I Don't Believe In God

Before I start this thing, I want to say that I’ve had serious doubts as to whether I should write this piece or not, because I know that someone will be offended, no matter what I say or how I say it. But screw it, here goes anyway.

I’m going to start by saying that there are a lot of things about religion I greatly admire. I admire the architecture. I believe that Cromer Parish Church in Cromer is one of the finest buildings I’ve ever seen, both inside and out. I used to enjoy climbing the steps in the church tower, and the view of the town from the top of the tower is absolutely stunning, especially if you’ve lived in Cromer all of your life.

I admire other things that have been created in the name of religion, such as art and music. For instance, Ave Maria is one of the finest pieces of music ever written, and I have fond memories of performing in a Christmas carol concert in Cromer when I was a child.

But despite all of this, despite everything I’ve seen and learned during my life, I have to say this: I don’t believe in God.

If that offends you then I’m not going to apologize, because it’s what I truly believe in. But for me the thing is that for the first few years of my life I was taught that the Christian God is all knowing and all loving, and that he (or she) wants nothing but good things for those that choose to follow the teachings of the bible, and for those that worship him (or her). (From now on I will refer to God as “him”, for time’s sake.)

But if God wanted nothing but good things for me, if he wanted nothing but joy and happiness for me, then why did he take my Mother away from me when I was just twelve years old? If God was such an all-knowing entity, then surely he would’ve known that this one, single event would have had a drastic effect on my life, and the lives of the rest of my family, for years to come.

On a similar note, why did he take my Father away from me just seven years later, when I was just nineteen years old? At a time when I was really only beginning to come to term with the loss of my Mother, he took away another of my guiding lights when he was, by today’s standards, still relatively young.

I’m not going to criticise anyone who follows the teachings of the Christian faith, or any faith for that matter, because I know that there are times when people find tremendous comfort in the teachings of whatever deity they follow. But personally, for me, religion doesn’t do anything. It’s offered me nothing for years, and I doubt if it will offer me anything in the future.

I’m not going to offer any apologies if what I’ve said here offends anyone, be you friend, family, but this is just the way I feel, and I’ve felt this way for years, and is my view really that offensive compared to the way others view religion?