There were 2 friends looking at a very beautiful painting in a prestigious gallery. Both are intending to buy the painting.

“Well” said the first guy to his friend, “I will buy that painting because it will impress my Boss. If my Boss is impressed, he will give me a raise in my salary. He might even promote me. Then I will be hanging around with all the big shots in his exclusive lounge…hehehe rubbing elbows with other big shots. Well, I will be forever licking his ass, but Hey! At least I’m there with the Boss. How about you, why do you want to buy that painting?”

“Because it is beautiful.” said the second man.

That’s the difference between a believer and an atheist, it’s all about rewards. It reminds me of dog obedience school. In a dog obedience school, in order for a trainer to train a dog, he must give the dog treats every time a dog did something right. Most believers do good deeds because they think that doing good deeds will send them to the fluffy clouds of heaven. While others try to convince themselves that by mere faith of believing on a certain savior is a free ticket to Paradise. Are Christians leveling themselves to dogs? So they become faithful and obedient to the dogma, just because they want to go to a blissful hereafter.

Let us scrutinize both convictions.

Are you really doing a good deed if you are expecting a reward? Or is it just a selfish play to deceive your own God? Now, while walking in the streets of manila, say that you saw some beggars begging food. So are you giving him a piece of your glut because you want to fill your belly with repayments when the Great Judgment arrives? You call that charity?

Real goodness comes with no strings attached. That is how humanism acts to a fellow person. Isn’t it more rewarding in your heart that you lend a hand without expecting any prize? You have to try it sometimes.

If organized religions such as Christianity preach about helping with rewards, does it just show how these fiends really underestimate your capacity of doing good? Good deeds with reward is not a good at all, it’s just having self-interest disguised as good. It is a façade.

Now, I heard about this concept of “Once Save, Always Save”. A Christian fundy once told me that Christian doesn’t need to be good, all they have to do is to believe in Jesus Christ and they will go to heaven. Now, this is odd. A lot of criminals in Muntinglupa penitentiary are Jesus believers; in fact the name of Jesus and his face are tattooed on their smelly hides. Some of these inmates have cases of rape; I just can imagine that while they are raping an innocent, young girl, they are yelling “Jesus” in the midst of their orgasm. What is more shocking to think are the politicians who rob every Filipino their hard earned money yet they lead prayer rallies to camouflage their selfish intentions. These dirty “trapos” are believers of Jesus…so they will go to heaven, together with the rapist, the murderers and all other scumbags that say they “Love Jesus”.

Here in the Philippines, every Lenten season, some people flagellate themselves to imitate the passion of the Christ, after Easter…well it’s “beer time” and “let’s beat our wives face silly.” And who will forget these tele-evangelists who preach Jesus to all nations…so that by the end of the day, we find them “battling who will get the cash” against their son, or how about these money scams in the name of Jesus and these propaganda used to spread Jesus’ gospel. Will I find their ugly mugs in heaven? If so, they can have their heaven for all I care.

To believe in a certain symbol so that you will enjoy the hereafter is more of propaganda than a necessity. Just look at it very closely, and try to scrutinize it. It is possible for the leaders of a particular sect to propagate such belief in order to boost membership which in turn they can manipulate for their ends. Why is that? That’s because, by making salvation that easy, you can win a lot of lazy adherents to join your flock. Imagine just by believing, you are now included in the march of the saints. Now that is fast!

Now here’s another issue. Many Christians says that if a person doesn’t believe in a God, there is no purpose or meaning in life? What purpose and meaning are these guys talking about? Do you say that my purpose in life is to glorify a so-called perfect Being who doesn’t need any glorification since it is already perfect? You call that a “purpose-driven life?” Is the meaning of life all about appeasing a blood thirsty God whose son propagates a teaching that I should hate my own blood relations?

No one can dictate to you the purpose and meaning of your life. No God can give you that meaning. It is you that gives meaning to your life. Believers just connect the meaning that they see on their religion, but it is themselves that appreciates it. You don’t need to join a certain organization to find meaning in your life. You are just trying to reach out with someone that you may find very identical to your sense of purpose, that’s why you thought you find the meaning of your life in a certain church or belief system, but it’s always within you.

Why wait for the hereafter if you can show goodness here on your place at this time? Why wait for death to come, if you can appreciate life while being alive?

To an atheist, the time to see life as it is begins now.