I am an atheist. I do not believe in God or religion.

I understand that 75% of Americans claim to believe in God, and that I am in the minority. But this is not new, I’m not your average American anyway.

I have a huge problem with the idea of original sin. That I be condemned for the actions of others, in particular others who are said to have existed thousands of years ago, is absurd. I accept responsibility for my actions, and do not require the framework of religion to act in an ethical manner, or to act to better the world. It is enough for me to see my actions make life better for others. I don’t require a promise of heavenly reward to spur me to action. “Do you really believe that all our problems stem from a woman being deceived by a talking snake?”

I acknowledge that my consciousness is limited. When I place my focus on a certain idea or desire, it is natural that I would notice manifestations in the physical world that are related to my area of focus. This is not prayer, nor are the manifestations I become aware of the answer to a prayer by some omnipotent being. Visualization serves to create an expectation in my mind of what I hope to perceive, and in some instances I do in fact, perceive what I desire. There is no cause and effect relationship. I said for many years that I believed in karma. Actually what I believed was that my focus would make me aware of like manifestations, and so the actions I undertook would make me see similar actions by others. This is not a proof that there is a supreme being exacting retribution on behalf of others. “Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day; give him religion, and he’ll starve to death praying for a fish.”

My ethics leave no room for killing others. This is true both for myself and for the state which acts in my name, whether it be killing in other countries through war or killing other citizens through capital punishment. I am troubled by the hypocrisy of religious believers, who in spite of a commandment against killing, support a government which not only condones killing but actively pursues killing those of other belief systems. My belief stems not from any religious doctrine but from a conviction that I have no right to take the life of another. Life is something we will have for a limited time, and we are to enjoy it and use it to our best ability. “Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt tortured, fined and imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity.” Thomas Jefferson

In practice, I have a problem with the way people ‘cherry-pick’ the beliefs that they will follow. Selective memory, or outright twisting of dogma to meet your own agenda, seems to be the way religion is practiced around the world. We would all be better off if we stuck to reason, logic and rationality in our relationship with the world. There is no need for a God to be involved for you to do the right thing for others. You already know what is right.

If you agree and would like T-shirts, mugs or bumper stickers with sayings and pictures that advertise our beliefs, please visit my website:

http://www.galactictrading.com