Needing to read the Bible for university at the moment naturally brings to mind religion in general and religious people.

I was raised an Atheist. I don’t recall it being militant; it’s just that God and religion weren’t relevant to us. It wasn’t important and as such it was rarely discussed, as far as I recall.

But I do remember – reminded recently by my mother – trying to read the bible as a pre-teen. I sat at our kitchen bench with the huge family Bible (courtesy of my father’s mother), frequently making remarks such as “This doesn’t make sense!” and “But this bit contradicts that other bit!” Mum, as I recall, shook her head and rolled her eyes, implying agreement I think.

And so, this is the first reason I am not a Christian. I wasn’t raised one, and I was allowed to believe that the Bible made no sense.

As part of a conversation with a Christian lady recently, she said something along the lines of, “Of course you don’t believe, you weren’t brought up with it. I pray you find the truth,” which simply begs the rejoinder, “Of course you do believe it, you were brought up with it!” Her statement proved only that one doesn’t usually deviate from one’s upbringing. Such astonishing logic is hardly likely to sway me.

Part of becoming a modern Christian, apparently, is ‘accepting Jesus as your personal saviour’ and entering a ‘personal relationship with Him.’ Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t have the faintest idea what that means or how one would go about doing it. The only way I can think of is to join a cult; apparently their brainwashing techniques are so effective that even the most cynical can be taken in. However I’d rather avoid that path, as I value what mental health I have left.

And so, this is the second reason I am not a Christian. The process of becoming one appears to involve mental acrobatics closely resembling 1984.

As an adult, the more I read or hear about the religion, the less sense it makes. It’s an instance of more knowledge simply leading to more questions. I’ve read almost all of the Bible multiple times (Old Testament and New Testament, and some of the Apocrypha), I’ve spoken to Christian people, and naturally I’ve seen Christian views portrayed in or by the media. I read Margaret Court’s piece in the Herald Sun the other day, for instance. Nothing that I hear or see makes the idea of Christianity seem any more logical or appealing to me; quite the opposite in fact.

And so, this is the third reason I am not a Christian. I am a rational, intelligent, thinking adult and I have made a rational, intelligent, adult choice.