What's Real? God is Not: a Realistic View on Belief in Gods and Religions

I do not believe in any Gods, religion, or the devil. I have been this way all my life, although I was raised in a religious environment. I was taught about God, the Bible, and I was taught to believe. I was never taught notto believe by anyonethat was my decision. I made that decision based on what I could and could not accept. I never could accept, or believe, that God exists, even when I knew all my friends did. I could not, mainly because I had never seen him and didn't know anyone who had. I always thought anyone as big and powerful as God should be seen by everyone. When I was about eighteen, I brought that thought up to some of my friends; we got into a big disagreement because they said it wasn't about seeing, but believing. Since I was outnumbered about ten to one, I shut my mouth. When I was around them again, and they talked about God, I wouldn't say anything, or I would go along with what was said as if I believed, but I didn't. Later that same year, I came to terms with myself. I realized that I had to be who I am, and accept only what I can accept. If that meant being the only one among my friends, or the only one in the world, who didn't believe in God, then I would stand by what I could accept, and be honest with my friends by telling them. Most important, I realized that I must be honest with myself. I have had long and short-term friendships, which ended when it was found out that I didn't believe in God. I have been called many namesstupid, not normal, the devil, a lost soul, a hypocrite, crazy, and the list goes on. I am none of these things. I am human. One of my friends called me an atheist when I said that I don't believe in God. The tone and manner in which he said it made the word atheist seem like a low and dirty person. Then he added, 'You must believe in the devil.' After I told him that I was not an atheist or agnostic, I asked him why he thought I believed in the devil. His answer was, 'If you don't believe in God, then you must believe