A Fresh Breath of Atheist Air

I needed some type of catchy title for this post.  Now that I got your attention, let me tell you about some things happening in my great big-fat atheist life.

About three weeks ago, I took a road trip to my aunt’s house with my little brother who is in junior college.  On the way back, he started to open up to me about some personal stuff.  And then subsequently followed up with a question about if I am still into God. PAUSE…Usually when I get this random question from people they usually want some Godly advice or counsel.  And then they want to open up about their relationship with God.  I have seen this happen alot, even two or three times after I became an atheist.  For some reason people still have a tendency to still categorize me as being a christian; I think it is because I don’t have a tendency to curse or have obscene sexual conversation or remarks.  So at this point in the conversation, I have two choices….. A) Lie, give him some generic  advice that sounds almost Christian OR B)Tell the truth….  Now Hold for dramatic pause, while I bring in a totally unrelated story to tell you.  

A little over a month ago, a friend of mine (who is also somewhat newly married) who I know is really big into Epic Fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien I asked him if he wanted to go see the Hobbit movie.  I am not a huge Hobbit fan, but I really wanted to hang out with this friend.  Because me and him had and hung out with many of the same Christian friends.  And it just so happens that many of our same old crew of friends are 5-Point Calvinist and like to debate.  And over the last two or three years this friend has been becoming more and more liberal.  And this has been erking our old Calvinist friends.

So as we are walking into the movie theater.  He turns to me and admits that in the last year that he has changed.  That he has become more liberal in his life, theology, and political stance.  Then he admits to me that he is a communist.  So I add to the conversation that in the last year and a half I have changed.  I follow up his moment of open honesty with my own and admit to him, that I am now an atheist.  I must admit it felt good to make an old time friend a much closer friend, next month we are going to go play paintball. On a Sunday.  And it made for interesting night of conversation.

Now back to the original story, in the car ride back home with little Bro… 

….LIE OR TELL the TRUTH…I decided to tell my little brother the truth.  I told him I had been an atheist for about a year and a half.  And he was okay with that.  And we continued our conversation with my tidbit of Marcus Advice.  And in one car ride home me and my little brother grew a little closer.  (However he did agree not to tell our stepmother who is VERY religious as for obvious reasons he and I both understood. )