Of Atheists, Babies and Reality

In the mother's womb were two babies. One, a believer in life after delivery and one who claimed to hold no such belief. The nonbeliever asked the other, “So you believe in life after delivery? Is that what you're trying to tell me? Honestly, sometimes it seems as though thinking is anathema to your very existence.”

The other replies, “Of course I believe. There has to be something after delivery. I think that maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later.”

“Nonsense,” says the first. “There is no life after delivery. It will be no different than before we were conceived. We simply won't exist. Besides, what would that life be like? You can't even describe it. All reality breaks down at the point of delivery.”

“No, I can't describe it exactly, but I think there will be more light than here. Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouths.”

“This is absurd,” says the nonbeliever. “Walking is impossible. And eat with our mouths? Ridiculous. The umbilical cord supplies everything we need. Life after delivery is to be excluded on that basis alone.”

“I think there is more to life than what we can see, and I also think that life after delivery is going to be unimaginably different than it is here.”

The one that holds a non belief in life after delivery replies, “I get so sick of you trying to shove your faith down my throat.”

“You brought it up!”

“Ah bull. Look, I need evidence. All you've got is faith. In fact I don't believe anything without hard scientific evidence. Observe it. Test it. Verify your conclusions. That's my motto. Your reliance on faith makes you sound stupid kid. Stupid and childish. Until I've got scientific evidence, any pseudo reality you describe doesn't exist; not in my world. You know what I think kid? You just want to believe in life after delivery because you're afraid of death. You can't handle the fact that this is all there is. In fact you live in such a dream world, I'm the only one in here who is able to enjoy this one life we've got right here, right now. No siree. I live by evidence alone and until someone comes back from post delivery I'll believe delivery is the end of life. Without empirical proof, to me an after-delivery is nothing but darkness and nowhere.”

“But it doesn't make any sense that we'd be created to just . . .”

“Oh here we go again. Created! We're Created!”

“Well how do you think we came to exist? We just popped into existence without a cause?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. There is no reason that couldn't have happened.”

“You're hopeless.”

“You're a faitheist.”

“Well, I don't know exactly what it will be like,” says the believer, “but I certainly have faith that we will see mother and she will take care of us.”

“Ah, your precious invisible mother. Where is she now? Where was she when you stuck your thumb in my eye? Where is she when your butt is right in my face? Some mother that is.”

“It's not all about you!”

“Okay, so where was this so-called mother when this cord or cable almost choked you to death? Huh? You weren't so sure about this fantasy mother then, were you? No mother helped you then buddy boy. It was you who saved your own life by rolling the other way. Not some pretend mother. No sir, if there was a mother, a mother who had the power to take care of you, a mother who loved you enough to take care of you, those things wouldn't be happening. That I can tell you for sure.”

“You're wrong brother. Difficulties during this stage of life are no proof that our mother doesn't exist. If you didn't have this preconceived belief that mothers and life after delivery don't exist, you'd be able to understand that.”

“I don't have a belief, remember? I'm nothing but a non believer who believes very very strongly that mothers and life after delivery don't exist.”

“Dude, the evidence is strong that mother is all around us. It is in her that we live. Without her there would not be this world where we exist and think and grow.”

“You're nothing but a faith-head. There's no evidence that she even exists.”

“Why do you keep saying that like some magic mantra. This world we're in is the evidence. The fact that we're alive is evidence. Why can't you see that?”

“Because I don't see her, that's why! Why can't you see that? Until imaginary mother shows herself to me it's only logical to believe that she doesn't exist. I'm a rational being bro. I can't help it that you're too stupid to use the brain your mothe – I can't help it that you're a stupid faith-head.”

“Sometimes when I lie in silence I can hear her, I can perceive her. If you weren't always talking about how intelligent you are perhaps you'd perceive her presence too.”