EMail This Page - Print

Matt Hunter
Thus Spoke the Huntsman

I remember when I was a child watching George Carlin. Man, was that guy funny - even if I didn't get all of his social references. Then I heard it: "There is no God. He is a storybook character." I was stunned. My heart dropped into my stomach and I stopped laughing instantly. How can someone say that? Why would they say that? Little did I know that was going to plant the seed of doubt in my spiritual growth - or decay.

Flash forward to three years ago. I made the decision not to believe in God for relatively inconsequential reasons, but I remain firm and want to meet others like myself. It seemed I was the only one in the world who didn't believe in an all-knowing, all-powerful parent figure in the sky. So I went to American Atheist meetings. I still remember the jokes cracked about that. "I am headed to the AA meeting tonight." The usual response to that was, "Oh, the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting?" Clever.

But were they so far off? Could this be an Atheists Anonymous meeting? Somewhere I can go to come to terms with my disbelief? My thoughts instantly went to a circle of chairs inside a recreation center's side room. "Hi, my name is Matt, and I don't believe in God."

Regardless of what I thought, the stigma was still there. I tied all of the accusations together. Atheists are immoral, atheists have no consequence for their actions, and atheists want everyone else to be atheist. The stigma ran deep.

It's predominantly leaders of the Christian community that make it even harder for us.

Whether it's Pat Robertson telling us it's our fault that 9/11 happened or Starr Jones stating that she doesn't think atheists should be allowed to vote, it's all running into the same cesspool of bigotry and degradation. People get all up in arms when African Americans and homosexuals get bashed, but when it's about an atheist, the American public is almost saying, "Well, you deserve it."

It's a sick and wretched state of affairs that we have been forced to a life of constant ridicule. Misconceptions have flooded the atheistic community for as long as someone dared to say, "There is no God." Statements like "Atheists are intolerant," "Atheists live a meaningless life," "Atheists have no concept of right and wrong" and "Atheists can't be good Americans" have turned the word "atheist" into a derogatory word.

I am a proud atheist and I encourage other humanists, secularists, agnostics and atheists to research their lack of faith and grow from it. As much as the faithful attempt to convert by ridicule, stay strong in your convictions. And no matter how much a pastor in Texas may say atheism is a disease or Christian Scientists say it is a mental disorder, you will know that not only are they wrong but seemingly intolerant and refuse to know a real atheist that may change their views about us. Until then, I know there are atheists in foxholes, no matter what anyone says.

Matt is a senior studying architecture. Thus Spoke the Huntsman appears every Tuesday. These views do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Egyptian.