Coming Out of the Closet....Again!

Quickly! What is the difference between a deist,theist, and atheist? Do you know what an agnostic believes? Whats the difference in a monotheist and a polytheist? You are not alone if you can not answer these questions. I assume you can figure out these terms are dealing with the belief in a god,but to what extent? Lets define:

-Theists believe there is a God who made and governs all creation. He is a personal God that cares about you,blesses you,will on occasion,but not always, answer your prayers and even dictates weather patterns around the world.

-Deists believe there is a God that created all things,but does not believe He is superintendent and governor of the affairs and events of the world. Deists believe that God set forth "Laws of Nature" that act per se as a clock acts without the supervision of its maker

-Atheists disbelieve even the existence of a God. He thinks matter is eternal and what theists and deists call "creation" is simply a result of natural laws.

-Agnostic believes only what is knowable. He defines all things God as being "past human understanding" He is neither theist,deist, nor atheist as all these are past understanding.

-Monotheists believe in one God (Jews,Christians,and Muslims)

-Polytheists believe in multiple gods in which each deity is distinguished by special functions. (Hindus, Ancient Greek,Roman,and Egyptian gods)

By now you should have defined yourself and the official "label" on your Godly beliefs. These are very personal to an overwhelming majority of people to the extent of never talking about them or even wanting to. Let us avoid the topic of belief in God and our religions in society.  Two taboos I have heard over the years has really stuck in me concerning our belief in God.

1) People avoid and ignore talking about their religious beliefs because they can be embarrassed to admit some of the things they actually believe in.

2) Religion is such a slippery slope,that even family members will not discuss it.

can I get an Amen!
Today I'm opening the door and stepping out of the closet for the second time in my life.  I will disclose my belief in God, and announce my views concerning why i believe or don't believe in any and all things God. This blog will be my tool to disclose them in many future entries. I'm breaking the taboos!

First, I am  not a theist. You can forget that. This in my opinion is the silliest of them all. To think that there is this great surveillance camera in the sky that cares about Michael Weaver of Roanoke,VA is just silly. I do not believe in the power of prayer(future blog), therefore its impossible for me to think there is a God somewhere looking down on me...over to me...up at me...whatever direction he is in and making sure all my needs are met if I just ask. He's not healing my common cold. He's not turning a red light green when I'm in a hurry.He's not making sure I get a good offer on my house when its on the real estate market. He's not sending the rain clouds my way when my plants need watering.
And yet i have many many theist friends that actually play by these beliefs. Look no further than my news feed on facebbok on any given Sunday as evidence that theism rules the roost. I cant accept it kids. A personal God?! Who cares about his creation?! ummm No.  I'm out!

Second, If I proclaimed a belief in a God I would go the deist route. He created the natural laws that govern our world and galaxies but doesn't care to interfere with the contents created by those laws (which of course as you may or may not know includes humans) Now if this is the case, How would we know? How would we even suspect that there is a God? We wouldn't know. Plain and simple. Which I guess makes me an agnostic. Defined earlier as believing in only what is knowable. That seems pretty accurate.

Lastly, and personally, I would even go so far as declaring myself as an atheist.
A non-believer. I'm just not compelled into believing in a god. The only problem with atheism, (other than being treated as an ill to society by the theists around the world) its best described by one of the most prominent atheist minds I listen to on youtube and of course when reading his books. Get used to the name Sam Harris. I will be referencing him alot.

"Atheism has no content.Being an atheist is like being a non-astrologer. No one gets taught to be a non-astrologer. You just don't get convinced by astrology."

Sam puts it another way by suggesting that society does not have a term we use for being a non-racist as well.
 No one should have to proclaim their non-believer beliefs. Everyone that has ever been born was born a non-believer (atheist). We lose sight of that.  You are taught to be a believer as you grow. Some people were never taught to believe at all, (Not the case for me) if they were raised in a secular environment.

In closing, by declaring my non-belief or half hearted belief, that doesn't make me a lesser person. Maybe a braver person. Put me down for 10% deist,40%agnostic,and 50% atheist. These numbers are subject to change in the years to come.
I live in a natural world, not a supernatural one.
...and so do you. This world acts in such a way...that you would expect it to act... as if it was run by ALL natural forces. and until you can convince me of a personal God is out there dictating this all natural world, I shall remain where we all started at birth....as a non-believer.

Sources: 1) infoplease.com used to define isms
2) Sam Harris quote from "Real Time" with Bill Maher