Happiness Beats God. | Teen Ink

Happiness Beats God.

February 22, 2010
By Princeling BRONZE, Kent, Other
Princeling BRONZE, Kent, Other
2 articles 0 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure."


The Oxford dictionary is wrong: atheism is not the belief that God does not exist; it is the lack of belief in God. For me I am an atheist the same way I am an a-fairyist and an a-Santa-Clausist. I shouldn’t even have to say it. The fact that I do have to tell people at all is strange. I’m the one with the non-belief, why is it always me who has to explain myself to your belief?

You don’t have to understand it. You could think I’m wrong, though 95 percent of the time the arguments Christians present me with are erroneous and show a complete lack of understanding about evolution, the big bang theory, or even religion itself. (And trying to argue creationism makes me barf a little in my mouth, to be honest.) But here’s the big question: why are you arguing with me at all? I’m atheist. Big whoopdeedoo. I’m not going around bashing Christianity (unless one is chiefly talking about Church corruption and not belief), and I don’t even try to argue my side unless you intentionally provoke me with a nonsensical debate I can’t help debunking. I respect your belief, so why can’t you respect my non-belief? Please. Don’t pray for me. Don’t ‘understand’ me and then condescendingly tell me I’m going to hell, which I don’t believe in either.

For me, religion, or even the lack of religion, is not a big deal. I can survive. I can be moral. I can be happy, and yes, I can be fulfilled. If you need God, if you believe in Jesus – by all means, go ahead. I’m not stopping you, nor am I trying to stop you. But the patronising way many Christians regard atheists is unbearable. If you’re not one of them, I love you. Think I’m wrong all you like. Just don’t say it to my face and don’t try to convert me. I can be your neighbour, I can help you, I can love you without believing in what is for me a fairytale. (And, quite frankly, if you believe I’m an ignorant fool who doesn’t know anything about religion, then I am atheist all the more. How can I believe in something without understanding it? I don’t understand it and couldn’t understand it anymore than you can understand why I’m atheist. Besides, more than likely you hardly understand anything about it either, and was just brought up to believe. Which is fine, just don’t try to preach your ignorance at me in a condescending way, it kills me.)

I am not confused. It is true, I cannot prove to you God does not exist anymore than you can prove to me he does. You can try, if you like. But you won’t succeed anymore than I would in doing the opposite. Hell, (By Jove, cheesy pun intended!) it doesn’t even matter to me if God really, really, really exists or not. I have never felt a higher divine being somewhere up there. I have never felt I needed someone to talk to, to rely on, to believe in. I have never needed God, and I never will. I always felt stupid when my mother told me to pray, because I never truly believed anyone was listening. My logic tells me I couldn’t believe in God even if I wanted to. As for what created the universe, there are many theories, but I don’t care. I’m just trying to live. Without God.

Why? Because all that is necessary for me is my self-belief. I work hard and trust in my own abilities. I don’t need help from God, and I get myself through hard times by relying on myself, my family and my friends, all of whom are 100 percent real, tangible people. I create my own future, and my own past. I set myself my own challenges, or life does. And I get through it because I’m strong. Sometimes it is lonely. Sometimes it is hard. This is life, people. Life is not easy, but I am determined to make something of it with my own hands, because it is precious and only comes once. What more, I make my own accountability. I suffer the consequences of what I do, but it’s alright because everything is my own choice, my own decision. I do all this without the need to believe. For me, God is not truth. Happiness is. I can be happy without God, and that is true.

If you need to, if you want to, if you were brought up to believe, if you were converted: then believe. It is your choice. Just like atheism is mine, though to be honest it is more a natural state of mind than a conscious choice. Don’t hate me for it; it won’t do you any favours in the literal or divine sense. Why be so defensive if you ‘know’ you’re right? Class me as a loony bin, I’m a pretty happy one, thanks. I prefer to spend my life enjoying the physical, tangible world we call life than chasing phantoms neither you nor I can prove is real. Even inexhaustible philosophical questions like “Who am I” are more interesting to me than the question of God. At least I know that the metaphysical human identity exists for sure, whatever it is.

Life is beautiful, and so is love. This is something everyone can agree on and believe in. Life is sometimes simpler than you think. Instead of the pursuit of God, I choose to make my path the pursuit of happiness. This is what I believe.


The author's comments:
The ignorance and bigotry on this website frustrated and then inspired me.

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This article has 97 comments.


on Jul. 29 2011 at 8:18 am
andromeda13 SILVER, Barrie, Other
8 articles 0 photos 174 comments
Every one is entitled too their own opinions, and i'm fine with that i accept it. i'm an athiest and i have several really good friends who are Christian, and it doesn't bother me, i don't argue withthem because then i wouldn't be a friend. i don't deny the fact that God is real it just doesn't feel real too me.

on Jun. 15 2011 at 6:39 pm
secrets_of_silence GOLD, Gisborne, Other
12 articles 0 photos 439 comments

Favorite Quote:
life had i loved the more<br /> had it but passed away<br /> as quietly as the day<br /> ebbs from the darkening star.<br /> <br /> <br /> -emanuel litvinoff

woould you say you are a determinist?

