Darwin Bedford,

Atheist Messiah,
Supreme Antitheist,
Ambassador of Reason,
Destroyer of Faith, and
Spiritual Reality Therapist

What is an "Atheist Messiah"

An atheist messiah is one who is responsible for:
a) freeing the world FROM belief in gods, and
b) freeing atheists from the closet.

All gods are imaginary, yet people claim to communicate with them. God-believers create an enormous amount of friction in the world by aggressively seeking what they claim their gods want. An atheist messiah erases the gods and thus makes the world safer and enables individuals to live without fear of retribution from imaginary gods—or fear of other god-believers.

About my title

I declared myself to be the Atheist Messiah in May of 1999. I saw in my dictionary that the word "messiah" could mean "any leader and liberator of any oppressed people", and the word "oppress" means "to treat with unjust harshness or to cause to feel mentally or spiritually burdened". I knew god-believers are burdened with imagined obligations regarding their gods, and are harmed by their religion. I also recognized that atheists were hiding in closets afraid to speak about their non-belief. So, I coined the term "atheist messiah" and stepped into the roll. Note that I am not claiming to be a deity. Countless renowned philosophers, scientists, and antitheists have contributed far more to advance a non-theistic world than I have, but none have come forward to claim that it is their soul’s code (calling in life) to complete the job.

Why the term "Supreme Antitheist"

To deserve the title "Atheist Messiah" one would also have to be a highly effective outspoken antitheist—so effective that it would require a supreme effort. I use the word "antitheist" rather than "atheist" because it would not be enough for an Atheist Messiah to be a passive atheist. An antitheist is one who opposes theology. A "supreme antitheist" would therefore be one who opposes theology so supremely that she substantially reduces the numbers of theists.

What is an "Ambassador of Reason"

An "ambassador" is "a person who acts as a representative or promoter of a specified activity". Here, the specified activity is the promotion of reason. I use the word "reason" to mean "the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic". If believers used reason they would no longer believe. For example, how can a father ghost create a son in flesh for the purpose of being sacrificed, and still have him considered to be his only son? There is an endless amount of silliness in religious faiths, so, let's not go there.

About the term "Destroyer of Faith"

"Faith" in the context of the title refers to "religious faith" with the meaning "strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof". So, in this case, the act of "destroying" is a good thing. Confronting deeply religious people forces them to think for themselves. And a destroyer is someone that uses her power to destroy. I have "faith" that I will succeed at being the Atheist Messiah—but, this is not religious faith—here it means "complete trust or confidence in someone or something".

Why I also have to be a "Spiritual Reality Therapist"

People that rely on religious faith to guide themselves through life need therapy. They are not living their life consistent with reality, and this could have disastrous effects. They are living their life with an imagined spiritual entity that shares control of their lives. Things could get dangerous if or when they belief that their god talks to them. They need to be convinced that "ghosts" are not really "hosts" of once living spirits. You may see this in fictional literature, and you can imagine it, but it does not occur in reality.

Also, god-believers that have newly become non-believers, may require therapy to adjust to cohabitating with others that may remain with a faith.

Darwin in action on the street as the Atheist Messiah

This picture was taken March 20, 2004, in Vancouver, of Darwin Bedford handing out anti-Bush leaflets warning fellow peace activists of America's Religious Right agenda.

This picture was taken during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, of Darwin Bedford wearing a signhat advertising his website warning that religion is mind fraud.

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