ALC

Hello and Happy Saturday!

First up, I wish to thank James Randi for his post last week- if you haven't had the chance to check it out, please do! Thank you James!

This week, YMR has a new post. Please welcome ALC.
ALC is an Atheist and I know you will enjoy this next post as well!

ALC

1) What religion do you practice?
I don't practice any religion nor do I believe that any tri-omni gods exist.

2) Did you convert or were you or were you born into this religion? If you converted, what did you need to do to convert? And what did you practice prior to converting?
There is no such thing as being born into a religion. However many people just take their parent's religion as their own. I was born to religious family and rejected the truth of its claims around the age of 16.

3) Would you consider yourself a moderate, conservative or other.
I don't think such labels apply to atheists.

4) What's your heaven/paradise like?
What you see right now. My heaven is living the best life possible in the real world. I don't need to invent a fantasy world which I hope to enter some day.

5) In your opinion, does everyone make it into heaven/paradise?
Of course - anyone that wants could live the best possible life they could have.

6) What makes your religion a good fit for you?
I've always been a fan of reality. I enjoy understanding how the world works at the deepest possible level. I would not like to live a deluded lifestyle where I think that there is some "other world" that is infinitely good.

7) What are your holy days and what do you do to celebrate them?
I don't have holy days. However I do celebrate happy days such as birthdays, anniversaries, graduation, and many other events.

8) Do you consider people of other faiths to be your friends?
I try very hard to make friends with people who believe different things than I do, perhaps I can learn something from them. Many times my friends have taught me something I didn't know before and therefore caused me to change my mind.

9) Would you ever join people of another faith to celebrate one of their holy days? Please explain why?
Why not? As long as its fun and there are interesting people to talk to I'll go anywhere.

10) What are your thoughts on the burka, and Shariah Law?
Shariah law is a morally corrupt system that should be eradicated. As a long as the woman in question *wants* to wear a burka I'm fine with it. However if she wants to where the burka only because she will get acid thrown in her face if she doesn't than I'd say there is a problem.

11) What are your thoughts on women not being allowed to become priests?
Women are not very different than men. While there *are* some slight differences attempting to use stereotypes in that way leads to the locker room fallacy .

12) Does your place of worship segregate? If yes, how does this make you feel?
I don't have a specific place of worship. Segregation in morally wrong - period.

13) How much does your religion affect your daily life and how much thought do you give it when making a decision? Does it affect in any way your decision on abortion, gay marriage, etc?
My lack of religion barely affects my daily life. I make sure to give every important decision I make enough thought to come to the most rational conclusion. I would hope that no ones' religion affects their decision on abortion or gays rights. People should always do what is morally right.

14) How would you react/feel if your child wished to marry outside your religion?
As long as they made the choice on their own, based on their own faculties of reason and logic, I would have no problem with whatever my child did. If someone was pressuring them to make a bad choice - I would try and dissuade my child from making that choice.

15) In your opinion, if someone is not of your faith, will they go to hell?
There is no such thing as hell.

16) Who do you think is not a practicing ----in your religion and why? ie who in the public domain claims to speak for your religion? Do you agree with them or not?
There are many people who claim to speak for atheists. None of them speak for *all* atheists but many of them speak for many atheists. Among them are Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and others.

17) Have you ever been the target of a hate crime? Please explain.
Yes. Whenever I use United States currency (which says "in god we trust") or hear someone recite the pledge of allegiance (the line about "one nation under god") I get told that I am not a real patriot because I don't have any imaginary friends called "god".

18) Do you ever feel like your religion devalues you?
No. Understanding reality shows your value and any delusions to the contrary devalue that.

19) Does your religion give you peace of mind?
No. Just lacking a belief in any mythological being does not provide me with peace of mind. However since I only care about reality and don't have to worry about a jealous petty god I find that peace of mind comes much easier than it does for religious people.

20) Do you believe in reincarnation? Why or why not?
There is no rational reason to believe that I will be reincarnated.