Shadow878 GOLD said...
on May. 24 2011 at 2:53 pm
Shadow878 GOLD, Marion, Indiana
10 articles 0 photos 32 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.&quot; Matthew 18:3<br /> <br /> &quot;Do not pray for easy lives, pray to be stronger men.&quot; JFK<br /> <br /> &ldquo;Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.&rdquo;Albert Einstein<br /> <br /> &quot;I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.&quot;<br /> C. S. Lewis <br /> <br /> &quot;A young man who wishes to remain a sound atheist cannot be too careful of his reading.&quot;<br /> C. S. Lewis <br /> <br /> &quot;Anyone who doesn&rsquo;t believe in miracles is not a realist.&quot;<br /> David Ben-Gurion<br /> <br /> &quot;An eye for an eye makes the world go blind&quot; Gandi

uhm i can prove that invisbale pink bunnies don't exsite, it's actually queit simple. If they are pink they would reflect light of in the wave lenghts in the color of pink. Oh yeah! However you got a point however you can't prove evolution. you haven't seen a single cell evolve from to a human. And before you start radleing off evolution has evidence. Try looking up some evidence for god because it's there you just choose to not belive in it. The same way as i look at the evidence for evolution and belive it is only patterns that the human mind has picked up that really mean nothing

Shadow878 GOLD said...
on May. 24 2011 at 2:44 pm
Shadow878 GOLD, Marion, Indiana
10 articles 0 photos 32 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.&quot; Matthew 18:3<br /> <br /> &quot;Do not pray for easy lives, pray to be stronger men.&quot; JFK<br /> <br /> &ldquo;Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.&rdquo;Albert Einstein<br /> <br /> &quot;I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.&quot;<br /> C. S. Lewis <br /> <br /> &quot;A young man who wishes to remain a sound atheist cannot be too careful of his reading.&quot;<br /> C. S. Lewis <br /> <br /> &quot;Anyone who doesn&rsquo;t believe in miracles is not a realist.&quot;<br /> David Ben-Gurion<br /> <br /> &quot;An eye for an eye makes the world go blind&quot; Gandi

Well acording to an athiest love is a chemical recation which can be prevoked by certain things happeing in your life. It really has no meaning it's just evolutions way of making babies. And it can also proably be attained one day with certain drugs. Even choclate tends to induce the same reaction. If you belive that, personaly i think your lost. However there is no way to prove love is more than a chemical reaction in the brain. I don't belive true happiness is achiveable without true love but once agian i can't prove that. However you can prove me wrong. Somting for you to think about maybe. But who know maybe thinking love is more is being lost. But then gain maybe not

on Apr. 16 2011 at 4:11 pm
Destinee BRONZE, Oakville, Other
3 articles 0 photos 303 comments

Favorite Quote:
Blegh. - Abraham Lincoln

You said: "Her point is that some negative beliefs are more reasonable than others".

Therefore, without objective evidence, you are claiming that not believing in God (which I'm calling believing in no God, and you're calling lack of a belief in God), is more reasonable than others, which you not objectively tested in your comment either. 

And in the case of something universal, like a religion, the amount of adherents do IN FACT play a role in whether or not its true. A religion is meant to satisfy people. If it has more adherents, it has clearly fulfilled its part b/c people have converted to it. << Feel free to disagree, I realise what I'm saying is an opinion.

on Apr. 15 2011 at 12:00 pm
blues_are.still_blue BRONZE, Southampton, Pennsylvania
3 articles 0 photos 109 comments

Favorite Quote:
This sentence is false.<br /> - Unknown

the point is that it SHOULDN'T be a "who" making the the decision. All views which claim authenticity should be subjected to objective testing. Not opinions. The fact that most people believe in god doesnt make it reasonable.

on Apr. 15 2011 at 12:07 am
Destinee BRONZE, Oakville, Other
3 articles 0 photos 303 comments

Favorite Quote:
Blegh. - Abraham Lincoln

Obviously the vast majority of humankind, both presently and historically, have found belief in God(s) to be reasonable. Who's to decide? 

on Mar. 19 2011 at 12:31 am
blues_are.still_blue BRONZE, Southampton, Pennsylvania
3 articles 0 photos 109 comments

Favorite Quote:
This sentence is false.<br /> - Unknown

Her point is that some negative beliefs are more reasonable than others.

on Mar. 19 2011 at 12:27 am
blues_are.still_blue BRONZE, Southampton, Pennsylvania
3 articles 0 photos 109 comments

Favorite Quote:
This sentence is false.<br /> - Unknown

To the person claiming God=happiness and no god=unhappiness, prove it.

on Mar. 19 2011 at 12:23 am
blues_are.still_blue BRONZE, Southampton, Pennsylvania
3 articles 0 photos 109 comments

