WHY AND HOW DO ATHEISTS EXIST?

Having heard that 'God is Good' all my life, I find it difficult that we are here to atone for the sins of our forebears back to Adam and Eve, the fantasy of religion.. Recently I found someone who writes a thought provoking blog on the subject of Atheism.   Greta Christina who, once a Christian, is now a confirmed Atheist along with a much larger majority than dare speak out publicly in this country which still chooses 'In God We Trust' when, in fact, most people trust no one any longer, .

Having read Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris, Shermer and many others, the attempted line between agnostic and atheist means little to me.  If one chooses to read 'atheist' as an agnostic who does not believe in the Christian God, or any of the Gods currently mentioned in the religions of today's worlds, atheist sounds apt to me.  From a site which chose the 50 most brilliant Atheists of all time, it is fascinating to see the span of minds from ancient Greek philosophers to Nehru, Freud, Carl Sagan, Warren Buffet, Katherine Hepburn, and so many recognizable names.

Today our political society is still so cowed by religious fanatics it is said to be unlikely that a President of the US could be elected as an atheist, if one tried.  Christopher Hitchins, whom I find brilliant but abrasive, believes that all wars are started by religion.  I thoroughly believed this until recently, not looking behind as to the cause, when a minister (with whom I was in a discussion questioning religion and the Bible)  made the most sense to me when he said it was not religion that started wars but power hungry men who used religion to start wars.  I took this a bit further and realized religion is started by power hungry men who then use it to start wars.  Since the 1890s, the off-shoot group from the Mormon Church, Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints, crazed, women hating sexists, polygamists who have tortured and brain washed women, now having inbred so much they have a medical problem of vast proportions.

It would seem to me if  our government (Congress or whoever wants to study the problem)made it impossible to start a church legally without careful consideration or by putting  a limitation on all the crack pots who have found they can bleed the public by founding religious temples (as Haggert had until he was forced to resign when his hypocrisy became known,) or no longer making it possible to start a new religion.  Since they can offer no proof of the high power calling, it a religion ought to be forbidden.  The term cult comes from a Latin word that means caring...it, too, seems to have been sliding off course, remembering the Jones fiasco.  People can too easily be brainwashed.  Marketers and leaders of religions carry the same skills...they are con artists.  Their disciples, having been brain washed are less toxic and there are even some honest (actually helping people who cannot feel in control of their lives by themselves)  There are many truly good and selfless people out there, but I believe they would still be out there doing good, church or not..

Google has many resources.  Just Google 'how does religion help people'