It takes more faith to be an Atheist.

This post is partly a response to an article by Mike S. Adams on Townhall.com, titled "Is Atheism Only a Bundle of Sentiments?" More generally, this post is a response to the perpetual and cyclic rediscovery of ancient cliches about Atheism, as echoed in Adams' article:

• Atheism is "more a bundle of sentiments than a coherent doctrine" (quoting Dinesh D'Souza).
• Atheism requires more "faith" than Christianity.
• [Often implied if not stated outright:] Atheists usually chicken out of public debates setup to argue these points.

It is quite understandable to me if any Atheist chooses to avoid "answering" these bizarre and ideologically loaded points. The arguments are cheap sophistry designed to start the Atheist in an incompatible philosophical context which (s)he must spend the entire debate correcting. Its a purely childish and annoying bait for a dysfunctional argument, but nevertheless I'd like to offer a straight, blunt, quick dismissal of these exhaustingly typical fallacies.

Atheism does require more faith than Christianity. It requires faith that, in the long run, your own careful reasoning and mental discipline is more likely to yield at least one correct belief than submission to statements from arbitrary religious authorities. It requires faith in one's own self, which might better be called courage.

Atheism is not a coherent doctrine. It never claims to be. Atheism is the sentiment that it is better to live your whole life without a holding single belief than to cling to a "coherent" system of beliefs which are collectively false. If in the end I've managed to secure only one justified true belief, then my life will have had more meaning than the most devout monk who's end-of-life satisfaction is a mere intoxicating delusion. I hope to live and die with my eyes open and my mind sharp, the way an evolved human being should. Yes, this is a "bundle of sentiments," no different from the bundle of sentiments at the foundation of any belief system. Every system of rituals and beliefs is ultimately rooted in the practitioners' sentiments about what kind of thing they want to be. I want to be a thing that is awake, aware, honest, and not afraid to stand on my own.