
English: 
Marcus Savage asks, "What's the main thing
that motivates you to promote atheism?"
And it's kind of the flipside of a question
that I've received a lot of times,
you know, from a lot of Christians,
who may ask,
you know, "Why do atheists spend so much time talking
about a God that they don't even believe exists?"
And I actually do have a few reasons
that I'm so active about promoting atheism.
So, let me run through some of the big reasons
I continue to push atheism out there
and why it means so much to me.
I see the harm that religion does to a lot
of people that I care a lot about.
You know, I see the harm that it does to children.
I see the harm that religion does to gay people, lesbians.
I see the harm it does to women.
And obviously I'm not talking about all religion
and I'm not talking about all religious people.
But I think it's pretty apparent that
a lot of the social issues in our country
are kind of steered by religion.
If you took religion out of the mix,
it's not that everything will be okay,

Spanish: 
Marcus Savage pregunta: "¿Cuál es tu principal
motivación para promover el ateísmo?"
Es la otra cara de una pregunta
que me han hecho muchas veces,
gente cristiana,
que me pregunta:
¿por qué los ateos pasan tanto tiempo
hablando de un Dios que ni siquiera creen que existe?
Y sí, tengo razones para estar tan activo
en la promoción del ateísmo.
Repasemos algunas grandes razones
por las que sigo aupando el ateísmo,
y por qué significa tanto para mí.
Veo el daño que la religión le hace
a mucha gente que me importa.
Veo el daño que le hace a los niños;
el daño que le hace a los gays y lesbianas.
El daño que le hace a las mujeres.
Y, obviamente, no estoy hablando de toda religión,
ni de todos los religiosos.
Pero es bastante evidente que
muchos de los problemas sociales en nuestro país
son promovidos por la religión.
Si sacas a la religión de la fórmula,
no es que todo va a estar bien,

English: 
but it will definitely,
I think, put an end
to a lot of the debates
we tend to have now.
You know, just again, taking gay rights alone,
if you pull religion out of the mix,
there's just no good reason to say,
"I want to discriminate against other people".
But apparently when you throw the Bible back
into the mix, apparently everyone flips out
and says, you know, "now you're taking away
my religious freedom, now you're--
you're making me go against my religious conscience
because I have to be nice to gay people."
Like, no,
if you take religion out of there,
those people don't have an argument anymore.
And if they do, it's
going to be the worst argument
you've ever heard.
I promote atheism because
I care about critical thinking.
And there's a lot of aspects to that beast.
I mean, there's a lot of people who believe in ghosts
and tarot cards, and horoscopes, and the
Loch Ness monster and Big Foot, and stuff.
But I think God
is the head of the beast.
And I think if you can convince
people that God doesn't exist,
you have a much easier chance of
toppling over the rest of those dominoes.

Spanish: 
pero sin duda le pondría fin
a muchos de los debates
que tenemos ahora.
Por ejemplo, los derechos gays.
Si sacas la religión de la fórmula,
no hay una buena razón para decir:
"Quiero discriminar a otros".
Al parecer, si entras de nuevo la Biblia 
en la fórmula, todos se vuelven locos
y dicen:
"Estás quitándome mi libertad religiosa,
haces que contradiga mi conciencia religiosa.
Ahora tengo que ser amable con los gays."
No; si pones aparte la religión,
esa gente ya no tiene un argumento.
Y si lo tiene,
será el peor que hayas oído.
Promociono el ateísmo porque
me interesa el pensamiento crítico.
Esa bestia tiene muchas caras.
Mucha gente cree en fantasmas,
en el tarot, en horóscopos,
el monstruo de Loch Ness, Pie Grande y esas cosas.
Pero creo que Dios
es la cabeza de la bestia.
Y si puedes convencer a la gente
de que Dios no existe,
hay mucha más probabilidad de derribar
las demás fichas de dominó.

English: 
You know, if you can convince people
that the one supernatural thing that
pretty much everyone does believe in
is not worth believing in,
maybe they'll stop believing in all the other
forms of pseudoscience and mythology and
basically just untestable, untrue,
unverifiable things as well.
You know, I care about critical thinking as a human,
as a teacher, and certainly as an atheist, too.
So-- And I want people to be able to look
for evidence when evidence is out there.
And unfortunately,
we live in a society where people
are willing to believe just about anything
they hear; they're very gullible.
If someone in a position of authority tells them
to believe it, if they see a TV show about it,
they're going to start thinking
this stuff is true.
And I want them to think more critically
about that. I want them to realize
that it's just a show, it's entertainment,
it's not actually happening.
No one can come back from the dead,
no one's
crossing over and
speaking to the dead.
But I think it's a lot harder
to convince them to,
you know, that that stuff
isn't true
when they still hold
in their heart a belief in God.

