Many teens think it is cool to be ignorant. They don't see the need to go to school because they have no desire to go to college or get a job that requires a college education. They also make fun of the students that take their education seriously. Unfortunately though, this isn't just limited to teens there are many adults that are knowingly ignorant. I feel that everyone should be lifetime learners. There are always new discoveries being unveiled and everyone should want to know as much as they can about each one.
When I told my friends and family that I was an atheist I e-mailed them information that explained why I no longer believed in God. I knew that none of them would deconvert, but I wanted them to understand my position better. I was disappointed though when almost all of them told me that they weren't going to read the information that I sent them because reading it could poison their minds and hurt their relationship with God. Their explanation didn't really shock me, I grew up in the very conservative church that my mom and sister still attend and I knew first hand what the church said about atheists and atheistic literature
Evolution is a topic that most conservative Christians just write off as false, without actually learning anything about it. After I became an atheist the first thing I wanted to learn about was evolution. Now I cant get enough of evolution, biology, and zoology. I have talked to a few young earth creationists recently and have told them about various animals and how they have evolved into the animal they are today. Except, I didn't use any evolution buzz words (for example: evolved, natural selection, or a specific time table). Then when they were interested the the animal and thought it was pretty cool how it adapted for its environment I would explain that what I just told them about is an example of evolution. They would then answer back that it can't be since evolution is false, so God did that. I hope though that I have gotten them thinking about evolution in a whole new light and maybe they will do some research on their own.
Since becoming an atheist I have been learning as much as I can to make up for all the lies I was told growing up. I know that the leaders of the church weren't intentionally lying to me, they were just repeating what they had been told. I am here to break the cycle of ignorance, are you?
