A delusional person cannot see reality, at least where their delusion is concerned. You can tell them white is white and offer more than adequate proof that this is so, but, stubbornly, they insist it is black.

Recently, on a frequent basis, I see stories in the news and from other sources written by the religious that proclaims that even atheists believe and fear the word of god. I admit that for those newly minted atheists that this may be true, that is, that they fear using scripture negatively.

For the newly minted atheist who has seen enough to decide that things are not exactly, perhaps not at all, as the pastor of his former church has taught in endless sermons on Sunday mornings. Despite this revelation, this epiphany of thought, after years of indoctrination and having been taught to think a certain way, the thought that god is staring, ever so intently over your shoulder, is hard to shake.

Many newcomers to the world of non-belief having nagging fears of committing some blasphemous act against the god they thought they knew. Though they have through exploration reached the conclusion that the bible is a work of fiction, somehow they retain residues of respect for its pages. For some it seems so wrong to dismember and destroy this book, this book that has caused humankind such pain.

As time progresses for the atheist newcomer such reverence will fade. Some, no doubt because of deep indoctrination, will never lose this feeling that they are committing some immoral act by failing to believe. There will always be some nagging doubt. For many, however, such as myself, who never gave much credence to such beliefs, merely using the believers as a remedy to loneliness, the reverence soon fades to nothing. The book assumes a place on the shelf as fiction.

Do I wish the bible banned? No. I do, however, urge those who have one to read it carefully with reason turned on. Somewhere along the way while reading the outrageous claims found therein, I would expect a spark to ignite, eureka to be exhaled, and a new atheist born.

For those insistent religious that proclaim even atheists must believe I remind you that you are living a delusion. Those who live in a delusion cannot see the reality.