Whose Fault is it You are an Atheist

In the years I've been writing this blog many Christian pundits have confidently posted in comments why I'm an atheist. All the reasons they have given are ones I have seen in other posts on other sites. The ones that come to mind are that a.) I want to sin without punishment, b.) I had a bad experience in a church, c.) I have not read the Bible, d.) I fell under the influence of Satan, e.) I do not understand the consequences of sin in eternity, f.) I am under the influence of liberals like Obama and Biden, g.) I am going through a temporary period that will be followed by belief when death approaches, h.) there must be a h.) but I'm bored with his list.

All of these explanations are wrong. I simply could not believe the tenets of the Christian faith nor any other. The more interesting observation about the list, however, is that every explanation as to why I do not believe had one thing in common: Not believing is my fault. Anyone who does not believe has something wrong with him/her. This is the default position within conservative Christianity. That is until a Christian writer posted a different take of why there are atheists. 

The explanation this Christian provides is the God decides to "open the eyes of some" to see the faith. Implied is that God does not open the eyes of others. He does not explain why the numbers of those who do not believe is growing and those who do believe is declining. To me it's obvious if God controls who does and does not believe God has decided there were too many and he is cutting the budget.

The Christian link author seemingly came up with this explanation after trying to find some other. He acknowledges those who do not believe are just as intelligent as those who do believe. Since he could not find another reason, he blamed it on God.

I recall an interview on CSPAN many years ago with a conservative Republican. Deep into the interview the host asked, "So, are you a Christian?" The answer surprised me, "No, I am not religious. For some reason the faith has never found me." This, of course, put the blame on the "faith," not on himself. That answer is similar to that in the link.

In reality, it is not important to know why some believe and others do not. It is important not to assign reasons when one does not know. Atheists know why they are atheists. Christians know why they are Christians. That's all we know.