In a Best Life magazine article entitled "My Argument With God," Ricky Gervais, creator of the TV show The Office, wrote about his personal journey "from Jesus-loving Christian to fun-loving infidel in one afternoon."
When Ricky was about 8-years-old, he was drawing the Crucifixion as part of his Bible-studies homework. His 19-year-old brother and personal hero, Bob, came over to him and asked why Ricky still believed in God. As soon as the question was asked, Ricky's mom panicked. She said Bob's name in such a tone as to hush him.
Ricky writes:
Why was that a bad thing to ask? If there was a God and my faith was strong, it didn't matter what people said.
Oh…hang on. There is no God. He knows it, and she knows it deep down. It was as simple as that. I started thinking about it and asking more questions, and within an hour, I was an atheist.
He goes on to conclude:
Wow. No God. If mum had lied to me about God, had she also lied to me about Santa? Yes, of course, but who cares? The gifts kept coming. And so did the gifts of my newfound atheism. The gifts of truth, science, nature. The real beauty of this world. Not a world by design, but one by chance.
