I considered myself agnostic for a while. I thought it was smart to question everything. Such as the existence of a higher power. I had always sort of leaned toward atheism though. It seemed fishy that there is some big guy sitting up there controlling every part of our lives. One of the reasons I champion atheism now is I seriously think religion is dangerous. Just imagine there was no religion. There would be no civil war in Iraq. There would have never been a Holocaust. At least not on the level at which it the Holocaust was. I think it is stupid that presidential candidates pretty much have to state which religion they follow. Once they do, it is mentioned constantly. Such as Mitt Romney being Mormon. Every time you hear his name you hear the word Mormon. Religion is one of the main reasons for hate in our society as well as others. Just look at Ireland. If there was no difference between a Catholic and a Protestant then there would probably be no IRA or bombings. If you look at the list of notable people who are atheists, there is one thing you may notice. Let's see if you notice it.
-Abraham Lincoln
-Albert Einstein
-Isaac Asimov
-Ernest Hemingway
-Charles Darwin
-Benjamin Franklin
-Carl Sagan
-Dave Matthews
-George Carlin
-Elizabeth Cady-Stanton
-Voltaire
-Galileo Galilei
-Frank Zappa
-David Gilmour
-Billy Joel
-Helen Keller
-James Madison
-John Adams
-Karl Marx
-Marilyn Manson
-Kurt Vonnegut
-Napoleon
-Penn Gillette
That's enough for now. What I'm hoping you noticed is that all these people are pretty smart. Some geniuses. I don't think it is a coincidence that they are all like that. As Ernest Hemingway put it, "all thinking men are atheists." This may be the most true statement ever uttered. Next time you consider religion, consider the downsides as well as being killed by God for not believing.
