Atheism, and Why There is (Fortunately) No Heaven For Atheists.

My mother has always been concerned about my immortal soul, to be honest. I displayed a disturbing tendency, in my youth, to concentrate on the wrong parts of the holy lessons I was meant to be learning. Being brought up in a 'good' Hindu household, I learnt a lot about Lord Krishna. I would pointedly ask my mother why he was allowed to steal butter, but I was not. Not to mention, the clothes of women (I never understood why till much later). This, perhaps, set the stage for my subsequent lack of belief in God - he was permitted to mess around, but I was damned if I did anything of the sort.

Atheism came very naturally to me, even while young. Show me God, I would say, to my perplexed teachers in the Christian school I went to as a child, where under the guise of Moral and Remedial classes I learnt a good portion of Biblical tales and fables. While I found these stories interesting, I always questioned their veracity. To date, I am fascinated with religion as a way of life, but continue to stand against anyone who wishes that I believe in something I have no evidence to suggest exists.

My belief, if it may be so called, in the non existence of God or heavenly beings at all was further reinforced when I read the excellent book The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. He looks at the 'God hypothesis', as he refers to it, and summarily rejects it. He considers all the things God has done, and proves that since these cannot be proven, there is no reason to believe that God exists. And being the healthy pessimist that he is, he states that he will not believe in something unless there is proof.

What is the proof most often given by the religious? They speak of the miracles that their texts claim to have witnessed. They speak of the resurrection of Christ, or the ascension of Muhammad. They speak of Christ turning water into wine, and of Gabriel speaking to Muhammad. And all the antics of the Hindu pantheon - don't even get me started. Nonetheless, I have continued to be absorbed in religion, which confidently refuting my faith in a so-called Higher Power.

I made a friend when I went to Pune, notwithstanding the fact that she was primarily responsible for me wearing shocking pink lipstick due to a dare. I recall that at some point while sitting down, I noticed a small bracelet, which I picked up, looked at, and then asked who it might belong to. It was a beautiful little thing, with a verse in (I'm assuming) Arabic/Persian/Urdu inscribed upon it. It is likely to have been a verse from the Holy Quran (or Kuran/Koran/Corran), and I handed it back without issue to the person whom it belonged.

I thought it'd be the last of anything religious I'd see for a while, from her or from anyone related to her. I had no reason to believe that religion would ever be something that I would discuss with her, or her kin, considering that I knew very little and next to nothing about her. That was before this message from her brother found its way into my inbox:

DUDE I WAS WANTED 2 SAY THT I WAS AN EX-ATHEIST BUT NOW AFTER MUCH RESEARCH I CAME 2 KNW THT THERES NO GOD BUT ALLAH N PROPHET MUHAMAD WAS LAST N FINAL MESSENGER!!!!
DUDE FIRST I WAS OFF DE OPINION THT PLP WHO BELEIVE IN GOD JUS HVE BLIND FAITH N THT GOD WAS JUS IN THEIR MIND BUT DUDE I GOT A SHOCK WHEN I STARTED RESEARCHING ON DE TOPIC!!!!!!
1 CAN PROVE SCENTIFICALLY N LOGICALLY DE XSITENCE OF GOD!!!!!
N KNW ALHAMDULLILA IKNW THT ALLAH XSIST ....
SO DUDE IAM SURE U MUSNT HVE RESEARED ON DE TOPIC CAUSE IF U WUD U WUD DEFINELY KNW DE TRUTH WITHOUT A DOUBT!!!!!1
SOO DUDE BEING N X-ATHEIST IKW XACTLY HOW IT FEELS BUT JUS WANTED 2 TELL U THT START RESEARCHING BEFORE ITZ 2 LATE!!!!!
IF U HVE NE DOUBT OR NE INQUIRIES 2 MAKE ILL B GLAD 2 HLP U!!!!!
GIV ME A CHANCE N ILL PROVE IT 2 U SCIENTIFICALLY N LOGICALLY THT THERES NO GOD BUT ALLAH N PRIFET MUMAMMAD IS HIS MESSENGER!!!!

I spent quite a bit of time staring at the screen, trying to reply in some fashion in my head that I thought would make sense. None came. None, at least, that I could send back as a personal missive to him. Unlike many others, he is trying to do 'good'. Given such sentiments, my normal vitriol is best avoided. I shall attempt, as far as possible, to understand what has been written.

Let's look at this, then, through kindly eyes - or at least as kindly as we can make them. The first thing stated is essentially a declaration of sorts. I was an ex-atheist, he says. I researched, and found that Allah was the only God, and the Prophet his last and final messenger. Now, I would like to respond by simply stating that I am an atheist, and have done enough research of my own to determine for my own purposes that there is no higher power of any sort.

The question, of course, now becomes what research did he undertake to thus turn him around? I cannot fathom this from the message, and anyone who can, I'd like to know what it is, so I can respond to it. All I know is, and continue to know, is that I know more about religion(s) than the average individual, because of my avid interest in mythology and religion. This stretches from the Ancient Greek and Egypt to Scientology, and I know quite a bit about Islam. While I agree that I am not a scholar, I find certain parts of the Quran to be so completely alien to my morals and my principles that I cannot stand by that text. There are several examples I could cite; however, I know that my morals are not something that I can expect others to adhere to, nor are my standards. Since these are, in essence, beliefs of mine (in the mould of "I should not do this"), I do not want to compare Islam to them, for that would be inappropriate as well as unnecessary. But the texts of Islam often condone or encourage behaviour that would be bizarre by the standards of most This is one such example: http://www.islam-watch.org/MuminSalih/Breast-Feeding-Man-Islam.htm
*NOTE: The above site is an anti-Islamic site. It's views are not mine - but the episode it alludes to in the life of the Prophet is accurate, according to the Koran. Nonetheless, it's not very intelligently written. Please read with caution.*

Let's see, shall we? I don't need saving. I don't need paradise. I don't need belief in anything but myself. Those things might be good, they might help others when they need sustenance, but I need myself in those times, and I really can't have so much to deal with in one go. I don't believe in things - they exist, or they don't. I exist. I believe in that.

If the existence of God can be proven to me, I shall believe. But I shall still not follow his precepts (if they are indeed, his) nor his rules, for I am me, and I have rules of my own.