Ricky Gervais’ Argument for Atheism

In this weekend’s Wall Street Journal, Ricky Gervais wrote a long, non-comedic piece on why he’s an atheist. You’re not going to get many laughs out of it, but it’s a really interesting and well-reasoned read. Anyways, not everything needs to be funny, you animals. Why don’t you try not hiding behind humor for once??

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. If it helps you in any way, then that’s fine with me. It’s when belief starts infringing on other people’s rights when it worries me. I would never deny your right to believe in a god. I would just rather you didn’t kill people who believe in a different god, say. Or stone someone to death because your rulebook says their sexuality is immoral. It’s strange that anyone who believes that an all-­‐powerful all knowing, omniscient power responsible for everything that happens, would also want to judge and punish people for what they are. From what I can gather, pretty much the worst type of person you can be is an atheist. The first four commandments hammer this point home. There is a god”, I’m him, no one else is, you’re not as good and don’t forget it. (Don’t murder anyone, doesn’t get a mention till number 6.)

In any case, here’s a taste:

Ricky Gervais’ Argument for Atheism