If you throw this question out in China, “why are you an atheist?” in most cases it will be taken as a joke. This is also perhaps the only thing that the communist Party has done right to this country, that is, to seed a strong scientific spirit in China’s education system, but which doesn’t by any means excuse its brainwashing of Chinese students with Marxism and Maoism. Sadly rumor has it that Christianity is growing rampantly in China, which I suppose is due in large part to the fact that the majority of Chinese are suffering, a topic that I should spare for the thesis here. Had I grown up in a religious environment, I barely think I could break free from this sort of ideological slavery. For this reason, I always keep an extra piece of respect for the atheists in western countries, now and in history.
I came to the States three years ago as a newly college graduate, with a thirst for higher education from American universities, something I had always been dreaming of attending. My first stop was the University of Minnesota, which really didn’t disappoint me with its strong research background. In retrospective, what was sort of disappointing was that University of Minnesota is in Minnesota, a place filled with “harassing” Christians of assorted denominations.
My first clue was the ceaseless invitations from numerous churches to participate in their friendship meals. Considering that China has gone not too far away from its once massive poverty, enticing Chinese students with food is indeed a good strategy. I myself fell for many times, but every time I had to eat with prayers and preaching, which indeed undermined the flavor of the already-not-as-good-as-Chinese American food. There were some other churches taking a less confrontational way. They formed “volunteer” organizations to help Chinese students in settling down such as airport pickup and provision of free furniture, but none of their activities didn’t wind up with Jesus.
Believe it or not, back then I was not as of new atheism as I am today. For one thing, I had never heard of PZ Myzer. Candidly, I had no inkling what was really going on in Christianity, although I might have been under a vague—but, of course, illusorily mistaken—impression that Christianity leads Americans to behave. As a person (a to-be scientist!) curious about almost everything, I couldn’t help but explore the intriguing question “in such an era in which almost everything can be reasonably explained by science, why people are still believing in nonsense?”
I thereby accepted many of those invitations—again, partly for the meals. I went to church on an almost weekly basis, which perhaps outperformed most Christian peers, and I attended quite a few bible studies. My best friend was an American Lutheran, who doubted evolution because scientists haven’t figured out the origin of life yet, which, translated in our words, means because evolution conflicts with the literal version of Bible. And I even had an American grandpa, who was, to cite his own words, “still open about whether the earth is 6,000 thousand years old or billions,” under which circumstance, I rarely bothered to spell out the number 4.6.
Looking back, along the years of intensive interactions with Christianity, I did grow in my knowledge of what a thing it really is, thanks to both the repulsive content of their holy book and, more importantly, all the speeches, debates, blogs, books by those outspoken, heroic atheists whose names are too familiar to be mentioned here. It may sound a bit implausible that a person from the far East has joined in this New Atheism movement, but I did turned from a mere listener to now a brave—brave in the sense of in a foreign country—refuter whenever I hear nonsensical religious ramblings.
I am an atheist partly because of the environment in which I grew up, but more because of the fact that, even though physicists haven’t figured out how the universe begun, posing creators does not answer any questions whatsoever, let alone a monstrous one as the Judeo-Christian god.
More excitedly, atheism has become such an important part of my life. I will continue combating religious doctrines, as should all atheists, for protecting our lovely and innocent kids. My resolve has been especially reinforced upon seeing Hitchens’s special care for a nice-year-olds in this latest reception of the Richard Dawkins Freethinker of the Year Award. The contrast between the dying hero and his attempt to list suitable reading material for a thriving young mind is exceedingly heartwarming and stimulating.
I could go on and on, but let me stop here. One last point, let us atheists help those personal faiths be kept personal.
Fred Young
China and United States
I’m with you on one thing Fred – however life did start on this planet Genesis doesn’t even come close to describing it accurately. Science doesn’t yet have the answer but that doesn’t make bible-fiction any less fictional.
So even with proof beyond any possible doubt that this planet is >>6K years old, that there was no global flood, that there was no Exodus and there was no conquest Xians still want to convince us their book of fables is true and ‘inerrant’?
Despite strong evidence that much of the OT (Torah) was ‘discovered’ and/or modified to suit the political goals of Jewish Temple priests and ‘king’ Josiah it’s still ‘inerrant’?
Despite extremely strong evidence of modification and tampering (for political ends)with the various gospels in the NT Xians manage to convince themselves their book is “god’s word” or “inspired by god” – give me a break!
That was very interesting, reading about the non-religious experiences of someone coming from a communist country such as China, and their new life now in a predominantly religious country like the U.S.
Thanks for that, Fred.
Thank you for your perspective, Fred. I live in Japan, another non-Christian Asian country, one that has historically outlawed Christianity and even now has a very low percentage of believers. Although there isn’t much belief in “God,” there are beliefs in “gods” (see Shintoism) and ghosts and other supernatural beings. I’ll happily accept these over the destructive, tyrannical Biblical God.
Good for you for being outspoken in your feelings about religion, but do be careful. If the people you criticize perceive you as a “foreigner,” they might be more outraged than they would be if you were “one of them.”
Fred, this is a fascinating read. I was a subscriber to a newsletter from an American Chinese group organized to promote education in rural China. What struck me in the personal accounts of Chinese who worked with this group was the identical rationale for public service that one finds in Christian groups.
For example, a rural teacher who persisted in living in an impoverished village when he could have been enjoying much better conditions elsewhere, both professionally and in terms of personal comfort: “I am fulfilling the vision of Chairman Mao.” These sentiments were identical in every possible way to those expressed in any issue of Maryknoll Magazine.
The religious mindset isn’t picky about what authority it clings to, apparently.
If PZ had his way, the University of Minnesota would be in Washington.
Yeah. Near Sea-Tac, to be specific, on a train line to Seattle. And my house would overlook Puget Sound.
Thank you for posting this — it’s always very interesting to hear what the place looks like from someone who isn’t used to the cultural assumptions we take for granted as ‘the way things are’ and who therefore notices the oddities.
Mind you, I’ve never heard of “PZ Myzer” either. Homage to teh mitey Tpyos!
Seriously, though, thanks for an interesting read.
This is a weird country, huh? Good post.
“the only thing that the communist Party has done right to this country”
I find this pretty incredible.
Don’t get me wrong, the CCP is an evil quasi-Stalinist institution; and that’s the opinion of a Marxist, thank-you very much.
But even capitalist commentators haven’t failed to notice that the 1949 revolution led to rises in literacy rates and health standards that would not have been possible without it. It’s almost totally uncontroversial. The CCP, for all its decidedly un-Marxist backwardness and faults, achieved results that the ‘developmentalist’ NGOs in the third-world would consider massive victories, if they could pull off anything remotely similar.
They accomplished things that simply would not have been possible under capitalism (not without a 200-year head-start and near-total domination of world trade, as in first-world nations).
And if I sound a bit bitter, it’s because I find this off-handed, un-serious comment a bit offensive. There are people in China languishing in prisons for fighting the CCP, and these people are not fighting for capitalism. There are people in Chinese prisons who are genuinely Marxist, and that’s what gets them thrown in their.
These people risk their lives, trying to set up and maintain underground trade unions, looking to overthrow the bureaucracy before it inevitably takes the Russian path, and preserve the gains that have been made in the past, while removing the dictatorship that parasitizes them.
So I’m sorry if I find this attitude to be a bit ignorant.
Brilliant.