your-god-is-too-small May. 2016 | Page 216

victim deserving of revenge. A free-thinker carries no perverted fantasies, only bittersweet memories. The truth is that most of our rational conduct and sober institutions thereof were constructed in spite of religion, for they specifically refuse to adopt the hysterical, melodramatic and delusional behavioral tendencies demonstrated by the characters in every religion and mythological tale and encouraged in the teachings. There is no “eternal bliss,” so you must value the little moments of happiness. There is no “eternal punishment,” so you can pay for a mistake and move on with life. Hope all you want. Cry as much as you need to, pour your heart out. Do not keep grief or despair bottled up, nor hold your dreams in abeyance for the “promised” moment. Living your lifetime to the fullest is the only way we know that can convert grief into joy. Accumulating knowledge through a myriad of adventures is about watching dreams churn into reality. Opening your mind to these unexplored roads in life is the function atheism helps to perform. Original Article URL: http://www.atheistrepublic.com/blog/niravmehta/atheism-does-not-aimtake-away-hope P a g e | 216