Metroplex Atheists
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God And The Tooth Fairy
©1998 by Shelly H.
I am an atheist. I have been an atheist since I was about 5 years old. That was around the time that I lost my first tooth and received a visit from the tooth fairy, which really freaked me out. A little flying thing would come into my room at night and take my tooth and leave money. The questions started: How does it get into my room, Mom? Why does it want MY tooth? Will I feel it take the tooth? Does it glow? Mom realized that I wasn’t buying the whole tooth fairy thing and told me it was just pretend. Somehow that made me feel a lot better to know that mom was taking my tooth and giving me money.
Being somewhat inquisitive, the next day I asked her, with tears streaming down my face, if other things were pretend, like the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, or God. My mother said that the Bunny and Santa were pretend, but that God was real. That was probably the time when I first started doubting.
Now that I am older, I have done a lot of searching. For a long time I was afraid to not believe, even though deep down I didn’t. Recently though, I have finally really looked at my own values and some of the values that the Bible puts forth and have found them incompatible, particularly for women.
I feel that self-esteem is very important for young women. I have noticed that women tend to lose their self-esteem when they become teen-agers. This carries on into adulthood and is very destructive. I think part of the root cause in America is Christianity. The Bible treats women as secondary. We are to obey our husbands.
. . .the head of every women is the man . . . (1 Cor. 11:3)
What is really scary about this is that this verse is being used even to this day. The Southern Baptist Convention met in Salt Lake City, Utah this year and this verse was so important, the members of the convention used it to uphold the notion that women must obey their husbands.
I don’t know about you, but I certainly feel that I have a good head on my shoulders. I am smart and can do things on my own. Why do I need to have a husband tell me every thing to do?
I am married. I have been for seven years. We have a relationship built upon mutual acceptance. There are things that he does better than I do. Likewise, there are things that I am better at. We encourage each other to do things that we wouldn’t accomplish otherwise. I do not allow a Bible or any other set of written-down rules to dictate how I should live my married life.
Which brings me to the question I hear the most when people find out that I am an atheist –"what is your moral base?" Well, I must ask the same question back –"what is YOUR moral base?" If you state the Bible, then you really need to follow ALL of it and not just the parts with which you agree. I know right from wrong because my parents taught me to use my head. Christians do not need to consult the bible every time they need to make a moral decision. They do it through deliberate thought, just like me.
I am happier now that god has gone the way of the tooth fairy.
