Speaking of Imaginary Friends

The following is a letter written by one Kate Burdess of Casper, Wyoming in response to a posting on trib.com. I could not agree with her more. The bolding is by me. =Lefty=)

Editor:

In response to "Atheists' lives too easy," Letter/Feb. 15:

Curt Wartick's recent letter was incredibly biased and misinformed. I find it hard to believe a Christian can even start to grasp the beliefs of an atheist. Having been raised Christian, I understand the general mindset. I remember thinking to myself how sad it was that people just couldn't believe in a god that wanted to love them. However, after reading the Bible numerous times and attending church three times a week for 16 years of my life, I just couldn't live the lie anymore.

The Bible basically disproves itself repeatedly, with hundreds of contradictions and antiquated beliefs. How can people pick and choose which ones are "real" and which ones are "symbolic"? They can't because it was supposedly written by god and he's not saying much!

As for atheist lives being "too easy," I can't even express how false that is. After I realized that I was living a lie in Christianity, it was devastating. I didn't just decide one day I didn't believe in god, it took years to part with the Christian ideology. I felt like I had been betrayed by all of my spiritual leaders and my god. Becoming an atheist meant losing every person who was my friend since moving to Casper. I was told I couldn't see my nieces. I didn't become a bad person, I was exactly the same, I just didn't believe in god and that was enough to shun me. Becoming an atheist was quite literally the hardest thing I have done in my life, but I had to be honest with myself. Not believing in god means that you have to take responsibility for everything you do. If you do something bad, there is no devil to blame. If something good or bad happens, the only person you can blame is yourself. Being an atheist is the most honest way, I believe, you can live your life.

Many atheists, myself included, believe that you shouldn't be a good person to please god, you should be a good person because it's the right thing to do. I think it is more admirable to have no agenda for kindness than to be kind solely to please a god. I know that every Christian isn't the same and I hope people can start believing that all atheists aren't the same. Just please don't tell me my life as an atheist is easy because it is a struggle every day.

Sincerely,
Kate Burdess