My Religion | Teen Ink

My Religion MAG

By Anonymous

I have a magnet on my mirror stating, “Life is not about finding yourself – life is about creating yourself.” This is the statement I live by.

Many people do not believe me when I say I am an atheist. They don’t understand that I simply do not believe in any sort of god or afterlife. I also do not believe in the devil, in angels, or in souls. I believe in myself and the strength I have gained through the help of my parents, teachers, and friends – and my own hard work.

I am not going to try to dissuade anyone from his or her own opinions either. I know that people enjoy having religion in their lives; some need their faith to help them through hard times. And some do not want the responsibility of their misfortunes weighing down on their shoulders.

I do. I abhor the idea of fate – that everything is already planned out and you have no control to change anything. If you believe in fate, when bad things happen, it is not your fault; it’s just fate. When my life is not going well, I know that it is no one’s fault but my own. When I do well in school, when I fall in love, it is not fate and we are not soul mates. I worked hard and paid attention and did the homework. My love and I simply love each other – that is all it is, and for me that is all it needs to be.

For some, life is overwhelming. How can anyone be successful and happy in such a difficult, horrible world? They need someone to help them, someone to guide them, and someone to have faith in to make sure things get better. Placing my success and happiness in another’s hands breaks my heart. I need to be successful because of my efforts. I must be responsible for my own happiness. That is what I need from my religion.

Who will ever know what the truth really is? All I know is in the same way that some have full faith and trust in God to give them hope, I need to believe I am on my own to be truly happy – for how can I create myself if I spend my entire life just looking?



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This article has 764 comments.


on May. 29 2011 at 11:01 am
BVBlover BRONZE, Glasgow, Other
4 articles 0 photos 9 comments
i have said before i am an aithiest but i am not against religion i just don't think that we are ruled by a devine being. I understand that while religion can be comforting it has no real basis that anyone can prove

on May. 29 2011 at 10:50 am
BVBlover BRONZE, Glasgow, Other
4 articles 0 photos 9 comments

can i just make the comment that the big bang and science is not crud because:

1- there is proof the big bang existed it still echoes 5million years later and

2- science is a great way of explaining how and why things happen

do you have any proof that G.O.D created everything....

it seems that religion is all about beliving something with no actual basis except from a book.

I'm not trying to slag anybody for their religion, I personally are aithiest and my mother won't accept it and makes me go to church which is rather unfair. 


on May. 29 2011 at 3:02 am
BeautifulWords BRONZE, PHOENIX, Arizona
1 article 0 photos 1 comment
I read this article and I felt a sadness. Sadness because I know that one day you will wake up and realize that you are alone, and not as powerful as you thought. We like to believe that we are in control, but in reality, is it us that makes the sun rise, the rain fall? Is it us that give life and take it away? I am not trying to change your opinion, because you are entitled to it. But when your life is spinning out of control and you have nothing to hold onto, will yourself be enough?

Sky.. BRONZE said...
on May. 14 2011 at 11:29 pm
Sky.. BRONZE, Manteca, California
3 articles 0 photos 12 comments

Favorite Quote:
But paradise is locked and bolted&hellip;<br /> [So] we must take a journey around the world to see if a back door has perhaps been left open.<br /> -Heinrich von Kleist, &ldquo;On the Puppet Theater&rdquo;<br /> <br /> &ldquo;Money talks and a lot of money sings and dances.&rdquo; -Vane Kattalak

This is sad. I think people that cannot believe in anything are more lost than those who do belive in something that most might consider morally wrong. I would rather be wrong than lost any day. I mean, if you can't even belive in something as simple as who or what created you, then is what you think you know really important at all? What's the point of anything if you don't believe in anything in the first place?

Free- GOLD said...
on May. 14 2011 at 9:32 pm
Free- GOLD, Blllll, Kentucky
14 articles 1 photo 25 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I believe in you and I believe in me, and I believe that we are not meaningless.&quot;<br /> &quot;What a waste of a perfectly good wrist.&quot;

Interesting and honest view point, but it depresses me. well-written though

AliBali BRONZE said...
on May. 14 2011 at 4:24 pm
AliBali BRONZE, Bremerton, Washington
2 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Well-behaved women rarely make history.&quot;

I love how you can boldy state your opinion without fear, and I can clearly understand it! That is how I feel a lot of the time. My best friends are all religious and go to youth group, and I've gone with them a couple of times, but everything that they say there just doesn't click with me. I believe in just nature itself and trying hard to be the best that you can be!

