How shall I respond if you ask me,
Written by David Yanez
What are you?
Do you believe in God?
If not, What do you believe in?
Don’t you believe in anything?
Shall I make a list and carry it around
Lest you judge me for not having any beliefs?
“Judge not, that ye be not judged”
I wonder who said that?
Oh yeah, It was the same guy who judged
Those who didn’t like his preaching and said:
“Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers,
How can ye escape the damnation of hell.”
How civilized. How tolerant.
What a gentleman.
I shall respond civilized.
I shall respond with tolerance.
I shall rise above the fear, which controls you,
The fear, which holds you prisoner and,
I shall proudly say:
I am a Humanist, a Free Thinker
A Naturalist, a Skeptic
A Secularist, a Scientist at heart,
An Agnostic, a Nontheist
A Rationalist, an Empiricist, and a Positivist.
And Last I am an Atheist.
“For I am a destroyer of Gods
In a world of Demons,
A giver of hope to those who know not,
For I am Human,
And Humane is what I long to be”.
I believe in life before death.
I believe this is the only life we will ever have.
I believe we can do in life what we could never do in death.
I believe in love, compassion, justice, equality,
Forgiveness, and freedom for all.
Did I mention I believe in social, economic, and racial equality?
I believe in your right to believe, and say what you wish.
I believe in not saying that which will cause
Physical and mental suffering to others.
I believe that no human is collateral when seeking justice.
I believe that those in power should be
Held accountable for the deliberate deaths of the innocent.
No life is expendable, No life at all.
I believe war is a crime if it can be avoided.
I believe the innocent should be defended
From their oppressors through shared international law.
Did I say I believe in justice?
I believe I don’t know the answers, but neither do you.
Most of all I believe in hope,
That someday humankind can live in peace.
And accept his place within nature
And put aside his selfish needs
For those who suffer,
For those that are disabled
For those with no voice,
For those less fortunate
And for all the creatures that can co-exist with us.
I’ve contemplated the big picture since I was a child,
And know in my heart
There is no God,
Which by definition makes me an Atheist,
But as you can see,
I’m a whole lot more!
