A Simile - Recovering People and Atheists

Atheists are very much like recovering addicts and/or alcoholics.  Should they relapse into faith they will have forfeited the claim to which they rightfully make, and that is this:  People of faith rely upon their prayers to invisible and inaudible gods in order to make themselves feel better; to get outside of themselves in times of great pain.  This is the precise reason that addicts and alcoholics rely upon drugs and alcohol.  But when the addict sobers up he must accept our world as it is.  Same for the aspiring Atheist.  Both must accept themselves and consciousness "as is" unless of course they can muster the courage to revolutionize things, both internally and to some extent externally.

Then there are those pesky people who drink socially but who never become addicted.  Isn't that the primary path that religious folk take; getting just enough religion to suit their respective agendas without going nuts over it in the process.  Oh, sure, they believe, but it's not the cornerstone of their existences, which has always been money.  Just enough whiskey in the tumbler at the end of the day to slightly modify a rough day at the office.

The Atheist lives an existential and exceedingly difficult life in many respects.  I know, it's just easier if you have faith and move on.  It's easier to keep drinking, too.  I respond to both:  "but at what cost"?  The faithful first lose their intellect.  The intellect of the addict/alcoholic stays preserved for a time.  I support this by referring generally to the myriad authors who could not control their consumption, which led to a collapse of their physical and emotional health, yet produced brilliant works.  That gift of being able to to process and analyze information thus lingers - for a time.

In the end it really doesn't matter.  Eventually they all fall down.  The faithful never realize it.  Alcoholics eventually do if their livers don't fail them first.