Favorite Quote:
This sentence is false.<br /> - Unknown

I wrote an article in the same vein as this recently. TeenInk.com/hot_topics/what_matters/article/297210/Faith-Based-Fallacies/

on Mar. 19 2011 at 12:23 am
blues_are.still_blue BRONZE, Southampton, Pennsylvania
3 articles 0 photos 109 comments

Favorite Quote:
This sentence is false.<br /> - Unknown

Awesome article. I read it and instantly thought of the one i wrote a couple weeks ago; i think you'll enjoy it :)

TeenInk.com/hot_topics/what_matters/article/297210/Faith-Based-Fallacies/

 


Spenser BRONZE said...
on Feb. 8 2011 at 6:51 pm
Spenser BRONZE, Amawalk, New York
1 article 0 photos 7 comments
How shortseighted. His happiness is as real as my happiness is as real as your happiness, regardless of whether or not the person in question has God in his or her life. To insist otherwise is to be a complete jerk.

on Feb. 3 2011 at 6:10 pm
InkMakesIntrestingFingerprints BRONZE, Alvarado, Texas
1 article 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I win! Crap, that means I lost. Agh, this games is so confusing!&quot; All of my friends, said very, very many times.

No, it's not. Without God, you do not know true love, or true happiness.

on Dec. 30 2010 at 12:20 pm
Internal-Love PLATINUM, Queens, New York
33 articles 3 photos 310 comments

Favorite Quote:
Nothing&#039;s black or white, its all just a shade of gray---<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> TI &quot;Live your Life&quot; ft Rihanna

i liked when you said atheism is lacking the belief in God

Being fully and completely honest, I'm an athiest, myself. i respect people who are religious, but I'm just not one of them. i know how it feels to say you dont choose your beliefs. To me, religion is a matter of beliefs (and i know millions disagree). The only time I've been religious was a short period of time in 5th grade. Other then that, I'm clear. people say I'm too young to be an athiest but i say your never too young to know what your naturally just believe in or not. You do or you dont. Simple as that. i remember i was sick for a period of time, and i prayed because i knew thats what other people did. i felt a little better because i was comforted by feeling like i was normal. But when i did, i felt no meaning to it. Not that meaning you feel when you feel it with all your heart and soul like your supposed to. So yeah, i lack the belief, as you say. i never told people about being an athiest cause it made me different. And my mom is strongly religious and I'd be breaking her heart and she's tried to change me. But it cant happen cause the meaning will still be gone.  That's how i knew. The mention of religion would get me uncomfortable but after reading this, i got a bit more confident. So yeah, i could be a good person. i could be a moral person, i could be happy. Just not religious, but that doesn't change much about me. It doesn't have to be something that divides people. i like alot of religious people but it isn't their belief i focus on. Look at me.............I'm posting an article.................


on Nov. 29 2010 at 7:31 pm
Munch. an original one, Nowhere, Other
0 articles 0 photos 3 comments
i have no god soi find my happiness elsewhere and its as real your happiness.

on Nov. 8 2010 at 1:12 pm
Destinee BRONZE, Oakville, Other
3 articles 0 photos 303 comments

Favorite Quote:
Blegh. - Abraham Lincoln

Nope, you can't. What's your point? YOU claim it to be ridiculous that a pink bunny is revolving around the earth, but it's not scientifically provable that it's not there, and someone claiming that something is ridiculous doesn't prove anything.

Unless, of course, you say that the pink bunny would exert some sort of gravitational force on earth, or vice versa, whereas God doesn't. Or, at least, He doesn't in my mind.

on Nov. 7 2010 at 2:51 pm
Princeling BRONZE, Kent, Other
2 articles 0 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure.&quot;

You can't prove there's no invisible pink bunny undetectable by human means revolving around the earth either.

on Nov. 7 2010 at 1:19 pm
PuzzleLuver SILVER, Powell, Ohio
6 articles 0 photos 51 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life&quot; John 3:16

There cannot be True happiness without God.

on Oct. 24 2010 at 11:12 pm
Destinee BRONZE, Oakville, Other
3 articles 0 photos 303 comments

Favorite Quote:
Blegh. - Abraham Lincoln

Actually, the Oxford dictionary is right, like Scarecrow pointed out. If you can't disprove God, then you are "believing" He doesn't exist. 

Sort of like how if you were a kid and went downstairs when Santa was supposed to come, and you saw your parents, that would be disproving Santa's existence (or at least as far as your parents had told you his habits were). Therefore, it's not a belief to not think he exists. But if you went downstairs and nobody was there, you believe Santa doesn't exist. Because you haven't proved that he didn't place the gifts there.

on Sep. 27 2010 at 12:39 am
Scarecrow BRONZE, Vancouver, Washington
3 articles 0 photos 20 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;A father is a banker provided by nature.&quot;<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> -French Proverb

And what Kind of God do you believe in exactly?