Nor am I

Christian

Catholic

Baptist

Church of Christ

Pentecostal

(Insert other Christian denominations here)

Buddhist

Hindu

Jain

Muslim

Fondu

Etcetera

Etcetera

Etcetera

I'm probably Agnostic, which I've been informed is the most cowardly and faithless of all belief systems, but I conform to nothing and refuse a label because I don't really care. I hate the very limiting term "belief system."

In turn, I suppose none of the above matters.

In my observation, to be atheist simply means to believe only what can be proven factually and scientifically or otherwise obviously.

I have total respect for that.

It doesn't mean putting faith in theories, as some would misunderstand and use to call flaw to the atheist "non-existent belief" belief system. It simply means understanding what has been proven, which also means understanding that even these things can (and inevitably will) change.

It means a surgeon is given thanks for his twelve-plus years of medical school when he saves your life.

It means exploration into the unknown and (theoretically) infinite universe.

It means questioning everything on the table that is deserving of interrogation.

It means half of the reason (probably more) that human beings in first world countries have the life expectancy that they have today.

It means that thunder is a result of lightening and not a result of an angry dude throwing bolts down from the sky.

It means, before we damn and shake fingers in the faces of all atheists, we may want to thank our lucky stars they exist or we might still be chanting prayers and bleeding ourselves out of fever instead of taking antibiotics.

It means not using an uppercase A when spelling the word "atheist."

And I have total respect for that.

None can make me, 

None can break me, 

I'm strong, 

I'm responsible for what I'm, 

Or what I do with my life. 

I don't step back,  

coz of some blind believes

Come on, they are blind, 

But I can see. 

I can burn night oil, 

I can accept fall down,  

I again dare to get up.

Self flaws are easier to be forgiven, 

I don't give others power to ruin me, 

I don't spill my failures on GOD's shoulders. 

Yes I am an atheist, 

& I am responsible.

I don't like probability & possibility

Always disliked maths & calculations.

I simply choose to begin with certainty of "Shall WIN".

Only thing I believe is,

Universe is to make me, 

I just have to step up, 

Deleting the reasons to stop.

Believing

In Nothing

Unknown

Not unsure,

Definitely

Assured

That Nothing

Definable

As a deity

                    (Not just capital G.O.D 

                                                         but any gods)

Exists above

Or among us,

Steadfast

Conviction

In science

Reliance

On only

The earthly,

Believing

In Something

Under

The guise of

Nothing

I was born,

formed by the coming together of an egg and a sperm.

My Mother and Father’s DNA fused, developed full term.

There is no higher power, creator, deity or god,

Is a priest or minister that claims so, a fraud?

One creature with magical capacity looking down from above?

A judge and a jury, unforgiving, is not my idea of love.

A spiritual guide, unseen apparition watching all that we do,

Doesn’t this seem like a fantasy or hallucination to you?

I can’t hold onto a belief in something so unscientific.

These stories from ancient times, are certainly terrific.

We are here on this earth, masters of our own fates.

I'm not wasting my time wondering, what someday awaits.

No celestial or divine beings are idols of mine.

I don’t worship in a church, mosque, temple or shrine.

My good deeds and kindness come from within,

I don't need a book to tell me not to sin.

I'm not worried that my soul will be banished to hell,

Because in this life I am happy and treat others well. 

It’s the here and the now, people alive that matter.

So please don’t involve me in your religious chatter.

What happens, Prosers, when you tap the "Write" button?

For me, I'm not sure. The blankness kind of gets to me, and I feel like I have to fill it.

The silence during prayers felt the same way to me as a child.

It felt like no matter how hard I clenched my hands together, they always came up empty after "amen."

Raised religious, baptist actually, I find myself an atheist now.

And I think it's strange how sometimes I'm motivated to pray because a horror movie scared me, or my dad's in bad health again, etc, etc, et cetera, even though I know why.

I only do this because it brings me comfort, not because I believe.

It took me a long time to figure that out.

Because there's a difference, I think, between being a holiday Christian, a bible reader, churchgoer, agnostic, or an atheist.

And that is this:

Whether your beliefs are your question, or your answer.

For me, beliefs are the question.

What do I believe?

In life, I suppose. That we're here, and that's pretty much all I know for certain. Questions bring me joy, discovery, vigor in my everyday.

I can hope that life has meaning, but I don't know, not really. That's why I try so hard, because I'm in a constant state of uncertainty.

Is that hard?

Yeah, actually.

It is very hard sometimes.

But no harder, I think, than when beliefs are your answer.

When something is so automatic, and so sure in your head, that there is no room for an open mind, it must be difficult. Not to say that religion cannot allow for open minds, of course.

It's just that most do not.

And they certainly never worked for me.

I won't pretend to understand the mentality, it's just how it's always appeared to me.

Kind of like drinking the Kool-Aid.

I used to wonder why, why couldn't I act/feel/think/be the same as the other kids who were so, so into it.

But it's okay. I get it, I accept it.

And I've found my alternative.

Beliefs are my question, and I thrive in the not knowing. An adventure, with no map, no scripture.

While I understand guidance, my faith was never placed in the religious kind.

See, I appreciate goodness, and sin.

For what they both offer to me, minus their stigma.

I think, the strongest morals come to those who forge them on their own.

Which is why, when I tap that button, and fill these pages, they're filled with me - my questions, they're in my writing.

And my answers?

Who knows.

An atheist's are much harder to find.

Atheists do not believe in the existence of God,

An outlook many people believe is quite flawed.

No deity's direction,

Pure self-reflection,

On a non-spiritual journey, they aimlessly plod.

    To be an atheist is, essentially, a passive action. Theists believe, but atheists do not not believe, rather, they simply persist with an absence of belief. Synonymous to how our shadows behave, it is an effortless philosophy, demanding no practice or ritualistic behavior to maintain it. Agnostic atheists are, first and foremost, skeptics, as they often prefer questions over answers, especially if proposed 'answers' cannot be proven readily. Even when it comes to more abstract, less dogmatic philosophies that do not involve deities, they find themselves pinching their chins and considering alternatives to ideas presented to them. Happily, they will consider many different ideologies. But, (and sometimes to an annoying degree), they'll play the devil's advocate as they do so, if only to illuminate multiple perspectives at once.

    They resist constraints on thinking, behavior, and lifestyle choices, due to this constant desire to think for themselves. They possess a certain courage, ready to accept that death may, in fact, be simply The End, or that they truly are alone, even if believing in an alternative may make life more pleasant or bearable. 

    On the outside, they may seem narcissistic, or even militant against religions for not upholding any of their practices. Yet, more often than not, because of their nature as skeptics, they are the first people to say 'I don't know', preferring to leave the mysteries of the universe, of existence, of purpose, to individual consideration. This may (or may not) result in a certain humility of the heart, admitting no definitive answers to spiritual questions, and instead embracing life for its inherent value. 

    They are, at heart, blissfully mortal.