I Can Do Christmas Too

     The other day on Facebook, I posted a simple inquiry: What do you want for christmas? I expected materialistic answers like an iPad, cute shoes, and the latest books on the New York Bestsellers list. Or maybe even intangibles like love, quality time with family, and world peace. Instead of gifts, I got an incredibly condescending answer from a member of my former church. She said, "You don't do Christmas".
     It is widely known in my former church that I'm an atheist, so I immediately understood what she was implying, but the fact is, its just not true. I still celebrate christmas, I just don't buy all the christian and pagan crap behind it. I don't have to believe in the Roman god, Saturn from saturnalia, but I still decorate a tree every year. I don't have to believe in the Scandinavian god, Yule, to eat a yule log. I'm not a Druid, but I still hope for a kiss beneath the mistletoe. I don't have to believe in Odin's flying night riders, to sing about Rudolph and his reindeer friends. And I don't have to believe that some magi gave gifts to baby Jesus in order to give gifts to my friends and family.
     As an atheist, the holidays that were once seemingly only meaningful because of religion, don't become any less meaningful just because the religion part goes away. I still appreciate them for what they always truly were: time spent with the people I love. I am not offended by nativity scenes in people's yards or crosses plastered all over commercials screaming anything other than the axis tilt being the "Reason for the Season!" I simply let people believe what they wish and celebrate how they'd like. I still wrap gifts that I know will put smiles on my family and friends' faces, place them under a decorative tree and anticipate the morning they rip them open. I will always sing "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" and watch White Christmas with my mom as we have done traditionally every year since I was a teen. And I will always tell my family how much I love them on Christmas day, because that is how I do christmas.

Merry Christmas
Happy Kwanzaa
Happy Hanukkah

Peace & Love
Chantal Wallace

Food for Thought...

Even though I am no longer a closeted atheist, some people can't seem to deal with the fact that I once strongly believed in god and now I simply don't. Many times, when I tell someone I don't believe in any gods their immediate answer is, "The devil has deceived you child!" or I get a disapproving moan and "I'm going to pray for you honey." I rarely run across a believer who asks me why I chose this path, instead of judging me and offering up some type of supernatural remedy to my disbelieving mind. My co-worker is no exception. She sends out these daily devotionals via e-mail and I politely asked her to stop. She refused because she didn't want to be responsible for, "starving [me] spiritually."
I have also received all kinds of strange questions that I guess are supposed to challenge the legitimacy of my non-belief. Someone asked me once if I was going to stop using U.S. Currency because it says 'In God We Trust' on it. I told them that the idea was absolutely ludicrous. Just because I use money with those words, doesn't mean I support the words. A friend of mine asked me if atheists gather together to talk about atheism, isn't it technically a religion? No. That's like saying political parties or AA are religions because people gather to discuss commons goals or beliefs. It has been described as a movement to end the stigma on the title atheist, but it is far from a religion. Atheism is a lack of belief in gods. That's it. That's all. End of story. Can I get more logical questions now?

I Do!

   

     I have heard some religious people argue that marriage is an institution ordained by god between a man and a woman, which naturally leads to the question: "Why would atheists want to get married?" Well for starters, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, Marriage is the "state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by the state" so no its not a religious anything... While many couples may get married in churches, mosques, etc. because of their religious affiliation, this doesn't mean that theists should have a monopoly on matrimony.

     If you don't want to get married by a minister, find a judge to conduct your ceremony. Don't want to get married in a church? Try a court house, a decent sized ballroom, or if you have the room for it, get married in the comfort of your own backyard. There are plenty of ways to do it, and religion is not necessary to get the job done. As for reasons to get married (and this goes for anyone, not only atheists) there are several:

~Sharing employer benefits (i.e. medical insurance)
~Filing joint tax returns
~Receiving veterans' and military spouses benefits
~Obtaining joint adoption rights
~Special visitation rights in hospitals, prisons, etc.
~Residency benefits (if your spouse isn't already a citizen)

...and the list goes on. I don't think the question is why should you get married (if you're considering it). The question is why shouldn't you? Think about it...

