Atheist Soldiers

"There are no atheists in foxholes"¹. I've also read that the best soldiers are theists. Maybe it's because "It seems easy enough to kill when you know you are doing God's work"². The military know this and recruit accordingly. Governments know this and strategize accordingly. Viewed from this perspective, is it any wonder that the world has had, and still continues to have, so many religious conflicts?

Over the years I have come to think that "atheist"³ is a negative and discriminatory term used by religious people to describe someone who simply doesn't share their beliefs. The word implies that there is something wrong with people who do not believe in God. Similarly, other words like "godless", "faithless", "non-believer" and "infidel" all carry strong negative connotations.

People who are born "left-brain" thinkers are logical, analytical and verbal. These are the "skeptics". They don't generally believe in the supernatural (theism included), and it's reasonable to assume they never will. On the other hand, people who are born "right-brain" thinkers are intuitive, instinctive and creative. These are the "believers".

The point I want to make is that skeptics and believers think differently. So how can they ever learn to understand each other? In any event, it's really not a question of who is right and who is wrong. It's simply about respecting other people, their right to believe what they want and their right to say what they want.

1. See Wikipedia: Atheists in foxholes
2. Phillip DePoy, The King James Conspiracy (p173), St Martin's Press UK 2009
3. See Wikipedia: Misconceptions about atheists