Letters: Atheism is its own religion

It was with some shaking of my head that I read Michael Polito’s letter regarding religion as an “outdated myth.” The only myths I keep reading are those constantly attributed as reason by atheists. It’s sad to see that people who supposedly live by reason can only spout belittling statements regarding religion and such. That just proves to me atheists are the most nonsensical people on Earth.

The generalizations Polito uses in his letter are not to be seen as actions taken by all Christians. There are many Christians who do not protest when confronted or questioned regarding religious dogma but are willing to discuss. However, that’s “pushing the religion down the throat,” the atheist would cry — not wanting to engage in debate. The assumption made only shows the rule of “assume” — reflecting only on yourself and not me.

The largest delusion I see is atheism, the religion of people who claim no spirituality or belief in any god or God. And yes — it’s a religion, because atheism bears a creed, practices of denial, factions within its body, etc. They may laugh at the notion, but they only laugh at themselves.

Jesus was known far and wide, but as a condemned criminal of the Roman government, his teachings would just be seen as farcical and stricken from governmental proceedings. The Jewish leaders of the time would ban anything being openly written or preached about him.

Of course, religion is man-made — so what? Jesus was fully human when he founded his church — so it is man-made. And quite a few other things are man-made — from philosophies to scientific treatises to houses, cars, rockets, books, TVs, computers, and on and on. I guess they should all be minimized in importance because of them being crafted by man — first by idea ... then by hand.

I loved the big mistake mentioned in Polito’s letter — that “everything in the holy books has been debunked” by whatever means. That was a classic statement of untruth.

Jerusalem exists. Rain exists. Love exists. Creatures exist. People exist. The Dead Sea exists ... on and on and on. There has been scientific evidence over and over proving the developments of Scriptures. One can see the beginning verses of Genesis and understand evolution — not accepting that “day” means only 24 hours, as most fundamentalists would.

Christians are not all the same, as the atheists would like us to believe. No atheist is the same, as all Christians know.

So, before you decide to let some “modern” (LOL) philosophy of atheism sway your opinion, just take time and listen to what’s in your heart and mind. Then you can make a decision based on your conscience — not on the platitudes of another. And if you choose atheism, that is your path of life — and to be respected. It’s OK — God will still wait for you.

James Barnett

cantor/musician

Port Allen