Yet labels are dangerous and potentially detrimental to one's health For example, I would label myself a "weak" Atheistic, dogma-free Jewish, Humanist and if ever a combination existed for receiving blind hatred this would be a contender. The only way to make it "worse" would be if I was also a black, gypsy, homosexual. No offense meant to any members of those groups. Yet even by labelling myself I erroneously pigeonhole only part of my personality and part of the error is in how I view myself versus how others see me. Likely "asshole" would fall somewhere in a description. I hope I'm far more than mere words. Here's the breakdown.

A "weak" Atheist is someone who simply doesn't believe in God(s). A "strong" Atheist denies deities - period. Either way an Atheist is usually downright hated by religious folks. Atheists are usually considered immoral. Religious types say that to have a morality you must have a deity as a moral anchor. Complete rubbish, of course. Atheists can have a very strict morality. It just happens to leave out the God part. Religious types like to point out that Atheism was the religion of Communism and look how people died in the USSR, which I like to counter with mention of the Spanish Inquisition. One shouldn't confuse or mix Religion with Politics, which again is the usual argument about the evils of Atheism. I like to think that Atheists have a stricter moral code that non-Atheists because we don't have a deity to hide behind. We have one major excuse less for our behavior.

Dogma-free Jewish - do I even have to explain the worldwide glut of anti-semitism? Go see "The Passion" and feel your hatred rise up. Practice saying "pogrom". For all the talk I don't think Jews will ever believe that Christians and Muslims en masse can be considered "safe" to live among. This is not meant as a general insult - I have friends in both religions. I feel that the distrust and rhetoric against Judaism pervades those religions, despite the occassional bleatings otherwise from various leaders. In other words, if the Pope says today that Jews are okay to hug, not many Jews will be hugged. If he said today that Jews are OK to kill, many Jews would be killed. Growing up Jewish I felt and saw unjustified hatred. My Temple periodically got trashed. It's hard to impart to non-Jews that feeling of blind hatred, though blacks, gypsies, and homosexuals can likely relate.

Humanist. I don't believe in a deity, singular or plural. I place my faith - my unreasonable hope - in Humanity. I place my hope that we as a living people can transcend our differences and learn to live together. Human genetic variability says otherwise but I refuse to give up. I don't believe in Heaven or Hell after death - I believe Heaven or Hell are our choices on Earth. Dead is dead. If the afterlife were so darn wonderful let those who believe in it go there as quickly as possible.

A "weak" Atheistic, dogma-free Jewish, Humanist. Three strikes and for my own survival I keep my mouth shut. I'm not allowed to prosletyze or question the beliefs of others but they're free to try to convert and/or "save" me. And always the look of pity like my existence is so shallow and empty. Ironically I pity those people who live with blinders on when life can be so wonderful and beautiful. I don't want my kids chasing after a mythical heaven - I want my kids to enjoy their lives every day, whether rain or sun, whether with friends or alone. Life is the pinnacle of experience. There is no alternative.

Labelling introduces tunnel vision. You see people and things within a narrow preconceived range of definition. I don't like it. I don't want it. I try not to pass that on to my kids. I want my kids to be critical thinkers, to see things openly without prejudice. I don't want them to be at the complete mercy of Marketers or those who've mastered Rhetoric. Growing up in Judaism, I heard repeatedly about what a great religion it is because we're allowed to question, pushed to question. And so I did early on. Two basic questions: "Why should I believe there's a God?" and "If we can't know God directly, why should I worship?" I was told pretty much to keep quiet. Any answers they gave boiled down to having Faith. But even at a young age I felt that Faith wasn't good enough. Faith was too open to interpretation and manipulation by various leaders. Faith was, essentially, a lame and dangerous excuse. If you want to pass on morality and "life lessons" you don't need a deity to do so!

Restricting oneself to one religion or one culture without knowledge or experience of others is short-sighted. This is life - explore, learn, try. Don't be satisfied with pat answers. If God exists - hooray! We still have our free will to live without relying on a deity. And wouldn't God be pleased to see us acting in such a capable, responsibile manner? If God doesn't exist or if God is simply the great, grand power that is, then again we're free to live, aren't we?