Peace & Love,
Chantal Wallace

Listen To Reason

*I do not own the rights to this song. It's not mine. I didn't write it. I didn't sing it. I just listen to it because it's incredible.

So I was watching The Atheist Experience, a television show in Austin, Texas put on by the Atheist Community of Austin. (For more information visit http://atheist-community.org/) When I started watching the show, this song is the first thing I heard and I thought wow! This is great! So I looked it up online and listened to the whole thing, and it was even better than I had originally imagined.

The song is exactly what I think an atheist anthem would sound like if we collectively had one. It speaks to the delusion of the religion and is basically a call to action. It's time to rid our lives of the fantasy and actually make a difference in the world! I can't say how much I love this song enough! It's amazing! Listen to the song. Listen To Reason.
Enjoy y'all! :)

Peace and Love,
Chantal Wallace

The Concept of Inner Awesome

Happy Easter/ Ēostre/ Zombie Jesus/ Pagan Fertility Ritual Day everyone! I could rant about how the celebration of Easter is yet another example of christians taking a pagan holiday and making it there own, but I think I'd like to keep it on a lighter note today. A long time ago, I saw the movie Coach Carter and I heard a quote that changed the way I think about myself and others: 

These words struck a chord with me because I know many people who are either remarkably intelligent or extremely talented and they downplay these qualities in order to be less offensive to others or to fit in with the crowd. And I think that's ridiculous! Why should anyone who is knowledgeable in many things be worried about being labeled a "Know-It-All"? Why should you have to appear like you have average abilities just to fit in? Since when are ignorance and impotence qualities to be admired?! People should be celebrated for the things they know, not put down. Everyone has something to offer, and by showing others what we know, exchanging ideas and sharing information, we all learn and grow together. We should encourage each other in our search for enlightenment. Stop judging and start learning! Stop hiding and start shining!

Peace & Love,
Chantal Wallace

Been There, Done That, Got The T-Shirt!

     Last weekend, I attended the Largest Secular Gathering in World History: The Reason Rally. I was so proud to be a part of the atheist movement that day. Around 30,000 secularists showed up, and I had the honor and privilege to be among them. There was entertaining music, inspiring speeches by some of the best and the brightest in the atheist community, and of course, an abundance of free stuff! As an atheist aspiring to come out to my friends and family, it was very important that I not only know that I had a supportive community backing me, but to see them as well. That was my mission in going to the rally, and I can very confidently say that it was a tremendous success. I took a ton of pictures, albeit not very good ones. I also took many videos. I stood there in the front, right next to the stage for 6 hours in the rain, recording as much as I could of the event, learning as much as I could from the people who had been my inspiration through this tedious journey. It was almost surreal seeing them all in one place. Richard Dawkins, Christina Rad, Victor Harris, Jamila Bey, PZ Myers, James Randi, Penn Jillette (via video), Greta Christina, and so many other atheists who I admired, all on stage, all telling us in their own way that it's okay to stand tall and boldly proclaim that, 'I am an atheist". I met people that I hope to stay in touch with for years to come, and I made memories that will stay with me for a lifetime. I hope to make it to the American Atheist Convention next year to see all these lovely speakers again.


Peace & Love,
Chantal Wallace

The Opening Ceremony.
We said the Pledge of Allegiance WITHOUT the words 'under god'.

The Reason Rally Stage

Greta Christina

Eddie Izzard :D

Tim Minchin

Christina Rad

PZ Myers

Surprise! You're on the big screen! :)

Paul Provenza: The Rally MC

Just a few of the thousands of secularists there.

...and of course, the free stuff! 

Godless and Happy

My first intention in creating this blog was to share my thoughts on many things, including atheism. You see, I wasn't always a non-believer. I was raised Southern Baptist / Non-Denominational. So I think it's appropriate for me to tell you the story of my own deconversion.

