Faith column ridicules and berates atheists

After reading the sensitive and well-thought-out piece by the Rev. Ethan Hansen (“God rules; fools don’t believe,” June 15) have finally come to completely understand my atheism.

You see, I too, at one time in my life, was a Bible-believing Baptist. Alas, in my early 20s, I began to question the platitudes that represented the church’s rhetoric, and found solace in reason instead. After reading the good reverend’s words, I begin to think about some of the differences that we have between us. As an atheist I submit the following:

• Atheists don’t publicly ridicule people who don’t believe as we do.

• Atheists don’t write articles in the newspaper to call non-atheists fools or to contend that they lead corrupt lives.

• Atheists don’t play on people’s fear, grief, misery or other human emotions and frailties to perpetuate our beliefs.

• Atheists don’t evangelize our beliefs for money.

• Atheists don’t try to control people (and their money) with promises that aren’t or can’t be kept.

• Atheists don’t use indoctrination to further our beliefs.

• Atheists don’t use our beliefs to justify the physical abuse or killing of others with fanatical bombings, wars and such.

• Atheists don’t condone child abuse through “spare the rod and spoil the child” parenting or the marrying off of minors.

• Atheists don’t use doctrine or the power of authority to mentally abuse children (or women for that matter) and sexually exploit them.

• Atheists don’t think that belief in a divine being is necessary to being a good world citizen, parent, neighbor or friend, or to give of ourselves to those in need, or to volunteer our time and resources to our community.

• Atheists don’t spend our money on massive church buildings (read monuments) that are devoid of any useful purpose or service to members most of the time.

• Atheists don’t teach exclusion or hated of others who might be different than we are, such as homosexuals, theists, non-theists, or other-theists.

• Atheists don’t think that some religious belief systems ordain their followers to a heaven, while others condemn their believers to a hell.

• Atheists don’t think that there’s much difference between worshiping a god, whether it be the sun itself, an idol, or god incarnate as man, when it comes to religious superstition. The concepts are all the same.

• Atheists aren’t manipulated or marginalized by men who write such as Reverend Hansen has.

Unfortunately, others may be moved to accept his libelous slant about atheists. I believe that his words have no place in our community or your newspaper. And if your paper continues to have writers that berate a segment your readers and paint them as corrupt fools, then you should rethink who your contributors are or devote space for the berated as well.

I’m sure there are those among your subscribers who would be able to articulate why we should be a community of caring and inclusion, rather than one of name calling and ridicule.

Bill Stanfill

Palmer