“I don’t know if God exists, but it would be better for His reputation if He didn’t.”
~ Jules Renard

“All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.”
~ Thomas Paine

Just because I don’t share the traditional Judeo-Christian, monotheistic view of God doesn’t mean I’m spiritually bankrupt—or that I lack a personal relationship with the energy (the life force, if you will) that permeates the universe and flows through every atom, every particle of our existence. None of us could possibly exist if it weren’t for the ancient deaths of great stars—unimaginably powerful and violent events that created the ingredients for life. It’s chaotic, beautiful, perfect, and random—and far more awe-inspiring than recycled children’s stories from a 2,000-year-old book.

The universe is my god. Science is my prophet.
He is cruel and benevolent, unfair and uncaring—but he is honest. And that’s more than I can say for the gods of the Bible, Qur’an, or Tanakh. When bad things happen, I don’t have to justify why my gods allowed them. I don’t cling to outdated ideas out of fear, guilt, or inherited dogma. Nature doesn’t demand justification. It just is.

And most importantly—people don’t usually commit mass murder or launch holy wars in the name of the universe.

Believing in Christianity, Islam, or any other organized religious system is easy—especially when you’ve been raised to do so since birth. Letting go is the hard part. Questioning what you’ve always been taught has always taken more courage than blindly believing fairy tales.

But you know what? You still have every right to believe whatever gets you through your day—so long as it’s not hurting anyone else. In the end, none of us really knows. But whatever the afterlife is—or isn’t—I seriously doubt that, in the billions of years this planet has existed, a few guys wearing animal skins stumbled onto eternal truth a few centuries ago.

And if you do believe that? That’s okay too. I still love you, and I still want you to be happy.

Come on people now, smile on your brother. Everybody get together, try to love one another right now…

Author: Nick Allison is just a banged-up Army Infantry vet. He lives in Austin, TX with his wife, their kids, and two big, dumb, ugly mongrel dogs. Don’t take anything he says too seriously—he’s just trying to figure out this ride we call existence like everyone else. Also, he enjoys writing his own bio in third person because, let’s face it, it probably makes him feel more important.

Please feel free to send your love letters and hate mail to nick.chaossection@gmail.com.