Kareebear. said...
on May. 11 2011 at 3:57 pm
love the fact that you are not afraid to write what you believe and say what you have to say . i commend you for that. i also liked some of the things you had to say too . but i disagree with you at points. i am a christian. and sometimes i believe fate brings some ppl together and makes some things happen but i also think that believing in God or any higher power is not just for relying on it or to find yourself or just using it . its much more than that . you can have happiness in this world. i just think that it is through God in which you can have total happiness . But i do like this article. =)

on May. 4 2011 at 4:56 pm
HannahsEvolving SILVER, Crestwood, Kentucky
5 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
We stopped checking for monsters, when we realized they&#039;re inside of us. -Unknown author

Amazing post! i agree (:

on Apr. 25 2011 at 9:09 pm
HisAmbassador BRONZE, Frederick, Michigan
1 article 0 photos 5 comments
I understand what you are saying and to tell you the truth, Yes i am trying to show them God's love and His truth. It is out of love not bragging saying i am right. We are each a sinner and i want to see each person enjoy God's love

Tabansi BRONZE said...
on Apr. 25 2011 at 7:19 pm
Tabansi BRONZE, JACKSON, New Jersey
2 articles 0 photos 12 comments
I know that your entitled to your opinion, as I am to mine, but it just sounds like your subliminally trying to get this person, and any other person, to switch from their religion, or non-religion, to yours, just because you feel that that is the correct way to live. What works for you most certaintly does not work for everybody.

Bones96 BRONZE said...
on Apr. 22 2011 at 8:51 pm
Bones96 BRONZE, Charlotte, North Carolina
2 articles 0 photos 108 comments

Favorite Quote:
Life isn&#039;t about finding yourself it&#039;s about creating yourself-

I really like your post. I agree with what your saying, good job! :) 

on Apr. 22 2011 at 5:22 pm
FatesMistake13, Springerville, Arizona
0 articles 0 photos 157 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Most people die of a sort of creeping common sense, and discover when it is too late that the only things one never regrets are one&#039;s mistakes.&quot; Oscar Wilde <br /> <br /> &quot;The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.&quot;

i think its because the people who first believed in god couldnt comprehend the person(thing) who they believed made everything to be a woman when women were practically property.

on Mar. 31 2011 at 6:15 pm
dolphin13 BRONZE, North St. Paul, Minnesota
1 article 0 photos 125 comments
I understand how you want to have control of your life, but really how can anyone say that they control the good and bad in their life when no one is conscious of their own heart beat. In a minute a heart can stop, a stroke could occur, tumors can build up, and multiple other injuries could occur. That is why I believe in God. I see the sunrise, the sunset, the Grand Canyon, the mountains, the variety of animals, and my one body functioning with little control on my part. This makes me realize that God exists and he cares about all of us.  

jennaberry said...
on Mar. 18 2011 at 7:46 am
jennaberry, Waterloo, New York
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
There are plenty of fish in the sea. But you&#039;re not in the sea. You&#039;re in the desert. Alone.

What was life like before your birth?  I imagine it's the same after death. :)

on Mar. 17 2011 at 7:06 pm
LiquidSilver BRONZE, Marshalltown, Iowa
2 articles 0 photos 11 comments

Favorite Quote:
Everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else. ~Will Rogers

Sarah,

As a Christian, I want to tell you something. God does exist, as does Satan. Please, do not listen to the ideas that God doesn't exist and neither do souls, demons, or the Devil. They are all very real. 

I want you to know this for your safety. Satan wants you to think that God doesn't exist, neither does Heaven nor Hell. Do not listen to his lies! Please!

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, and whomever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16. God is telling us that He wants us to be in Heaven with him when we die, or when Jesus comes again. Please, at least consider what I have told you. Even though I hardly know you, I want you to be safe when you die. I want you to be saved.

Thanks for reading.


Marnina said...
on Mar. 16 2011 at 7:45 pm
Marnina, Eugene, Oregon
0 articles 0 photos 22 comments

Favorite Quote:
&#039;&#039;Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half is good. Luckily, this not difficult.&#039;&#039;

I'm not an atheist but, whenever I say I went to church or say i'm religious they assume i'm a Christian.

on Mar. 16 2011 at 5:22 pm
maddiefacecupcake SILVER, Hamburg, New York
5 articles 0 photos 8 comments

Favorite Quote:
Dream as if you\&#039;ll live forever. Live as if you\&#039;ll die today.<br /> -James Dean

pardon me, but that's such an ignorant and rediculous thing to say. if someone as yourself claims that religion confines and is too judgemental, you are rather hypocrytical. religion is NOT an excuse for bad behavior, even though many people abuse this concept, but a relationship with a god that millions of people trust and hold dear. even if religion is just a way to explain the world, as was the sole reason in beginning years, it still helps people get through the day. yeah, some people NEED hope and trust in something maybe they can't explain. I don't care if YOU don't believe in it, but don't patronize those who do.

on Mar. 13 2011 at 4:29 pm
nefariouslyme, Richland, Michigan
0 articles 0 photos 72 comments
I am truly happy, and I don't need a faith in God for that. I'm not offended that someone wants me to  be happier, I'm offended that someone is trying to get me to follow their ways when I have already made my own decision, and I made it perfectly clear to that person.

asdfjikl said...
on Mar. 12 2011 at 9:37 pm
asdfjikl, Oakdale, Pennsylvania
0 articles 0 photos 7 comments
YES! Tolerance, for sure!

on Mar. 10 2011 at 11:16 pm
Bren_Bren BRONZE, Memphis, Tennessee
3 articles 0 photos 19 comments

Favorite Quote:
If you stand for nothing you will fall for anything

I really do agree with you because every one has thier own opinion