AN ATHEIST'S PRAYER (expanded version)

To Whom It May Concern:

Grant those who live in blind faith the ability to see the light of reason, that they may understand “faith” to be nothing more than a euphemism for self-imposed ignorance.

Let the self-righteous understand the damaging effects of their contemptuous dismissal of those who do not accept their dogma as truth.

Show those who use religion as an excuse to hate, murder, rape and torture the hypocrisy of their belief systems.

Expose all “holy” writings for the distorted collections of folk tales they truly are.

Clarify for the pious the vast difference between “belief” and “knowledge” and require that they explain such contradictions as:

        God is omnipotent and omniscient but either cannot or will not interfere with natural or manmade calamities. Ergo, he’s either helpless or simply doesn’t care about his precious creation.  Which is it?

        Blastocysts have souls that must be saved, but

the billions of living humans whose suffering could

be alleviated through the results of stem cell research must

be left to “the will of god.”

        Unmarital sex is immoral, but allowing millions of

people to die of STDs is not.  Abortion is murder, but

genocide due to overpopulation is a "lesson."

        The evolutionary process and the age of the planet have been thoroughly proven by scrupulous testing methods, yet millions of people "know" that everything on earth was created at the same time (about 6000 years ago!) and in the same forms they assume today. These same people have also invented something called “intelligent design”, a patently brainless notion, all without a scintilla of proof or a shred of scientific data.

        Religion and morality are often used as synonyms, yet statistics clearly show that those nations which are the most vociferously religious have the highest percentage of both violent and petty crimes.  Conversely, those societies with the smallest number of religious institutions are statistically the healthiest, mentally and physically, and have both a higher per capita income and a lower incidence of homicide and other major crimes, as well as a higher rate of literacy.  They also have generally higher I.Q.’s and a greater ratio of schools to churches than the more religious countries. 

        All holy books are the product of divine inspiration, yet they contradict both one another and themselves on virtually every page. Most of these books also espouse monotheism; this being the case, one would expect the texts to have been “dictated” by the same author. Why then are the readers of one version required to murder those who read another?

        The first four of the Christian bible’s ten commandments, presumably the most important rules ever presented to mankind, are all about the putative author, and have nothing whatsoever to do with the human condition or its morality.  At the same time, this list is considered so important to civilization, many Americans believe it should be displayed in courts of law.   However, if these commandments are so immutable, why is breaking them not punished by death, as demanded by their creator?  Also, if the tenth rule were to be scrupulously followed, wouldn’t that cause the destruction of the capitalist system?  After all, if we didn’t want what our neighbors have, what would become of General Motors and WalMart?

        God is loving and forgiving, but if you fail to praise, worship and placate him every day of your life, he will torture and torment you every day after your death. 

        In conclusion, and most importantly, please allow the religious to honestly appraise the logic of their beliefs, to substitute reason for faith and to admit their incredible arrogance in assuming they are dealing in fact.

Sincerely,

A Foolishly Hopeful Atheist