Spanish: 
Si puedes convencer a la gente
de que esa cosa sobrenatural en la que
casi todo el mundo cree,
no vale la pena creer en ella,
tal vez dejen de creer en las demás formas
de pseudociencia y mitología,
y en cosas básicamente falsas,
no verificables, ni comprobables.
Me interesa el pensamiento crítico como ser humano,
como maestro, y ciertamente como ateo.
Quiero que la gente sea capaz de buscar
evidencias cuando están allí.
Por desgracia, vivimos en una sociedad
donde la gente
está dispuesta a creer casi cualquier cosa que oye;
son muy ingenuos.
Si alguien en una posición de autoridad
les dice que crean, si lo ven en un programa de TV,
empiezan a creer que es cierto.
Quiero que piensen de manera más crítica.
Quiero que se den cuenta
que es sólo un espectáculo; es entretenimiento;
no está sucediendo realmente.
Nadie regresa de entre los muertos,
nadie se conecta
con el más allá, ni habla con espíritus.
Pero se hace más difícil
convencerlos de que
esas cosas no son ciertas
cuando mantienen en su corazón
la creencia en Dios.

Spanish: 
Si puedo convencerlos
de que Dios no existe,
el resto de las cosas
cae por su propio peso.
Promuevo el ateísmo porque quiero que la gente
haga las cosas correctas por las razones correctas.
Muchos religiosos hacen admirables
trabajos voluntarios y obras de caridad.
Pero a veces, si le preguntas por qué lo hacen,
dicen que su fe así lo demanda,
o porque eso haría Jesús.
No es una buena razón
para ayudar a los demás.
¿Por qué debemos ayudar
a los menos afortunados?
Porque por cuestión de suerte,
o por
fortuna de nuestra herencia y nacimiento,
tenemos una buena posición en la vida
y es nuestro deber.
Si sólo tenemos una vida,
si sólo tenemos esta vida para vivir,
hagamos que otros también tengan una vida,
una vida mejor.
¿Por qué donar a la caridad?
Porque podemos.
No porque Jesús nos está mirando
y nos va a juzgar
en base a lo que hacemos.
¿Por qué donar sangre?
¿Por qué donar un riñón?

English: 
So, I think if I can convince them
that God doesn't exist,
the rest of that stuff
will fall by the wayside.
I promote atheism because I want people
to do the right things for the right reasons.
You know, a lot of religious people
do amazing
volunteer work and charity work.
But sometimes when you ask them why they do it,
they'll say it's because their faith compels them to do it.
Or it's, you know,
it's the thing Jesus would do.
And that's not a good reason
to help other people.
You know, why should we help
those less fortunate?
Because by luck of the draw
or by the-- you know,
luck of our heredity and birth
we've been given a good position in life
and, you know, it's our duty.
If we only have one life,
if we only have this life to live,
we ought to help other people who also have
one life and make it a little better for them.
Why should we donate to charity?
Because we have the ability to.
Not because Jesus
is looking over us
and he's going to judge us
based on what we do.
Why should you donate blood?
Why should you donate a kidney?

English: 
Well, because evolution has made our body so that
the blood replenishes itself,
and that you can get by with only one kidney.
And, you know, if you have the ability to make
that happen, why wouldn't you do that?
Why can't you help everyone live
this one life
to its full extent?
You don't need a supernatural reason to do any of those 
things.There's so many good reasons that are already out there
to help others or become an organ donor;
or do volunteer work.
So, I want people to do good things
for good reasons.
Not just do good things because
the Bible told them
to do it or compelled them to do it.
I promote atheism because I don't want
people wasting this life
because they're preparing
for the afterlife.
You know, there are so many more books
to read than just "the one book".
There are so many better things you can be doing with 
your time. More productive things you could be doing 
than praying or going to church.
And, you know, if you're a priest or a nun,
there are so many better ways to live your life, I think,

Spanish: 
Porque la evolución hizo que puedas reponer tu sangre,
y que puedas vivir con un solo riñón.
Y si puedes hacerlo, ¿por qué no?
¿Por qué no ayudar a que todos
vivamos esta vida
en toda su extensión?
No necesitas una motivación sobrenatural.
Hay tantas buenas razones
para ayudar a otros; para donar órganos;
para hacer trabajo voluntario.
Quiero que la gente haga
cosas buenas por razones buenas.
No es sólo hacer el bien
porque la Biblia lo dice
o porque te manda a hacerlo.
Promuevo el ateísmo porque no quiero
que la gente desperdicie esta vida
preparándose para la otra vida.
Hay tantos otros libros para leer
además de "el libro".
Hay cosas mejores que puedes hacer con tu tiempo.
Cosas más productivas que rezar o ir a la iglesia.
Y si eres sacerdote o monja,
hay mejores formas de vivir la vida

