Below are responses from 2002-2005 to my challenge: Does atheism make you better? I present them as is—no comments, just first names and initials—to stir thought, not assault. Send replies to lewis@sullivan-county.com (no filth or sermons, please). As a Classical Deist in 2025, I see atheism as a blank slate—neither good nor bad till you add what you do believe. Faith can inspire or destroy; atheism can free or flounder. I’d rather judge by reason and deeds than creeds—nature’s order trumps both dogma and denial. —Lewis Loflin
Hello, I’ve enjoyed your site. As an Objectivist, thus atheist, I conditionally accept your challenge. Your questions miss the mark—you noted why: atheism only says what I don’t believe, not what I do. That’s where epistemology, morals, ethics, aesthetics, values, politics, and actions show up.
Atheism just rejects mysticism—some “atheists” still buy into group identity or race mind nonsense. It’s what one believes that defines them. Reason and ethics are absolutes in natural reality—no gods needed. Reason’s my credo as an Objectivist; a Marxist atheist might push collective needs and consciousness, which isn’t atheistic at all.
Atheism alone didn’t better my life—it’s a logical conclusion (Aristotle: only positives need proof). Objectivism did—reason, egoism, capitalism—validated my own deductions after a sheltered Catholic upbringing. My scientist husband agrees: it’s our happiness’ bedrock. Ayn Rand quit booze without 12 steps; my friend’s religious ex beat her, citing Biblical authority. Religion tanked her life—she’s agnostic now.
Atheism’s not a creed—it’s a clue, not a system. It can’t “do” anything; claiming it does is like saying no leprechauns leave me hopeless. Sorry for the length.
—Sincerely, Jeanne
Webmaster: Outstanding response.
I’ll add my $0.02. You assume atheists think no religion equals no conflict—I don’t. Authoritarianism and fanaticism, religious or not, are the real culprits. I respect non-authoritarian believers as they respect me. You also assume atheists are smug, all-knowing—I’m not. I haven’t figured out life’s purpose; that’s honesty, not weakness.
Belief and morality don’t lockstep—atheists have Stalin and Camus; Christians, the Inquisition and Bonhoeffer. I didn’t choose atheism; I realized I’d always been one, despite years faking faith. My morals didn’t shift—my beliefs did. I value truth over comfort, not betterment.
Your line—“After the chains are broken, then what? A void?”—puzzles me. Are you saying authoritarianism’s better than nothing? Ditching it, not just religion, brings peace. Atheism’s a lack of belief, not a full ethic—you add something else. It’s incomplete, sure, but that’s good—it breeds humility, not absolute answers that spawn fanatics. Respecting each other matters more than beliefs.
—Joshua
Nice site—a rare conservative with an atheist streak. Your creator god’s so aloof it’s a non-issue, like a natural event. I’m linking your site—it’s brilliant.
You say atheists think they’ve got it all—I don’t. We just ditch superstition, like you’d dismiss a kid’s leprechauns. Does atheism better you? Irrelevant. If a lie improves you, it’s still a lie. Brainwashing for morality’s evil—wasting life on myths. See here for more.
Flawed Bible? Good enough—disproves the Christian God. An unworshiped creator’s no god, just an alien force—same as nature. After breaking religion’s chains, truth’s the gain. The Enlightenment—Jefferson, Franklin, Paine—shows atheism’s fruit, not monks. Atheism’s not a worldview, just a stance. Communism’s the dogma in Stalin’s Russia, not atheism—it’s a pseudo-religion. Great site—thanks!
—John, Conservative Atheist
I might “lose”—I’m a hard agnostic, not atheist. I don’t know there’s no God; I just find it unlikely. Atheists claiming certainty catch flak for godlike omniscience—I agree. Belief’s about truth, not betterment. Even if atheism’s rational, God could still exist—like flat-Earth saints don’t make Earth flat.
Atheists I know back freedom of thought, not dogmatic atheism as religion. I dispute pantheism equaling atheism—Masonic books say it’s matter-worship, you say it’s immanent God. Can’t one be a Monist? An atheist could flip it: pantheism’s theism, universe as mind. Either way, it’s distinct.
—Lee
Your questions don’t fit—atheism’s not a fix like faith for addicts. It just makes me own my actions. Disbelieving God’s like disbelieving the tooth fairy—barely a blip. My morals evolve from society, not religion—good Christians and atheists exist, no link.
Religion’s global sway—wars over invisible beings—is wild and sad. The mind’s power drives it, not truth.
—Kirk, Recovering East Tennessean
Atheism’s positives: (1) Independent thought, (2) fact-checking, (3) fewer rash marriages, (4) respect for secular law and ethics, (5) valuing non-religious morality. I preached ten years, a sinner, before atheism—no divine intervention, no personal proof. With an IQ of 122, I discern truth from herd opinion. Atheism adds courage and honesty—life’s essentials.
—Curtis
Acknowledgment: Responses from Jeanne, Joshua, John, Lee, Kirk, and Curtis, hosted and updated by Lewis Loflin with thanks to Grok (xAI) for assistance.
