Vol 1 Issue 11

Well the time of classrooms and keggers are once again upon us, and no matter what form of higher learning you adhere to, here are some simple Do’s and Don’ts for all you Atheist newbie’s out there. Whether you are a hard-nosed veteran, a first year Atheist, or a simple freethinker looking to stand up for the right of unbelievers everywhere, you’ll need to know a few things – here’s a few ideas not to be missed.

Of course the first thing you must do if you’re going to have any kind of interaction with a religious zealot is learn something about their religion. I don’t mean your have to be a professor on the subject but knowing a couple of flaws about their religion is very important. There’s nothing worse then being verbally beaten by a Pat Robertson look a like spouting off Bible verses about his dead man on a stick.

Never, and I repeat NEVER (I don’t buy into this never say never bullshit), get angry. The first rule of any form of debate whether it’s formal or not is to keep a calm composure and never let them see you sweat. And let’s not forget about the word "Ad Hominem" appealing to emotions; never let anyone try to use "belief" as evidence of anything.

I would also recommend not to attack the person your debating with either, or visa versa, since it lends no credibility what so ever and is childish, among other things. God freaks generally do this a lot, especially since they have the mentality already that burning you for eternity has some merit.

Participation in a fly by night comment is not necessary either. For example: Some nut says "God Bless you" after you sneeze, simply ignore it. There’s no need trying to explain the old myth that you could lose your "Soul" by sneezing, they won’t get it anyway. And by some odd instance you pass a Jesus loon passing out propaganda to join his cult, I suggest to make some comment about it being the modern era and there simply isn’t a God.

The best advice for anyone wanting to learn a little more about Atheism, besides surfing the net, is to attend a debate sponsored by Campus Freethought Alliance, usually held at the Universities or Civic Centers. By all means take time out to check their site, www.campusfreethought.org, it will definitely allow you to meet other like-minded individuals.

Campus Freethought Alliance has grown to be a leading voice of reason on campuses across North America and around the world. CFA provides free brochures, fliers, videos, books, magazines and other resources to students who work with CFA to promote and defend reason, science and freedom of inquiry in education. In addition, CFA maintains a speakers bureau and a debate circuit, sending experts and skilled debaters on subjects of importance to CFA to speak and debate at campus-wide events on scores of campuses each academic year. And the best thing about an organization like this is there is no bigots or racists spouting hatred, only smart free-minded people who want to help others release their religious shackles.

There are those in the atheist community that feel debating Christian nuts only encourages them, but I believe people can learn from these events. Of course both sides show up ready to preach to their own groups, but many are there out of curiosity and those are the people these organization are trying to reach. That’s the reason Atheists stand up and fight, to help others who have been enslaved by religious dogma and only need a little understanding of the world to escape.

Is it so wrong to stand up for truth and help enlighten others who are going through the same as you did. We could care less what a zealot does, he has the freedom to worship any number of imaginary beings. Atheists just want the same freedom to hold their head up proudly and say "I don’t accept your myths and ancient non-sense and I’m going to show others the truth." This definitely would not be a trivial matter if the religious nuts in this country were able to take away freedom of religion and force others to follow their crap like in Muslim countries. How would you feel if saying something bad about a religion could put you in jail, or even worse, your life?

So in closing, I would like to share my own little atheistic journey as simply as possible. Hard core Baptists raised me and in those days we went to church every time the doors were open. By the age of five, I could recite the Books of the Bible backwards and forwards, at 12, I was baptized and began noticing problems as I read the Bible for the first time. After the 4th time I wish I had a dollar for every time a preacher said "I don’t know what that means."

I stopped going to church after I realized that these wise men knew nothing about their own book. So, I set out visiting every denomination, but still had no luck. 15 years later, after the news of my first child was on the way, I began searching on the Internet and stumbled across some atheist pages. I was curious at first, but before long I had picked the Bible apart and began to understand what had confused me as a child – the Bible was make-believe.
If only back then someone had just helped a little it would have saved me years of painful contemplation about a God. From the moment my son was born I knew I was an animal, destined by a long line of evolution to enjoy the rest of my life, no longer worrying about what a magic man in the sky thinks.