All Nonfiction
- Bullying
- Books
- Academic
- Author Interviews
- Celebrity interviews
- College Articles
- College Essays
- Educator of the Year
- Heroes
- Interviews
- Memoir
- Personal Experience
- Sports
- Travel & Culture
All Opinions
- Bullying
- Current Events / Politics
- Discrimination
- Drugs / Alcohol / Smoking
- Entertainment / Celebrities
- Environment
- Love / Relationships
- Movies / Music / TV
- Pop Culture / Trends
- School / College
- Social Issues / Civics
- Spirituality / Religion
- Sports / Hobbies
All Hot Topics
- Bullying
- Community Service
- Environment
- Health
- Letters to the Editor
- Pride & Prejudice
- What Matters
- Back
Summer Guide
- Program Links
- Program Reviews
- Back
College Guide
- College Links
- College Reviews
- College Essays
- College Articles
- Back
My Religion MAG
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?
© Anonymous
Similar Articles
Previous Next
JOIN THE DISCUSSION
This article has 764 comments.
Wheat_Wheat said...
on Dec. 27 2009 at 7:09 pm
I think this is a beautiful piece, and I agree with you mostly. I am not atheist or christian I am what you call a "Born Again Pagan", I do not worship the devil in any way shape or form. I just simply worship nature and the amazing things on this planet. I do not agree that their is no fate because you are saying that people are putting themselves into situations where their are murdered or raped . I know some people do unintetonaly throw themselves out their, but others do not. I also believe in soul mates, my finace` and I were put on this earth for one another, by whom I do not know, but I do know we were made for one another. Again, I give you kudos not many people are willing to be so blunt with their atheist beliefs. Kudos friend.
Wheat_Wheat said...
on Dec. 27 2009 at 7:06 pm
I think this is beautifuly written I turly do. I am probably the only person who will even say this but I am what you call a "Born Again Pagan" I am not which and I do not worshiping the devil. I simply " worship" mother nature, and the amazing things on this planet. I do believe you have a point, that their is no fate, and that bad things do happen for a reason. I do know that their is no god, and if he does exsist he doesn't love this planet, for if he did we wouldn't have murder, rape , terrorism, or any of the bad things that plauge this planet. Again, beautifuly written.
Geo:) said...
on Dec. 24 2009 at 11:05 am
Wow! I'm an atheist and i totally agree with the author's opinion. I used to be christian once untill i started noticing i was on my own. When i was 7 both of my parents were killed in a car accident. When i went to an orphanage i started realizing that there was no that could help me. I will listen to everyone's opinion's but i will still believe what i believe. The article was very well written and it's something i can relate to. I gave it a 5
De'andre14 BRONZE said...
on Dec. 21 2009 at 9:42 pm
I am a Christian and I find my religion helpful when I am going through something really tough. But I'm gonna be honest. I don't see how you could be an atheist. I understand that everyone has their own opinions and I am willing to hear out everyone's opinion but I just don't understand how you could think that way.
RedvinesWTHCantTheyDo GOLD said...
on Dec. 19 2009 at 5:10 pm
I'm a Christian, and although I do think this was well written, I do not believe in what you ar writing about. I'm not telling you this to insult or undermine you, but to answer one of your questions. You said "Who will ever know what the truth really is?" I do, I know the truth. I know that Jesus came down to this shattered world in the form of a babe for the sole purpose to take our sins on his shoulders and die for us, so we might live. That, to me, is amazing. That someone would care that much, to die for me. I have seen and felt Him work miracles in my life. I know He is real.
Thanks! :) I am a Christadelphian, which means 'brethren in Christ ', and we beleive that the Jews are God's special people, and that Jesus the Son of God will come very shortly to set up a kingdom that will never be desroyed, and will the fill the whole earth. If you would like, I can give you more info on the Christadelphians. :) For anyone who beleives that the Bible is the true inspired word of God, all the facts that we beleive can be proven in the Bible!
SerenityMine BRONZE said...
on Dec. 18 2009 at 12:16 am
Oops no i think it was right the first time. In any case, I don't think they were trying to put you down.
SerenityMine BRONZE said...
on Dec. 18 2009 at 12:14 am
Lol. I meant they were not trying to insult you, not they were all trying to insult you. My bad! :D
jesus_saves GOLD said...
on Dec. 15 2009 at 10:45 am
"US" meaning atheist?!?
well christians aren't all like that. Who knows! you best friend could be saved and you might not know it.
well christians aren't all like that. Who knows! you best friend could be saved and you might not know it.
QuestionAuthority1128 said...
on Dec. 13 2009 at 7:05 pm
But isn't that her choice? I'm agnostic and I don't feel like I'm missing out, quite the contrary. I almost feel like religious people are missing out on the rest of the world, but I don't feel sorry for them.
jesus_saves GOLD said...
on Dec. 13 2009 at 2:58 pm
I understand beautiful world. There is a huge spiritual battle going on as we comment. There needs to be some on to keep us in check. I was probably a little demanding so thanks for keeping me accountable
SerenityMine BRONZE said...
on Dec. 13 2009 at 1:07 am
I'm a Christian, and I think this article was really well written even if I don't share the author's views. I don't think that the other Christians who commented were all trying to put you down or insult you, they were just stating their own beliefs in response to the author's sharing hers.
SerenityMine BRONZE said...
on Dec. 13 2009 at 1:03 am
The reason she would feel sorry for her is that if she doesn't believe in God, she is missing out on what God could give her and do for her, and His grace.
write4life GOLD said...
on Dec. 12 2009 at 11:21 am
Where do you think the ball of matter come from? How do you think it aged and developed into what it is today?
write4life GOLD said...
on Dec. 12 2009 at 11:08 am
Please do!! That's what commenting is for! (and based on your previous comment, I have a feeling that I probably agree with you) :)
write4life GOLD said...
on Dec. 12 2009 at 11:06 am
You made several generalized statements there. ALthough I do agree that there are a great number of Christians (and religious people in general) who are alike, not all of them are the same. It's hard not to feel sorry for people when I can't convince them that what I believe is true. I definitely feel sad because of their rejection; it's hard to explain what you believe to someone and have them completely blow you off like most people do (not all of them, but definitely the majority). I just have to accept that I've done what I can and that the choice is up to them. I am thoroughly convinced that no matter how much I want to scream at people and call them idiots for not believing the truth, that won't accomplish anything; it only makes me more frustrated and makes them more angry and more adamant in their defiance of the One True God. Although it's hard not to get upset about other people denying God, I have to remember that I'm not responsible for other peoples choices; I'm just responsible for doing my part by telling them the truth. And I agree about knowing what you're talking about before you try to put down someone else's belief. Other Christians do that to me all the time, even though I'm a Christian as well. They automatically put down my beliefs about certain things because they haven't taken the time to study the subject for themselves and figure out what reasons I have for believing in those things (a perfect example of this is the principle of spiritual gifts--speaking in tongues, prophecy, healing, etc.). All people need to learn to have respect for other people and their beliefs whether they agree with them or not. "Respecting" them doesn't mean that you won't try to convince them of the truth, but you have to know when to stop and leave the rest to God.
write4life GOLD said...
on Dec. 12 2009 at 10:47 am
I agree with beautifulworld. Almost everything that a person believes about science is based on faith because the majority of science is only theory, not fact. The same goes for relgion. Most of the Bible cannot be proven. Therefore, saying that the Bible cannot be scientifically proven is an irrelevant point because both are based mostly on opinion and faith, with only a small amount of physical proof. Although if you research the subject, you will find that there has been a great deal of evidence found to support Biblical principles, stories, and prophecies.