Most of my life, I called myself a christian, but I was really just going through the motions until I was in high school and I became devout. I read the bible every single day, I prayed several times a day,and I was in church 3-4 times a week. When my pastor told me jesus needed to be my number one priority in life, I took it to heart. At that time, I had no idea just how brainwashed I was. I was somewhat sheltered and no one had ever challenged my beliefs, so I never doubted my religion. I had a few questions, but I figured if god wanted me to know he'd tell me, so I never really questioned it, nor was I encouraged to. I was a good little christian girl.

Fast-forward a few years to college. I was still very devout and went to church regularly, but things seemed to be unraveling rather quickly. I was in the real world, facing real problems (bills, discrimination, full-time student with two part-time jobs, family issues etc.) and praying to an imaginary deity for help that never came. You can imagine the stress I was under. I wondered where god was for the first time in my life. My faith waivered a little each day. And when the pressure of life began to mount, I cracked. I remember crying on the floor praising, praying, practically begging for god to simply give me peace, and it never came. It was at that point that I thought, perhaps my "almighty god" isn't so mighty after all...

I was extremely upset with god, but not quite ready to give up on everything I had believed in for 19 years. Soon after, I met the circle of friends I have now (a majority of which are homosexual). My religion taught me, that they were abominations, perverted in all their ways, but that is not what I saw. In fact, they were the most compassionate, caring, non-judgmental people I had ever met in my life, and I just didn't understand how god could see them in such a negative manner. In my ignorance, I began to pray for them. That they would find god, that they would give up their "gayness" and become christians, because I was convinced that my friends were going to hell. This broke my heart, but even as I prayed these things I began to question it. This is who they are. Why did they need to change? I was the miserable one here, not them. And I had god in my life. And somewhere along the line, it occurred to me: How can god call himself love, but reject their love which was so obviously was genuine? And then go as far as condemning them to hell forever? From that point on, I doubted god's benevolence.

Not long after I had met these friends, I found out one of them was an ex-lutheran turned atheist. This came as a huge shock to me, because I had never heard of anyone deconverting. The idea never even occurred to me. It was sacrilege! It was ludicrous! YetI couldn't help asking him about it. He was the first person to ever tell me that god didn't exist. He was the first to open my eyes to the idea that religion is just a tool to control the masses. After that, things just fell into place. I started doing my own research. I read books by famous atheists such as Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins. I went to forums for ex-christians. I listened to atheist podcasts. I read the bible for the first time, without the blinders. It was enlightening, but also extremely frightening. I was terrified I was going to hell for doubting god. I was scared of what my family and church would think if they found out I was seriously considering leaving my faith behind. Fear is a powerful thing, but thankfully, so is knowledge. With it, I was able to make a clear decision. Eventually though, the fear wore off a bit and I stopped going to church. It took several months, but I am now a full fledge atheist. I don't know everything (who does?) but I know enough to understand that there probably is no god. Religion is man-made, and so was the fear it instilled in me.

So that is the story of how I freed myself from religion (with the help of a few resources and a really supportive friend). I am still semi-closeted because no one in my family knows about this, except my mother, and she thinks I am only having a minor crisis of faith, not chucking it altogether. Truthfully, I am afraid to come out to my family, because they are all deeply religious and will ask me all kinds of questions that I'm not sure I will be prepared to answer. So I am constantly researching and expanding my knowledge on...well everything. One day soon, I plan to tell them. I just want to be sure I am prepared when I do. Like my path through deconversion, the more I learn, the less fearful I become.

For anyone considering deconverting or currently in the process of doing so, I understand how difficult it can be. It is not an easy process, and it should be done at your own pace. There is an amazing community of atheists out there who have gone through the exact same thing and are wonderfully supportive. Please don't think for a second that you are alone. I will post links to the resources that greatly helped me through my own journey below, in hopes that it may help you too.

Peace & Love,

Chantal Wallace

http://new.exchristian.net/

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheThinkingAtheist/videos

http://www.atheists.org/

http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/ (also has the Quran and Book of Mormon)

My Atheist Reading List:

The God Delusion by: Richard Dawkins

God Is Not Great by: Christopher Hitchens

Infidel by: Ayaan Hirsi Ali