A question atheists get asked often is, "What led you to become an atheist?" It really can't be answered in a sentence. We atheists all have a story of how we discovered (or were nurtured into) our freethinking selves. For atheists in a majority religious America, we all started with seeds of freethought. I like to think of it as a garden. Let me explain.
In every atheist's mind, there is a garden that flourishes with the flora of knowledge. This knowledge has been throughout the years nurtured (through active participation in learning), weeded out (reviewed and questioned), and strengthened (by repeated experimentation) from all kinds of different sources. At the root of this knowledge is the evidence that gives the knowledge power to rise and be seen by the world. These gardens of knowledge are the most valuable tool any atheist possesses. At the heart of each active freethinker's garden was once a seed of freethought, of questioning, of wonder, of curiosity.
I remember my first seed of freethought. I was in second grade. The teacher made the class fill up small, clear cups with water from the water fountain with our names on them. We each had to mark the level of water in the cup with a marker and lay our cups on the window sill when it was sunny outside. A couple of sunny days passed and then we had to check the water level in each of our cups. The water level was now below the line that we drew with our markers. I was astonished. Where did the water go?
At first, I thought the teacher had poured a little bit of water out of every single cup. Then she told us that the cups weren't touched the whole time. I still couldn't figure out where the water went to. It drove me crazy. It just didn't make any sense. Then the teacher explained to us that it was called evaporation. The water turned into a gas and was now part of the air. I couldn't believe it. The water just magically disappeared! I still wasn't satisfied though. Was the water gone forever? Could the water come back?
The water could come back, but only through a process my teacher called condensation. The water molecules could (if it was cold enough) collect on the cup and form droplets. Then she told us that our bodies were made up of almost entirely water. Then I heard a question I will never forget. It came from somewhere in the classroom, one of my fellow students asked, "When Jesus came back, was that because of condensation?"
The question (an completely forgivable one for a 7 year-old) didn't surprise me that much. It was the answer that did. The teacher said, "No, Jesus didn't come back through condensation. He just did."
I raised my hand, "How did he come back then?" The teacher replied, "I don't know."
The thoughts jumped into my head, "WHAT??? The teacher doesn't know??? It can't be!!! How can the teacher not know? If the teacher doesn't know, then that means that I don't know." Teachers were supposed to know everything, or so I thought. If Jesus was almost all water like me, then that could've been the only way!
It didn't make sense. I had heard two contradictory things: Jesus came back from the dead and the only way water can come back after it's disappeared is through condensation. I wrestled with that thought for days. I was determined to find the answer. I needed to know.
My first seed of freethought, of curiosity, of wonder, and of questioning had been planted. The first of many I've tended to over the years. Freethought is something I've grown to value more than anything else in my life up to this point. And I don't think there's anything more valuable than that honestly.
What was your first seed of freethought? Did it come to you naturally? Was it a friend, family member, teacher that helped you find it? If you are religious, do you have questions that bug you about your particular religious tenets? Leave your stories and thoughts in the comments. I can't wait to hear them.
Terry
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