I am an atheist (though I call myself a non-religious person), and I agree with everything that you said. Since I was young I've been unable to imagine why anyone but me could control my actions, thoughts, and future. All but a couple of my friends are religious, and though they know of my opinions on this I, like you, never try to impose it upon them. It really bothers me when, after I have informed them of my "beliefs", some people immediately try to convert me to whatever their religion is. I deeply appreciate this well-written essay. Keep up the good work!

While I don't neccessarily believe in the same thing you do, I respect your decision. That might not mean much since you don't really know me, but oh, well.

I think this article is very well written and even those who have different beliefs than you should greatly appreciate the opportunity to see things from your point of view and respect what you've chosen to believe in. Though that doesn't happen very often, does it?

Personally, I haven't got my sights on any one religion because I believe in a lot of things that not every religion agrees with. I've dabbled in a few over the course of my fifteen years on this planet, but nothing has really stuck with me enough for me to regularly attend that church or commit myself to all of their beliefs. Though, to be perfectly honest, I've recently been following the Wiccan path and I... I love it. It's empowering but is also surrounded with a lot of controversy and I applaud you for writing this article and posting it on this site. Good for you!

And no matter what anyone else thinks, I wish you the best of luck in your life. Stick to what you believe, as I can tell you've been doing, and keep writing.

Peace.

This article expresses exactly how I feel about religion. I am an atheist and have been for my whole life. My friends differ on their acceptance of my Atheist beliefs, some agreeing, some accepting, and some not wanting to here me discuss my beliefs. I have been to a church-like place for a summer. The babysitter had another summer job and we had to go with her to Christian Summer School, to describe it best. I heard stories from the bible and was able to get my feet wet. I am not going to lie; it was fun. Everyone was so happy, the stories were interesting, and I had an overall great time. The problem was, I believed the stories were just that: stories. While everyone else believe that these were all true events, I thought them as stories with a moral at the end. As I grew older, I became a man of science. There is a way to explain every occurence in the world. Many of the occurences in religious texts are not able to be supported by science. To believe in a miracle happening, I have to witness it hand-on because of it's difficulty to believe. People themselves are simply unreliable, unfortunately. Exaggerations are bound to take place and many religious texts were modified or altered completely to fit the needs of different people and leaders. However, that is simply what I believe. If you come to the conclusion that the texts are true and word-for-word, that is your belief in the matter. I am only going to argue if you try and impose it on me unrelentlessly. However, I would only be proving my BELIEF. There is no one true that is solidly proven by both science and history with no holes whatsoever. Because of this, various beliefs were formed in the world to explain what could not be explained. That is how religion started. For myself, and many others, our purpose is to explain what is not yet proven with science. Just as I have my own purpose in the world, others have theirs, such as many Christian sects attempting to convert others. No one is wrong or right, and no one will ever be able to prove if there is a God watching over us. Perhaps there is one, but he or she decided to let everything in the world unfold of their own accord and never intervene. Perhaps not. With no one able to prove the existence in a god, there is no point in arguing over it. Let people be happy with their beliefs. If you destroy a person's faith, now they are sad. This accomplishes nothing. You can attempt to convert others, but if they do not wish to change, there is no reason to force your religion upon them. The writer of this article understands this and is only stating her expiriences. She is not trying to start a fight, only describe her beliefs and hope that helps others understand theirs. Because she is so effective at this, I have joined TeenInk. Before I was simply glancing at article. Now I am involved. Thank you, Sarah.

Now I respect who you are, and I respect your relegion, but I ask you, Do you know where you came from?? I have been saved by the Grace of GOD for around a year now, and I have come to love him more than anything or anyone in my life! I do not know if you have ever read the Bible or not, but there is def a GOD and A  HELL  and a HEAVEN. Really all that I can do is pray that the same grace that has comverd me will cover you in the future!!!

I hate to tell you i-go-by-syd that is pressing your religion on others. Let people believe what they want without the idea of goin to  hell . And doin what your doin isnt goin to change anyones mind trust me im athiest. it just makes me mad when people say that god loves me and i should believe and that ill go to  hell  if i dont so stop trying keep it to youself thanks.

I don tthink we athiest try to put ourselves above others. we are usually the people who are put down. thought of as idiots. We try to explain our reasons but just get ignored. The one religion that i believe puts themselves above other is Christians.

I dont see why yall are sorry. Theres no point in it. shes happy. why feel sorry for someone who is happy. I completely agree with the athor. THey presented what they thought and didnt try to impose it on people. it was a great article.

Haha, this is so funny--I just posted basically the exact same thing that you said in your postscript. I shouldn't have bothered, I guess.

I read this and my heart just broke. I'm not an atheist ( Muslim ), but I see your point. However, I think that your concept of "fate" is flawed. I do not know what you were taught, but to me, fate is the fact that God has the knowledge of what I will choose to do in the future. The choice, however, is mine. The word "fate" confuses most people, and I don''t think it properly describes the truth. Fate, actually, seems to conflict with the idea that there is a God, for in fate, matters are left to themselves, but God controls all matters.

Amen. He's amazing, isn't he? :D

how can you go through life without something to believe in...other than yourself? everyone makes mistakes, it's my perogative to maintain my faith in god because i know he heals and saves. i've seen miracles take place in my church. i have scoliosis (curvature of the spine) and at one point and time my doctor told me i was in need of surgery badly. i had no other choice. when the doctor left i prayed...i prayed hard. i didn't want to go through this life altering surgury. about a half an hour later the doctor returned...he had read the wrong x-ray and i didn't need surgery like originally thought. six months later at another appointment i had several friends pray for me about my scoliosis getting better. i explained to them that this was impossible. scoliosis cannot get better without surgery. it's a proven fact. my doctor was amazed at my x-ray that day...my scoliosis got better. i didn't have to wear a back brace anymore. if that's not god then...what is it? there's your miracle.

there is a reason to be sorry for her. I have prayed every night since I read this. god bless you whoever wrote this

good writing techiniques, but i don't completely understand. haven't you ever felt like there are higher beings or more out there than just yourself. i mean honestly, would created us?

haha, i'm totally going to use that now. haha. But very well put, His ways are not our ways, and we do not always understand his purposes.

I have to agree with love2sing23, My heart breaks for the writter, yet i don't even know who it is. filling the gap with yourself only dissapionts yourself.

Honestly, how could you write something so offensive? Jesus -loving LOSERS? Seriously?? Geez, I'm a Christian and I think she's a great writer and she expresses her opinion wonderfully, but I assume that when the author wrote this she expected some debates on the subject. How could there not be? I suggest you keep your insults to yourself next time, please.

I don't think that we should be sorry. She's obviously very happy. There is nothing to be sorry for. And i think she presented a great opinion and she didn't try to impose it. She was like, this is what this means to me. Do with it what you will. And that's awesome!

i'm so sorry that you feel this way.

i respect your opinion though.

um...because he didn't want us to be bored when we got here? haha i honestly don't know. I've never really thought about it. That's a really good question. I'll be sure to ask Him when I see Him. But in my opinion, He had a plan, and He fulfilled it when it was time. I'm sure He had a reason for it, but I don't know what it would be.

I disagree with you. If God created everything for human enjoyment, why did he wait until the fifth day to create humanity?