The Atheist

In the beginning, he was in the church
But never really one of us
He did his own research
And considered faith superfluous

He saw a world of poverty and pain
Which too many ignored
He thought that Christians had no brain
And when they spoke, he was bored

Grand meta-narratives were formed
Communist and Nietzschean
The reasons his comrades warred and stormed
They could never agree on

He created a new ideology
To replace his vicious prototypes
He matched his science against theology
And freedom against those Christian types

He looked deeper into the mystery
Our origins and future out there
But found that he could not see
Into the darkness that is everywhere

As he aged he grew more resigned
The darkness inside him grew
Until one day he was completely blind
And he doubted everything he knew

I met him in that dark place
As a faint light and dash of grey
I spoke to him of mercy and grace
and about a better way

I hope he makes it back again
Into God's love and light
May he let go of his pain
And in new life regain his sight


Authors Notes ▼

Different kinds of Western atheism and their value, over the last 200 years:
1) Communist - based on teachings of Marx - insight is that poverty is an injustice and rich people often exploit and alienate their workers
2) Nietzschean (Nazis were a shallow spin-off) - insight is that life is a struggle, people are often motivated by power rather than truth, we can become our better selves, we are all too often inauthentic and creativity requires we find our true calling. We should desire to be excellent but not idolize our creations.
3) Old Liberal - science and individualistic free choice - insight is the power and value of free will and also the importance of facts over fantasies.
4) New Liberal - individualistic free choice and virtual bubbles (create your own metaverse) - insight is into the power of the human imagination

Chinese Communist Atheism - Communalist and creates a virtual bubble defined by the Communist party - value could be unity, development speed and elimination of poverty in China.