Religion vs. Atheism is equivalent to Modern Warfare 2 vs. Halo

It’s been a long time since I faced judgment for my stance as an atheist. I’d forgotten the sheer unfairness of it, and it always leads me to the same question:

Why can Christians judge me for my lack of belief, but are immediately offended when I ask about the presence of theirs?

Who are they to criticize me? Truthfully, I could care less about their religion. I don’t mean this negatively or crudely, I just cannot see why it matter. In fact, to be quite honest, I’m happy for them. Some people, most people need something to believe in so they can ground themselves in a world that oftentimes doesn’t make sense. I respect that.

However, not everyone needs that. I don’t need that.

It’s sad that I have to (in a way) hide that I’m an atheist because I’ve faced irrational criticism from people that don’t even know me. I’m not embarrassed, mind you; it just gets tiring, constantly defending myself. It’s not worth it, this pointless debate that only breeds hatred and discontent.

They won’t stop believing, I won’t start, so why bother? People should be allowed to believe, or not believe, whatever they want. I know the world isn’t perfect (people certainly are not), but this something intangible and implacable.

This (somewhat) leads to my next question: Wouldn’t it be more offensive to the very concept of religion if I pretended to harbor a faith that I didn’t truly possess? I can assure you that I’m not an atheist because I’m following a trend (worst fad ever, that’s like being a dictator because Hitler made it look cool*), I just…do not believe. If I wanted attention, I’d pick something less serious and (apparently) offensive.

So, a point I want to make (or several):

1. I do not find religion laughable
2.  I do have morals. It’s silly to think only religion provides them.
3. Telling me I’m going to Hell is like telling me I shouldn’t love Halo because Modern Warfare 2 is prettier (and I can be rational and intelligent about this, considering Modern Warfare 2 was both released two years later-and I know how far technology has progressed, trust me-and was shot natively in standard HD, whereas Bungie chose to sacrifice those gorgeous crisp edges in exchange for superior lighting/shading effects, amongst other things). Will your opinion change my mind, even if you present a convincing argument? (Hint: I’m addicted to HD graphics, but I still love Halo more.)

No. I can’t explain why I love Halo, but I do. I’ve read the books, played the games, own the special edition Xbox, read through Halopedia for fun, have the soundtrack on my iPod (and set as the main ringtones on my phone), name my plethora of electronics after locations in the Halo universe, insist on having Halo backgrounds for aforementioned electronics, read the Bungie weekly updates religiously (no pun intended), get excited over sound clips of the weapons from Reach (zomfg, the new assault rifle sounds fierce), possess all 20-plus podcasts, and the majority of the videos on my iPod are Halo 3 machinimas.

Call it obsession, but to me it’s devotion. I love Halo, and though I respect Infinity Ward and Modern Warfare 2, it will never hold a candle to Bungie and Halo.

Now, how does this relate to religion vs. atheism? Well, let’s pretend Modern Warfare 2 is religion while Halo is atheism (and don’t you dare get offended at my analogy, this is my essay!). As I said before, I respect Modern Warfare 2 and religion (side note: does this make Infinity Ward the equivalent of God? Just sayin’.) But, for reasons I cannot quite articulate, I infinitely (another pun?!) prefer Halo. Sure, I personally think Halo is full of win and Call of Duty is constructed purely of fail (see: Hewlett-Packard vs. Dell/ATI vs. NVIDIA/Intel vs. AMD – and the first are the best, for those who know nothing of technology), but people have the right to their own opinion (and I’m totally kidding about Call of Duty being made of fail…kind of).

The moral of this story (analogy, I suppose) is we’re all different, which is our right simply by virtue of being human. Stop judging me because I’m me. Why should you care because I’m a Halo fangirl/atheist? I’m also a writer/dreamer/optimistic idealist/best friend/everyday person. My interests (obsessions…) are all that separate me from you, and us from everybody else. Try to remember that. Thanks.

*Thank you, Joe.