Ricky Gervais - As an atheist, I see nothing “wrong” in believing in a god. I don’t think there is a god, but belief in him does no harm.
I thought this to be the case but now have concluded that it is a matter of degree. Many people believe in a god and that belief brings them comfort. The harm is done when people take their belief to extremes and allow it to take over their lives. In the end they are on a mission to save the world. I have seen the damage it has done to my own family, all of whom now shun me, except one brother. My other brother, who is in his 50's, is still eaking out a living with a window cleaning round. He lives in a tiny house, has no pension and shuns me, as he waits for the 'new world.' It is pitiful to see the way that his fantasy believes have improverised him and robbed him of living a fuller life. I loved him deeply.
Family members didn’t shun me initially but as I tried to reach out to them and discus the contradictions in their beliefs they started to withdraw. I wrote a book about Jehovah's Witness and the curtain came down. So it was my own fault that I lost my family. Should I have stood by and watched them waste their lives without expressing my concern? The answer for me is no. If you love someone you reach out and try to help, whatever the cost.
My brother and ex-family are just one example who happen to be Jehovah's Witnesses. All religious belief can have the same effect. Over the years I have seen other people that I care for move down the slippery slope of placing their hopes and expectation in magical thinking. As each year passes they slide further and further down that slippery slope. In time the gap between them and those that cannot accept their fantasy becomes more difficult to bridge. If their partner does not come on board, divorce is common. Birds of a feather flock together and fragile truces between people with opposing views seldom last unless one side is prepared to remain silent.
To speak out and challenge or to remain silent? That is the question.
