"Finally got around to writing this, PhD is fairly intense at the moment.
So you asked why I believe god doesn't exist. First let me clarify, I think it is incredibly unlikely that a god exists and live my life as though none exist but I cannot say for sure. I am an agnostic atheist. So I'll say what has led to my current position.
I was raised secular (with the topic of god not even being broached) and was living a happy life. I was enrolled into a Catholic school (due to the quality of education the school was known for). This was my first real taste of organized religion and the concept of a god. We had prayer every day and a compulsory a religious class every day. I already had a fascination with science so was fairly well versed in basic physics and chemistry and my religious teachings completely contradicted what science had shown us with empirical evidence (at that stage it was age of the earth and evolution, but I have since learnt is not limited to those facets). I left that school an atheist, after being told what god is and what he supposedly has done (created everything in the universe so he can have a personal relationship with humans, created a list of rules that if we disobey we will be burnt in eternity) and after knowing science had already shown that some of those claims were factually incorrect, I left with the strong inclination that there was no god but did not claim a gnostic position on it.
Since then, I have lived my life, studied a degree (double major in biochemistry and pharmacology) and a masters degree (biochemistry) and am now studying my doctorate in Neuroscience while all the while quietly observing the many facets of life that religion creeps in to. Over my life I have become more and more humanist. When you take a humanist point of view you see not only how vile organized religion is but also how redundant it is. Morals are intrinsic, no need to read an ancient book with barbaric acts in to it know what is right and wrong. Also, the bigotry, prejudice, and violence that is documented in the bible continues to rear its ugly head in modern society with many of the different denominations of religion all under the guise of serving their lord. The violence and tyranny undertaken in religions name combined with the redundance of religion has led to my anti-organized religion stance. Which is why I have become more vocal about atheism and have tried to support anyone who has questions about their faith and perhaps want to consider a secular life! I have always maintained the position that "A doctrine should only affect those within it" - Meaning laws, societal values, education etc should not bear weight to the religious agenda.
It's quite liberating being able to say that and no be limited by 140 characters!
Anyway, long story - short, the 'evidence' for god is the bible, which has been shown to be factually incorrect in many places, has been said to be allegoric in many places, which has been written by men who may have been trying to explain amazing things they saw but lacked the knowledge to explain them, in others fundamentally flawed as a factual text. There is no evidence for a god anywhere else, there is suffering, death, unanswered prayers, multiple religions, multiple gods and science is answering the questions that a god used to provide an explanation for.
I firmly believe you can live a good, moral, humanist, enjoyable life as an atheist and that religion is superfluous in an era of progressive science."
Thanks for reading! And welcome to the first post of my blog.
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