Saying Thanks | Heaving Dead Cats

Skeptical Freethought Atheist Musings to Dispel Ignorance and Enlighten the Mind

Posted at August 2, 2008 by Neece

In my electronic travels today, I stumbled upon a blog post from this guy Mike. He talks about how he used to thank god for everything good that happened to him, such as praying at meals, for his good grades and all that kind of thing. He’s an atheist now, though.

Here is an excerpt:

I forgot to thank so many people for the so many good things I had in life and yet I managed to thank a god that I don’t see and is high unlikely to exist. ….

For years, Christianity has taught man to thank god for a lot of stuff and yet neglected the very fact that it is man who did the hard work which therefore makes man more worthy of thanksgiving than god himself. ….

Tell me, when was the last time you thanked other people for the good things they did? Have you ever bothered saying thank you to your mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, brother, sister, children, other relatives, teacher, neighbor and your household maid? Funny isn’t it that religion teaches us to thank an invisible being in the sky and yet not teach us to thank those who we can see whom I think needs to hear the words “thank you” much more.

Thanks Mike. This is so true. Being an atheist doesn’t mean that you have to get rid of thoughtfulness and kindness. In fact, in my experience, the nicest people I know have been nonbelievers. They are good people simply because they want to be. Not because they are frightened into it by a nameless invisible man in the sky or a man in a big goofy hat with nasty threats.