Cafe Leone

I am an atheist because god doesn’t exist. You do not need to read further.

It truly is that simple. If god doesn’t exist, then nothing else in this thing called religion matters. No bible, no life after death, no hell, no Messiahs, no miracles, no prayers, no spirituality, no devils, no angels….no….well, faith.

It does not matter to me that religion gives people hope or inspiration. That is all wonderful and I guess I am happy that people have something to latch on to. But without first addressing the fundamental question of god’s existence, nothing else matters to me. God was not the first cause. You can call god, God, or you can call it The Light, or some other new-agey term and god still does not exist.

I would never try to convince anyone that believes in god, that god does not exist, but I also should not try to convince anyone that purple elephants are not living in my butt. I am happy to hear that god provides people the answers they need in life or that god is what is left when nothing else in life makes sense. But to me, god does not exist, so it is not simply a “choice” to be an atheist no more than it is a choice for the believer.

I have been told that my lack of faith is bleak. Of course, I do not believe that it is. But more importantly, even if it was a fact my existence is a bleak one, does not alter even for a second the notion in my head that god does not exist.

I have been told that I am lazy because I am not willing to do the work of faith. That is simply ridiculous. In my head, that is the same as saying that I am lazy because I don’t want to do the work in proving 2 plus 2 is 5.

I have been told that I must have had negative experiences as a child that clouded all the true glory that is god. This couldn’t be further from the truth. I have very happy memories of growing up Catholic and sincerely crave some of those traditions and rituals. A priest never touched me.

There is nothing in this universe greater than myself (no, that is not the same as saying that god lies within). I am happy to be an atheist, but more importantly, I am BOTH happy AND and atheist. If your journey is different than mine, then I wish you happiness too.

To BoMR (Both of My Readers): I am happy to elaborate and even happier to hear your stories, but I will not post comments that are offensive to me or Christians. I am in control of very little in my life, but this blog and its contents is one of them.

Thanks for listening. I will happily rephrase my words if I appear intolerant of anyone’s belief system. Not my intent.

atheism | 12 Comments »

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Originally uploaded by danleone.

My son had a homework assignment where he had to interview one of his grandparents. The point of the assignment is to ask questions and then follow-up questions. My mom is from Uruguay South America and she comes from a very impoverished neighborhood on the outskirts of Montevideo.

One of the questions he asked was “What did you do for fun when you were growing up?” I assume deep down he thought she played some primitive electronic game, like Pong. She told him that they really did not have any money, but she remembers playing a game called Pallana (in my mom’s dialect, this sounds like “puh-SHA-na”). She tried to describe it but really could not get the point across that it only involved five rocks.

So, we went outside so she could show him how they played. I was just impressed that she remembered since it must have been 50 years since she even thought about this game.

The game is very much like “modern day” jacks, but instead of picking up jacks, you create a little bridge with your hands and scoop the rocks, each time increasing by one, and try to toss them under the bridge.

I can’t say that my son was overly fascinated by the game but I bet he can appreciate the simple times that this game was created.

I remember playing a game that is not as dangerous as it sounds, but it involved flinging pen knives off of different parts of your body and trying to get it stuck into the dirt. I don’t know what it was called or if anyone ever impaled themselves (I mean, someone’s toes MUST have been staked at some point!).

As I am remembering old games, I am now thinking about a game that my dad used to play with his friends (he is from Italy) that involved standing around in a circle and throwing down fingers and counting them and somehow keeping tabs on something. I don’t really remember, but I will ask him and you should be prepared to see a picture of that soon!

What games do you remember when you were growing up…in more simpler times?

uncategorized | 2 Comments »

The last place I look for my book recommendations is on the Oprah Book Club. But, after a heartfelt review from a friend of mine, I read The Road, by Cormac McCarthy.

As BoMR (Both of My Readers) know, I am an atheist and as I began this book, it smelled suspiciously of a parable. In fact, there was something “biblical” in the writing. So, I was very guarded while reading it which may have taken some of the magic away. But once I let go of my defensiveness, this book grabbed me by the throat and ripped my heart from my chest.

The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world the cause of which is never determined. But clearly almost all life has been destroyed and the landscape can only be described in the oft-used word as ashen. We follow the travels of two survivors, a father and son, as they head south in search of warmer climates. The two are never named, which is a perfect trick to allow the reader to insert themselves into the roles.

During their travels, they encounter lots of nothing interspersed with scenes of intensely disturbing images. But these two trudge on with nothing but a shopping cart filled with their worldly possessions. We are constantly faced with the bleakness of their situation. They move forward but at no point are we confident that it will serve any purpose. In fact, the man is very aware the day may come that he will need to take his son’s life in place of continuing.

The constant dirge of the bleak landscape is threaded with the boy’s humanity. We are lead to believe that this boy wasn’t even alive before the world ended, but he still retains a nearly innate goodness.

I can’t tell if this book should be called science fiction, because I believe it would water down all-too-real scenario.

Though, there is some religious imagery and there is a feeling that the boy appears almost to be “the Chosen One”, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in having their hearts chewed on and spat out.

Have you had a chance to read this book? What did you think of it?

uncategorized | 2 Comments »