THE CHURCH OF ATHEISM 

          David Silverman bills himself as the President of American Atheists, but he knows it’s just a scam.  He is really Pastor of the Church of Atheists, because in reality the American Atheists represent the very thing by which they claim to be offended…religion!  Webster’s Dictionary defines religion as ‘a cause, principle or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith’.  It would certainly seem that the organization to which Mr. Silverman and his followers belong satisfies this definition.  After all, they have shown that they hold to their beliefs with ardor by purchasing expensive billboard space in several prominent locations throughout the country in order to display their message insulting the great majority of Americans who believe in God…calling their beliefs a scam.  If that isn’t enough, Mr. Silverman called the American people ‘stupid’ last night on the Bill O’Reilly Show.  As a Christian, however, I felt sad for Mr. Silverman when I heard him describe his idea of God as ‘an invisible man up in the sky’, or something to that effect.    

          I am reminded of a recent incident that occurred while I was attending a luncheon for a totally unrelated matter.  I had enjoyed my conversation with a very nice lady sitting next to me and towards the end of the luncheon she excused herself early, announcing to the table at large that she had to attend a meeting of the local atheist’s organization.  I thought to myself, if atheism is a lack of belief in God, then what do they have to meet about?  Then it dawned on me.  Atheism is, itself, a religion, with adherents, leaders and a shared set of beliefs.  And now, the proselytizing of Mr. Silverman and his small band of zealots has confirmed what I came to realize that day.  It is interesting to note that the insults promulgated by Mr. Silverman and his cult of American Atheists were dished out evenly to Christians, Jews and Muslims alike.  Some of the recipients of their hateful words are not likely to take it sitting down, if you know what I mean.