Who does an atheist lean on in times of trouble?

[abaris]

Want to know some super secret bullshit? You know the saying "There's no atheists in the foxholes"? It's crap. I've seen combat. You're too busy trying to stay your ass alive to pray.

My grandfather fought in the trenches of World War I. And for all I know, he's always been an atheist or at least didn't care about religion. I was too young to ask him when he died, but he was jewish and I didn't even know what that meant till later, since there wasn't a single religious tradition being observed in his house.

I still have his diary covering the years 1914/15. Not one mention of god there, but lots about shrapnel rain, dirt and moisture.