Life 101 - The Life of an Atheist

Whoever coined atheism for non-believers in Christian faith or whatsoever can be categorized as free thinkers.

Free thinkers are also associated with the originator in United Kingdom or even accepted by different kinds of denominational faith.

I met some of them during their radio program here in the Philippines.I even recorded their program intro and extro and their commercial ads.

I have high regards with the group when it comes to managing their businesses in the city.

The first one is a well-known physician, his friend is a businessman and the last one is a teacher.

1. The physician, whom I respected much is a well (literally) of knowledge and the much-sought adviser of the local media when it comes to medical news. He has a happy public life with his family,who's also a professional.
2. The businessman has strings of local businesses that provide jobs to many Filipinos in our region.
3. The teacher is the youngest among the three.He's also happily married and respected by his students.

The local park in our city is often the venue of constant public debate among religions. Spectators can identify the usual debaters among Catholics, Protestants and the FreeThinkers.

I usually see and hear them arguing the accounts from the Bible and even come up with heated episodes. But after an afternoon arguments about faith, all the debaters always rest for personal tete-a-tete over cups of coffee at the gazebo.

Perhaps, my involvement with this people will never rattle my faith in God, but the message they're airing through radio.

I approached my station manager about them, and question their presence at the radio company.

My manager answered, we needed that block time program in order to pay our wages.

Huh! Commercialism is at par when it comes to business in media. In order to survive, we even accept such program by just having a radio disclaimer that the opinion of the host of that particular program is not necessarily the views of the station.

So, there.

Atheism came from the Greek word atheos (without God). Then came skepticism or personal inquiry about the existing knowledge about our faith.

If an atheist or free thinker found loop holes regarding the subject, they will come to a debate about the issue.

Names like Epicurus, Socrates (all Greek philosophers) were accused of being non-believer in God (or theism).

Even modern philosophers, like Bertrand Russell,also rejected the belief in God.

New Atheism is now advocating the view that: "religion should not simply be tolerated but should be countered, criticized, and exposed by rational argument wherever its influence arises."

The source of man's unhappiness is his ignorance of Nature. The pertinacity with which he clings to blind opinions imbibed in his infancy, which interweave themselves with his existence, the consequent prejudice that warps his mind, that prevents its expansion, that renders him the slave of fiction, appears to doom him to continual error. (d'Holbach, The System of Nature)

(Source: Wikipedia)

There are many atheists that I've met and befriended during my college days.

One of them was the head of our communication org., since I was a development communication student before I cross-enrolled in basic maritime course.

When it comes to leadership, I was awed by his decisiveness when implementing programs of our group.

He had accomplished great things for our department. He's the one responsible for launching big concerts and fund-raising events around the campus.

When I asked him why he still attended our subjects in Religion, he smiled and told me that it's just a requirement,a prerequisite in order for him to get his diploma.

But deep inside, his views geared into the reality of life. He always want proof about everything, included the stories from the Bible.

Although, he keeps his personal view about faith, he relies on the practicality of the things he was involved with.

When I met him after a decade, he already got a family of his own.

He said, things were hard but he'll persevere.

I forgot to inquire about his present perspective in life.

Who am I to judge him?

Recently, I've shared a story about an Atheist Diver on my Facebook account.

You be the judge if the Unseen Hands of God is in this story.

To revise the story which I have found at Believing.com, it's about a young atheist diver whose goal is to be an Olympian.

His best friend is a Christian and this atheist didn't mind the stories from the Bible being shared by his friend.

One night, he was about to make a dive at the school's gym when he saw the reflection of his figure like a cross.

He contemplated about his activities and reflected that he really wanted to change his outlook in life.

He surrendered himself to Jesus and what a great feeling he experienced!

And now,entered the maintenance man. The man opened all the lights and had he dove onto the pool, he will surely die because there was no water on it!

Lesson: Don't refuse to believe simply because we cannot see the evidence of God's existence. One day, we will see Him, whether we like it or not (Judgment Day). Whether one can see the light or darkness depends entirely on the decision we made today.

Warning: Don't be an atheist. An atheist is one who hopes the Lord will do nothing to disturb his disbelief.(Sir Francis J. Kong, author, Filipino inspirational speaker and financial analyst)

I hope you made the right decision today.