How Atheists Cope with Grief > Likes and Comments

Great post Nin.

I have always been an agnostic because I strongly believe no one can prove god exists but neither can they prove he doesn’t. My survival kit was grit, sarcasm, and pushing forward without expecting divine backup. Over time though, I found myself leaning more and more toward becoming a full-blown atheist—until a few nights ago, when everything tilted.

After all the chaos God Mob stirred up in both Heaven and Hell, the angel Gabriel showed up in my room. Not a dream—at least it didn’t feel like one. He told me my blasphemy had made waves on both sides, and instead of condemning me, he gave me a glimpse. He pulled back the curtain on the afterlife and showed me exactly what happens to the famous—politicians, pop stars, preachers, billionaires—depending on how they lived their lives. Some bribed, some begged, some suffered, and some got handed punishments so ironic they made Dante look like a children’s author.

And then Gabriel gave me an order:

Write the follow-up.

So now I’m working on it:
Heaven & Hell: As Told by the Angel Gabriel to Brad Deep.

That leaves me in a strange place. I still carry the same doubts you wrote about—maybe I always will—but now I’ve also seen something I can’t unsee. You wrote about resilience as the atheist’s answer. For me, it’s satire. Different paths, same fight: trying to wrestle meaning out of the void.

Someone once told me: we are all alone together. That line never made more sense than it does now.

Brad wrote: "Great post Nin.

I have always been an agnostic because I strongly believe no one can prove god exists but neither can they prove he doesn’t. My survival kit was grit, sarcasm, and pushing forward..."

You have got to be kidding me. Your story gave me goosebumps! At least you have his attention now.