I am an atheist, living in a theistic world. I was raised as a Roman Catholic, attended Catholic grade school for most of grades one through five. I became an atheist at the age of 10 years, but kept it a secret for many years thereafter, for fear that I would be punished either by my parents or (ironically) God. I “came out” as an atheist in high school, and continue in that belief to the present day. As I write this, I am 64 years old.
Theism is under attack from a variety of enemies. Since my late twenties, I have been sympathetic and supportive of the religious beliefs of others. For many, religion is necessary, probably a psychological imperative, and I believe that western civilization is not ready to cast aside religion, that something else will always fill the void left behind by the removal of religion.
I believe that we should find the best aspects of religious belief and incorporate these into an emerging atheistic culture. There are many reasons that atheism will eventually prevail over theism. But paraphrasing an old saying: We should not throw the baby out with the bath water.
These blog posts are my attempt to analyze current thinking by both theists and atheists, to try to bring the two camps together for the common good in a peaceful way, and to reflect the journey that I’ve been on my entire life, perhaps bringing clarity to myself and hopefully to others.