Moral vs Immoral = Christian vs Atheist??

People often regard 'atheist' and 'immoral' as synonyms. As soon as you say "uh...no, I don't really believe in God...", some people have the tendency to assume that you also don't know the difference between right and wrong. Here's the thing folks: you can have one without the other - you can behave morally without religion, just as you can claim to be a Christian without displaying morality.

So many people will put 'Christian' under 'Religion' on Facebook...but then you scroll down and you see they're a member of 'hot chicks with big boobs' or 'bring back the old South Africa', and they brag about their ultimate hangover in their status. In real life they also do drugs for fun and get freaky with random people. And after all this, they still have the nerve to argue for God in a religious debate. Seriously?!? I am more 'Christian' than that and I don't even believe in God.

Of course it's not really about being the better 'Christian'; its about morality. Frankly I don't care if you call yourself a 'Christian' or not but if your immoral behaviour is obvious to everyone, don't attack me for not believing in God. Ask yourself the question: Which is better - a Christian who judges others based on religion and engages in morally questionable behaviour, or an Atheist who accepts that people have different beliefs and upholds values universally regarded as 'good'?

I can defend my lack of belief; its my right to do so and I have no agenda to convert anyone to atheism. And yet, when I post something promoting atheism many people feel offended. Should I feel offended when a Christian posts a Bible verse? Of course not.

If you took a moment to consider the two possibilities that 1) God exists and 2) God doesn't exist, you may also consider that many people feel there is not enough hard evidence to confirm EITHER of the two options. That is what my atheism can be reduced to - you can't prove or DISPROVE the existence of any God; a true answer is unattainable. Therefore, as a purely philosophical viewpoint, it has nothing to do with the practical aspects of life such as morals and values.

Don't assume that I am a bad person because I am an atheist because I don't assume that you are a good person (or a bad person for that matter) just because you are a Christian.



"Believing there is no God gives me more room for belief in family, people, love, truth, beauty, sex, Jell-o, and all the other things I can prove and that make this life the best life I will ever have." – Penn Jillette

"What do you actually do?"

People always ask me what is it that I actually do, and I always find myself at a loss trying to explain it....I think I should start blogging about complicated (well depends on your perspective) things in my field that people can't understand as is the trend with IT folks....so here's a start:

I am a biochemist...not a microbiologist, not a chemist, not a zoologist and not a botanist;

In layman's terms: I work with the chemistry of living things (e.g. DNA molecules), not with microbes perse (an even more lay term here is 'bugs'), not with dangerous chemical processes, not with aminals (yes, I said aMiNals) and i don't hug trees.

Hopefully these nerdy biochem jokes will become clearer with time:
"I wish I were your substrate so I could fit into your active site"; "If I were an enzyme I would be DNA helicase so I could unzip your genes"