I met a creationist one day. The creationist was spouting about how the bible was the word of God. None of it really bothered me. Why should it? I believed in God, too, though I wouldn’t go harping the bible as he did. However, it wasn’t God’s message that was bothering me, but when he started to trespass on things I knew were true, something inside me snapped, and I just had to analyze.
I started reading the bible to see if the scientific claims the creationist were claiming to be true were supported in there or not. Sure enough, everything the creationist told me was backed up by the bible. The theory of evolution and the big bang theory were compromised. I also discovered that God was a very immoral being. I had no choice but to disbelieve it. I became an atheist shortly after.
As Christians would make you believe, life as an atheist isn’t easy. If an atheist needs support of his beliefs, there’s no church to run to. If an atheist broke free from a religious family, then they are isolated from them, too. The atheist must seek out like minded people for support. This becomes difficult due to the taboo surrounded by atheist. Christians would love to silence atheists due to their ability to challenge authority, and possibly lead others away from God. It’s extremely difficult being an atheist at times.
The good side of atheism is the freedom of knowing that there is no Hell to fear. There is no need to live in fear. Choices and life decisions can be based purely off rational thought, instead of traditions that didn’t make any sense anymore. The bible is not a book that governs behavior, but just another fable. Knowing that it is okay not to have all the answers creates mystery and marvel on its own. Knowing that this could be the only life an atheist has is a treasure in itself, for the atheist has more reason to live life to the fullest. For the atheist, there is no second chance in heaven.