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Why should we believe that there is some omnipotent power in the universe to guide us and prevent serious catastrophe? As a diehard existentialist fan, finding solace in Kafka's metamorphosis and Camus' Myth of Sisyphus and The Stranger, it is hard for me to accept in the idea of a divine power. If there is such a power, why did the Holocaust occur? Or the Spanish Inquisition? Or the various World Wars? It is stifling to me to go through my days with the solid conviction that someone or something is watching over me. This also involves the troubling issue of free will. In other words, perhaps this argument is faulty and misjudged.

There is a God, but He is not responsible for what occurs on Earth. He created us, but we control ourselves and determine our own destinity. Nietzsche, who adamantly claimed that there is no God, stands as the quintessential role model of what an atheist is. We are truly all bugs under a giant microscope, and the sooner we accept our insignificant and inevitable fate as the human race, the easier life will be. For those religious people who attempt to instill faith in us atheists, let me say one thing briefly about religion. It has, throughout history, caused war, disagreement, xenophobia, and distrust among people. Atheists are not to be hated or viewed as anathemas. They merely have come to understand the irrationality in life, and no longer search for answers in a seemingly confused universe. They are Holden Caulfield from Catcher in the Rye or Meresault from The Stranger. To call them immoral would be a terrible mistake. They are amoral, and essetially indifferent, and thus have no reason to have a passionate belief in anything. Without that perilous investment of trust, it is hard for the atheist to be disappointed.

That is why the atheist is right...they have found a loophole in our Christian-based society, strange and isolated as it may seem, to acheive ironic happiness. They are the absurd hero from Myth of Sisyphus. They do not need divinity to show them life's purpose, because they have the peace of mind knowing already that there is none. Most people spend life pushing their boulders up a cliff, desperately clinging to the notion that by doing so they are closer to achieving "enlightenment." Their struggles are endured because they are convinced that they will soon find serenity. This, as we all know, is not the case. Because the atheist surrenders all hope that he will find contentment, he has a striking advantage: he will never be let down, and if something good serendipitously occurs, he will simply be pleasantly surprised.

Learn more about this author, Valerie Savran.
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