It wasn’t the death of my best friend that started it.
It wasn’t my grandmother either.
It was what I have always thought, as Bill Maher eloquently repeats:
“Faith means the purposeful suspension of critical thinking. It’s nothing to be admired.”

I’d almost finished feeling sorry for myself about it,
It was the look in the eye of his sister,
It was the look in the eye of his girlfriend,
Almost three months later.

I used to joke about my non-belief.
I’ve said so many sacrilegious things in my time, people know me for it.
“The Bible’s in the fiction section.”
Yeah, I stole the line, but I said it in 11th grade Catechism, to gasps.

The secular state school of Toledo confirmed my contempt.
Dr. Robert McCollough, Air Force Veteran, my most respected professor,
“Everything we know about Jesus, we can fit on one note card.”
This man flew in the six day war, and has two doctorates in European History.

I trust him more than Church, as should any rational person.

The Pain that ‘God’ Causes Me (AKA Why I’m an Atheist.)
Is that he leaves me with the most vivid of memories,
The logical side of me, knows that I’ll never share another beer with Andrew.
We’ll never play music again, never belittle a Republican again, I fuckin’ miss that the most.

I know that last part sounds spiteful,
it is.
It was ear to ear on both of us every time we did.
-Andrew Tarek Katbi – 3-31-13

-JC