn in the Hell he created.

Furthermore let’s say, for the sake of argument, that before I die, I convert and become a Christian and end up in Heaven. However some of the people I love might not be there, since they aren’t baptised, they could be tormented in Hell instead (1 Pet 3:21). How am I to live in eternal happiness while knowing this? Even if we for the sake of the argument assume that God can change me to be able to live that way, then that's not the kind of person I want to be.

Some may argue that most of the atrocities that God has committed belong to an earlier age – the one described in the Old Testament – and that with the coming of Jesus and the founding of Christianity the main message is now about love. I don’t take much notice of such an argument however, because of the following words of Jesus: "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." (Mat 5:18) – as far as I know the Heaven and the Earth haven't passed yet. Furthermore Jesus with all his messages of love also had this message: “But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.” (See http://ffrf.org/nontracts/jesus.php for a look a critical look at Jesus’ teachings.)

This section has only dealt with the Christian god, but many of the other gods that I've heard about is no better than the Christian god - Allah, for example, brings a painful doom to anyone who doesn’t believe his every word (2:7 and 4:150-151). There are of course also gods who are less violent, but considering all the violence and evil they allow in the world, I also have a hard time finding them worthy of worship.

The Dangers of Religion

Not only do religious people waste their time in devotion to cruel and non-existing gods, they also represent a dangerous system of thought.

The dangers come from the fact that religion can make people absolutely certain that they are in possession of divine and infallible truth, and that this allows them to do whatever they like to anyone who doesn’t do what their interpretation of the religion demands. As Voltaire succinctly put it: “Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”

History has shown us one example after another of the atrocities of religion. The Christian crusades led to numerous wars and the massacre of hundreds of thousands of innocent people. The witch trials exemplify how badly the juridical system can be perverted by religion, and tens of thousands of people were executed without any possibility of defending themselves against the baseless accusations, and many were tortured during their trials.

Today we see how religious fanatics blow themselves and innocent children up, and fill their pockets with nails, so that the explosions can maim even more people.

Furthermore religion have time and again been used to oppress people and force them to abide by dehumanizing rules, and it stops free thought dead in its tracks, which makes it even easier to prevent people from improving their lot and question their dictators.

All of these things make me so angry, that I struggle to put it into words. How dare such people presume to make themselves lords of their neighbours, based on a book filled with blessings of violence, rape and war written by primitive people millennia ago?

Religion can also be physically dangerous to the believers. Blood transfusions, for example, are not allowed by some religions and some, such as the members of the Christian sect called Christian Science, turn to prayer instead of doctors and medicine.

Furthermore religion can also give people reasons for not helping others. The Karmic Law for instance basically leads to the conclusion, that if you have an illness or is born with a defect, then it’s your own fault – and is caused by something you did in this or another life. This is, in my opinion, a detestable point of view.

Morality

Atheists are often told by theists that since they aren't religious, they can’t behave morally. However I think it says quite a bit about the morality of those saying such things. Who is really the more moral person, he who behaves well by his own volition, or he who only behaves well because he’s threatened with the eternal torment of hell?

Furthermore even Christians tend to put their own moral standards above those given by their god, this can be seen from the way they pick and choose among the numerous commandments of the Bible. They don't accept them all, they only select those that are consistent with their own internal moral compass, and this undermines arguments based on a superior god given morality.

I also don’t find it the moral thing to do, to worship a being who has numerous atrocities on his conscience, and I find it quite ironic that the Bible is called “The Good Book”.

The fact that people seem let the opinions of priests carry greater weight in matters of ethics and morality baffles me. As I see it, it's as if people accept arguments like the following:

'I have this invisible friend – I can't show you that he exists, but trust me, he does. He's childish, cruel and vindictive and his morals belong to a society that is completely different from ours. I want to carry out his will together with my sexist organization who have time and again shown that when it gets sufficient power it will oppress, kill or torture those who don't agree with it. Therefore I should have a greater say in matters of ethics and morality.'

This argument would of course be a laughing stock – that is until someone calls his invisible friend God, then it's suddenly deemed to be reasonable.

The Advantages of Atheism

Some see a disadvantage in the lack of “magic” in the world of the atheist – I don’t. I think that the real world is awe inspiring without the filter of religion. As the author Douglas Adams puts it: “Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”

Religion limits people by imposing nonsensical rules created by humans in a totally different society. Atheism on the other hand sets us free. It breaks down the barriers that exist between persons, who each have their own version of the “one true belief”, and atheists don’t have to feel guilty for enjoying beer, pork or sex.

Should Religion be Exempt from Critique and Satire?

There seems to be a wide spread acceptance of the idea that it’s wrong to criticize other people’s religious ideas, and while political satire is completely acceptable, religious satire isn’t. I must admit that the reasoning behind this eludes me.

If someone believes that the best way to combat unemployment is to chop off everybody’s hands, then no one would demand that we respect this point of view and think it beyond critique or satire. Why then is it that such demands are made regarding the dangerous and absurd claims of religion?

I won’t respect a point of view that is arguably silly and morally abhorrent to me, and I will reserve the right to criticize it with or without the use of satire. On the other hand I accept the right of others to hold such points of view.

By putting religion beyond critique, we risk being stuck in a quagmire of religious ignorance, oppression and violence.

On the other hand we shouldn’t mock religion, but there’s a difference between mocking and satire. Mocking is simply putting other people down, while satire is a useful tool for making a point clearer through the use of humour and exaggeration.

Conclusion

Though I have spent a considerable amount of time reading, thinking and arguing about religion, I of course haven’t investigated each and every imaginable god and each and every argument. I can’t definitely prove that a god can’t possibly exist. I have, however, looked into several religions, and can argue that their gods are implausible or simply impossible.

This leads me to the point that has finally made me conclude that no god exists, and I would like to end this essay with a small parable that illustrates it.

Once upon a time a hermit lived in a cave near the top of a tall mountain. The entrance of the cave was next to a plateau, which had a sharp edge leading to a long and steep fall.

People often came to the plateau and many stopped by the cave and talked to the hermit. Each and every one of these people fervently believed that if they jumped off the edge while flapping their arms vigorously and chanting a magic word, then they would be able to fly.

Each and every one of them were convinced that the magic word they were using were the right one, and each and every one of them crashed into the cliffs below the edge.

After years of this happening the hermit got tired of listening to the visitors’ rambling stories about how fantastic their particular magic word was, and he finally put up a sign outside his cave. It read:

No, your magic word won’t work, and if you are sure that it will anyway, then please don’t come and tell me about it, until it really has made you fly.