O ye of little faith

It is probably true for many parts of Africa but from my limited experience I can assure you that, at least in Ghana, the missionaries of the old days have succeeded astonishingly well in their attempts to bring The Book to the ‘dark continent’. Although the Northern part of Ghana is chiefly Muslim, the more southern parts are dominated by Christianity and my, these are some very Christian people indeed! Many of the cars, and in particular the tro-tros, aptly carry slogans such as “Go with God” and “Trust in Jesus”. Perhaps sound advice given the state of most of these vehicles.

Being driven around in taxis a lot means I get to strike up some interesting conversations with the drivers. Aside from the obvious “where are you from”, “how long are you in Ghana” and let’s not forget the infamous “do you have a husband” (so far I have only been proposed to twice but then again: I often lie to that question), three times now I have been asked what church I attend. I will invent a fake husband if I need to but this is a question I feel compelled to answer honestly. In the eyes of many Ghanaians though I am telling them the unthinkable when I explain that I do not belief in God at all. The looks of disbelief I receive are quite amusing. They cannot understand that I choose to live a life without God. I have tried explaining that my whole family and many of my friends feel the same way but this only widens the gap between us further. One of them even offered to bring me to his own church, so desperate was he to point out to me the error of my ways.

Most taxi drivers are very friendly and I have a small collection of phone numbers of these guys who insist I call them if I want somebody to show me around Accra; a kind offer but one I am likely to decline. Somewhere in this city though I now know there will be three people praying for the redemption of my damned atheist soul.

Imagine

The doorbell rings. I walk downstairs to open the door, expecting some delivery. Instead, I find two ladies caressing a book.
"Goodmorning, we are here to talk to our neighbours".
These ladies have not come to borrow a cup of sugar. They are not that kind of neighbours. My house is only a few doors down the road from the City Mission. This is indeed not the first time I have had them come knocking on my door. They have come to the wrong house though. I am not one to be converted.

My family has a long standing tradition of atheism, going at least three generations back. I would not even know for sure which exact flavour of Christianity predates atheism in my family. I myself was raised on a healthy diet of cynicism and realism. My atheism is as much the result of that upbringing as it is of my own trust in science and the faculties of reason. As Richard Dawkins explains it: I have no need for the 'God hypothesis'.

Of course even as an atheist I am not entirely immune to rituals and superstition. I can occassionally be found to cross my fingers or to knock on wood in an attempt to thwart bad luck. But do I really believe these little acts of superstition make any difference on the way life rolls the dice? Absolutely not. They are ritualised habits, ceremonial rather than meaningful, to feign control over an uncontrollable situation. When my father had just been diagnosed with cancer, for instance, I temporarily developed a habit of stepping over the cracks between the paving stones. I told myself that if I did that the tumour would be operable. No part of me ever seriously thought that I could magically revert cell division by the placement of my foot. I just needed something to stop me feeling so powerless.

Despite these small digressions into superstition, I am perfectly comfortable in my atheism. I find no particular solace in the idea of an afterlife. It is difficult enough to just live for today and I'd rather focus on that. The idea of an omniscient overseer is chilling more than anything. I value my privacy too much. My moral compass does not need to be calibrated to any particular religion to show me how to lead my life. I set my own course.

Of course I did not think there was any point in explaining all this to these devout ladies. I merely told them that I was very busy and closed the door.