Bill Haygood

Religion

I became a member of the "Mormon" Church in my youth. In late 1982, I started thinking for myself and left the church in January of 1983 to embrace atheism. Most people are atheists, but they do not realize it and certainly will not admit it. In the United States, many people claim that they are Christians, however, Although there likely are a few such people, I have never met anyone who gave me the impression that s/he made any real effort to live the teachings of Jesus. Although I could be wrong, I also have the impression that I have given more and deeper thought to the question of religion than has anyone I have met. I have subjected myself to more intensive and painful personal scrutiny and questioning than most people would be willing to submit themselves. For example, one of the many questions that I asked myself was this: "What do I actually know about any god aside from what other people have said or written?" Hint: the answer to that question is one of the most fundamental, and profound, that you will ever find in your search for truth. Although I do not believe in the existence of any god, my personal belief is that the ethical teachings of Jesus (e.g., "Love thy neighbor as thyself") are very useful for good interpersonal relationships (today, we refer to them as "enlightened self-interest"). That is the reason that I refer to myself as a "non-religious, ethical Christian." But, I believe, Jesus' religious teachings (e.g., "I go to prepare a place for you") have no meaning except to those who are easily led by vacuous arguments. My observations of the ways that "believers" live their lives lead me to the conclusion that they do not really believe the religious teachings. The ethical teachings of the other great religious teachers (e.g., the Old Testament authors, Buddha, Mohammad, even teachers of ethics [e.g., Aristotle, but not politicians]) over the centuries can equally be applied because, due to commonality, they are virtually co-equal to the ethical teachings of Jesus. As for me, I have never been happier nor more free of guilt trips in my life. Thank god I am an atheist!

The Mormons

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