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Hello everyone! YouTube, Facebook, Twitter; whoever sees this. I wanted to make another
commentary about why I am an Atheist. I know for a lot of people that have known me in
the past, that I was really involved in Christianity. I was a believer. So people that see me now
might be wondering why -or I guess how- I became an Atheist. So, I guess it'd be a good
idea to share why that is. But first I want to start with some background. So, I grew
up in a home where religion wasn't a huge deal. We weren't necessarily forced to go
to church, and even when we did it wasn't like your traditional black church with all
the shoutin' and carrying on, and such. It was a Catholic church, so I went to a Catholic
school growing up. And a lot of the things we did were moreso cultural than they were
spiritual. So, for example, we'd say a grace before our meals. It was, sort of, a regimented
grace. "Bless us, O Lord, and These Thy Gifts..." Some of you have probably --you know the rest
of that. It was more of a cultural thing. So it wasn't until I got to college that I
started to see a different side of things. I started to see more people that believed
in god, and were --they call it "on fire for god." So there was a gospel group that I took
to very easily because I played music. And I'd never played in church before, but because
I could play music and they needed a musician, I was at a point where I was ready to soak
up knowledge and learn and all this stuff. So I joined up and I ended up becoming the
director of that group. I also ended up playing for the local A.M.E. church. So, I got to,
in a sense, experience the "black church" culture from the outside looking in, if that
makes any sense. Again, I wasn't raised in it, but I got to see what it's like. And for
all intents and purposes, at that point in time, I believed in God. When I'd sing songs
and play songs and when I'd pray I really meant it; I really believed that there was
a god. So, people try to tell me now, "Oh, you never really believed; you never were
a true Christian." No, I was a true Christian; I did believe. Fast forward to after college,
I got married. As Christian I got married, and a couple years in, I came across --One
of my favorite shows is South Park. And there was an episode of South Park talking about
Scientology. Those of you who've seen the episode, you see at the bottom of the screen
-- when they started explaining this whole ridiculous belief of Scientology about how
Xenu, DC-8's, and volcanoes and souls and Thetans, All this stuff they were talking
about. At the bottom of the screen it said, "This is What Scientologists Actually Believe."
And I said, "That can't be true! People don't really believe this crap, right?" So, I did
what anybody would do; I started researching. I looked it up, Googled it, and my mind was
absolutely blown! Not only did these people believe it, there is this whole conspiracy,
if you will. There's this cover-up, they don't want you talking to anybody. It's like a cult.
It's basically a cult. It's all about money. They recruit superstars like Tom Cruise, John
Travolta. That's how they sustain themselves. Essentially, when I realized that that's what
they were all about, I started to question it. I started asking questions like, "Well,
how is this any different than the religion that I believe in?" And I started to research
that. And THAT is when the decline started taking place. I mean, it took a period of
months. I was really, really researching trying to get my questions answered. And the more
questions I had, and the more answers I found, I started to slowly lose my belief. And really,
the way it happened is that -- I didn't want to lose it. I didn't start with the intent
of being a non-believer, I just wanted to know. So, I started reading the Bible. And,
lemme tell ya; I got to --I mean really, in Genesis. It starts there. When you start reading
Genesis, and you start realizing this doesn't make any scientific sense. This doesn't make
any moral sense. At that point, I didn't know what an Atheist was. I didn't know what I
was; I just knew I can't be a Christian. I can't believe the Bible anymore. If there
is a god out there, this can't be it. This can't be the one, in the Bible. It just can't.
And really, for a little while after that, I was scared to let go of my belief in a god.
Until one day, I just asked God, "If you're real, prove it." And I was serious! I asked
God to show Himself in a way that would prove demonstrable to me; in a way that I can understand.
Not this whole vague, "Oh, God will send a sign," or God will --stuff like that. I wanted
a tangible -something with evidence. Something I could hold onto. And I said, "Hey, God,
if you're there, do this, and I'll believe in You. I'll trust You." So, it didn't happen.
From that point on, I think it was December 17th of 2009, I think. I don't know the exact
date. But from that point on I found out that I was an Atheist. Now since then, I've gone
into different debates with people, I've talked it out. I've listened to all the arguments.
I've lost some friends - whatever - because they thought I was being offensive. When really,
the only thing that's really offensive is that I just don't share the same beliefs as
you. I don't want to be rude, but I just don't share the same beliefs as you. So I'm going
to question. And when people get cornered, they get angry. So, really at this point,
yeah, I'm an Atheist. To define what that really means, I'm not saying that there is
not a god. That's not what I'm saying, because I don't know for sure. No one can say, in
all honesty, knows for sure. But if there is a god out there, show me some evidence.
That's it! If there is a god that exists, then there should be some tangible evidence
that we can point to. So far, nothing's out there. So, if you really want me to believe
again, or if you really are thinking that you're going to change my opinion, okay. Present
some scientific, some empirical evidence that this god is real, and I'll jump right on board.
Until then, it hasn't happened in - how many years? It ain't happening. I don't see it
happening. But that's it. I just wanted to talk a little bit about that, and put my thoughts
out there. For any of you guys, especially black Atheists, who are still in the closet,
who still are living in places where an Atheist is basically a curse word. Ask the questions.
And don't be satisfied with the non-answers you get from your pastor, or the Bible. Expand
that. And you'll find that there's no way that any sane person can believe in something
so insane. Anywho, that's what I wanted to talk about today. And I'll be putting up more
videos as I think of them. Thanks for watching! You can Like, comment, subscribe, share - all
that. Take it easy!