My father was an Atheist.
One day, I started reading the Bible. He didn't do anything to stop me; indeed, he encouraged me to do so [/Irony]. It was way before I'd heard of this quote by Sci-Fi great Isaac Asimov:
'Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for Atheism ever conceived'
Thanks dad, and Mr. Asimov. It was the best education I'd ever received.
Reading that Bible cover-to-cover in my teens made me the Atheist I am today:
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Your 'God' did whatever he wanted, only he caught [i]himself[/i], via his [i]own[/i] 'Word'. He lied, lied, LIED throughout; no wonder then, that you can't spell the word 'Belief' without the word LIE.
...me, I've not so much as gotten a criminal record for spitting on the pavement:
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God: 2,038,344
Satan (and only on God's authorisation): 10
Anon-e-moose: 0
...and nor do I want to kill anyone, ever. Why should I? Why should I steal/damage other peoples' property? Why should I murder/rape/harm a man/woman/child? Simple: Because I wouldn't like it if anyone else did the same to me.
Why do I not do the above things? Why instead do I behave in a civilised way to my fellow human beings, nay, commit acts of gratuitous kindness to them? Because I can.