Atheists, tell me, a Roman Catholic: why should I become an atheist?

[chimp3]

@Balaco: It is of no concern to me whether you believe in god or not. I am not an evangelist for atheism. 

I can tell you that as a 13 year old catholic I rejected the church's teachings in a fit of youthful rebellion that has lasted until today- my 58th year of life. I remember my first atheist moment in 1972 taking John Lennon literally and going outside , looked up and imagined no heaven or hell below me. Felt good! Later on , my parents switched over to pentecostalism. I had little difficulty not following that family tradition.

John Lennon was a very empathetic individual, but no, sorry that is not a good reason to reject a god claim. That would only demonstrate the hypocrisy of religion claiming to be about peace when he really did. That is still an emotional appeal, all be it a good one advocating natural morality and empathy and not superstition.

No, the core reason to accept or reject any claim is evidence.  Knowing that other mammals show empathy for partners and family and young, points to where morality is really coming from, evolution. Since evolution is proven fact, while John Lennon DOES represent the good side of our species, evolution is still a much better reason to reject god claims. So is the age of the planet, sun, galaxy and universe.

To postulate a magic sky hero as being the factory boss of a 13.8 billion year old universe, as to which we are a mere blip in time in a vast universe mostly hostile to life, to me is absurd. It makes much more sense to me to know humans love a comforting lie which is easier to accept than our finite reality.

"Imagine" is a great song though, it does convey the best in our species when we favor empathy over tribalism.

It was good enough for me at 13. I did not think then or now to ask you or anyone else what they thought.