When I say I'm an atheist...

[caitxrawks]

When I say I'm an atheist,
I'm not saying that I'm angry at you.
I'm not saying that I'm angry at your god.
I'm saying that I'm following my heart to my own conclusion.

When I say I'm an atheist,
I'm not saying that I worship Satan.
I'm not saying that I oppose your religious beliefs.
I'm saying that I cannot force myself to believe in your deity, no matter how hard I try.

When I say I'm an atheist,
I'm not saying that what you believe is wrong.
I'm not personally attacking you or trying to piss you off.
I'm saying that I need to do some soul-searching on my own, by myself.

When I say I'm an atheist,
I'm not saying that it's a free pass to be immoral.
I'm not saying that it's okay to steal, cheat, lie, and kill.
I'm saying that we should NOT do those things because this life is all we have.

When I say I'm an atheist,
I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer.
I'm not trying to make you sad or unhappy.
I'm just being honest with you, and you should be happy that I trust you enough to tell you my secret.

When I say I'm an atheist,
I don't expect you to respect me back.
I'm not saying that you need to pray for me.
I'm asking for support in my new-found life path.

When I say I'm an atheist,
I'm asking you not to pray for me.
I'm asking you not to yell at me.
I'm asking you for a shoulder to cry on when times get tough.

When I say I'm an atheist,
Instead of screaming that I'm going to hell,
try to understand where I'm coming from.
I've been in your shoes, I know what being religious feels like.

When I say I'm an atheist,
Don't think that I dance naked around fires,
or eat babies and have anonymous sex.
Think that I cherish life of all kinds and all forms, big and small, human and not.

When I say I'm an atheist,
LISTEN to me.
You may just learn something and make a new friend.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

*bows*

WAHCHACHACHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! HIII-YAH!