Welcome to the Penn and Teller bulletin board, a great place to keep in touch with
fellow Penn & Teller fans or ask questions about the guys. We welcome your thoughts!
No one likes to think they have failed or made the wrong decisions so it is tempting to wish there was someone who could make everything alright, or even someone to blame it all on, like God. However, would that not also make God responsible for everything that has gone right? To believe that does oneself a great injustice. When people overcome a difficult period in their lives they are inclined to thank God, as if the idea that they triumphed through their own strength and determination is absurd. Practical support from family and friends really can help God is not on the other end of the phone when you need to talk, God will not sit up all night holding your hand when you feel bad, nor will he hold back your hair while you are throwing up into the toilet. If you overcome some hardship in your life, congratulate yourself before you thank some god for your success. YOU were suffering, YOU took action, YOU fought, and YOU won. YOU. Not God. YOU were strong. Give yourself some credit.
I too have made decisions I regret. At times I am discouraged and full of doubt, but at least the choice and the power to change is in my hands and nobody elses. I tried the God thing. It didnt help. I guess my heart wasnt in it because my head knew it is absurd. This world was not created by supernatural forces but is the result of an astonishingly long string of cosmic happy chances. Life beat the astronomical odds against it to thrive as it does today in all its complexities. That, to me, is much more breathtaking and inspiring than the notion that we are here at the whim of some stroppy deity. If you need faith, try having faith in the world around you. Its always good for a surprise.
Atheism can be hard, but also enlightening and often very rewarding.