Spanish: 
que una total abstinencia.
De nuevo, estas son decisiones personales,
y espero que las tomes
por las razones correctas.
No voy a
impedir que vivas tu vida
como tú deseas.
Pero creo que mucha gente
decide realizar ciertas acciones
porque creen que eso agrada a Dios,
o creen que les va a beneficiar
después de muertos.
Si no crees que hay otra vida;
si crees que al morir todo se acabó,
no desperdicias tu tiempo en la Tierra,
tratas de sacarle el máximo provecho.
Veo mucha gente vivir la vida
de una manera que ellos
mismos comprenderían que están desperdiciando
si no creyeran en Dios.
Y quiero que dejen de hacer esas cosas
y hagan cosas que los hagan felices.
No es rechazarlos porque creen que Jesús
va a derramar una lágrima
si hacen esas actividades.
Sé que suena arrogante que yo
diga esto, pero
es una de las pocas áreas de mi vida
en la que creo que estoy en lo cierto
y casi todos a mi alrededor
están equivocados.

English: 
than to just be abstinent
the whole time.
And again, these are personal decisions,
and I hope you come to them for--
for the right reasons
and I'm not going to,
you know, stop you from living
your life as you want to.
But I think a lot of
people out there,
you know, choose to take certain actions
because they think it's going to please God
or because they think
it's going to benefit them
after they're dead.
If you don't believe there's an afterlife;
if you think once you're dead, this is it,
you don't want to waste your time here on Earth,
you want to make the most of it.
And I see a lot of people
that spend their life, you know,
in ways that I think
they believe they would be wasting it
if they didn't believe in God.
And I want them to stop doing those things
and do things that make them happy.
Not push them aside because they think
Jesus is going to shed a tear
if they do those activities.
I know it sounds arrogant from me
to say this, but
this is one of the few areas of my life
where I really believe I'm right
and just about everyone
around me is wrong.

Spanish: 
Por cierto, sé que muchos religiosos dirían
exactamente lo mismo a la inversa. Así que,
también suenan arrogantes.
Pero quizás es la primera decisión
que tomé: no creer en Dios.
Tal vez la primera decisión radical
que tomé, diferente
a la perspectiva de mis padres
y a la de mi comunidad.
Y lo deduje yo solo.
Y eso me dio tanto poder;
ser capaz de darme cuenta de eso,
y acogerlo,
y asumir esa identidad como la mía.
Quiero darle a otros esa oportunidad.
Quiero ayudarles a descubrirla por sí mismos.
Sobre todo si se sienten atrapados
en una familia o una comunidad donde
sienten que no les permiten pensar de forma 
particular, ni diferente a los demás.
Es algo que te da poder.
Quiero que ellos
disfruten y valoren eso.
Y tal vez tomen esa decisión
y yo pueda orientarles
en la dirección correcta.
Por eso hago estos videos. Por eso escribo en mi blog.
No es porque
yo gane puntos
si te hago ateo.

English: 
And by the way, I know a lot of religious people
would say the exact same thing the other way around. So,
the arrogance is on them too.
But this is probably the first decision I made:
to not believe in God.
It's probably the first decision I made
that was radically different
from the views of my parents,
the views of my community.
And I figured it out on my own.
And it was such an empowering thing to me,
to be able to figure that out, and--
and embrace that,
and take on that identity as my own.
And I want to give other people that opportunity.
I want to help them discover that for themselves.
Especially if they feel trapped,
you know, in a family
or a community where
they don't think they're allowed to think outside the box.
They don't think they're allowed to think differently
from what everyone else believes.
But it's a really empowering thing.
So, I want them to
enjoy that and appreciate that.
And maybe come to that decision
and help steer them
in the right direction.
So, that's why I make these videos.
That's why I keep writing on my blog.
It's not because I have any--
Because I win any points
if you become an atheist.

Spanish: 
Siento que el ateísmo me ha dado poder.
Me ha hecho ver mi vida
de forma totalmente diferente a
cuando era religioso.
Y si puedo convencerlos de hacer lo mismo;
 si puedo convencerte de darle
un enfoque diferente a tu vida;
porque si Dios no existe,
muchas de esas
suposiciones sobre cómo vives tu vida
saldrían por la ventana también.
Y espero que eso te haga
una mejor persona,
que te haga vivir de manera que
sientas que es mejor para ti.
Así sentiré que he hecho algo útil en este mundo.
Por eso continúo promoviendo el ateísmo.
Mi nombre es Hemant Mehta,
y escribo en FriendlyAtheist.com
Por favor, dejen sus comentarios debajo
y los revisaremos.

English: 
But I feel like atheism has empowered me.
It's made me look at my life
in a totally different way than I did
from when I was religious.
And if I can convince you all to do the same thing;
if I can convince you to take a
different approach to your life,
because if God doesn't exist,
a lot of those
assumptions about the way you live your life
may also go out the window.
And I hope that makes you
a better person. I hope that makes you
live your life in a way that
you feel it's better for you.
Then I think I've done something helpful in this world.
So, that's why I continue to promote atheism.
My name is Hemant Mehta
and I write at FriendlyAtheist.com
Please, leave your comments below
and we will check them out.
