The Good Atheist

There was a time I used to pray to “God.” I was religious — church every Sunday, living the devoted life like most religious people do. I would pray to Father, Lord, Almighty… in Jesus’ name, Amen. But February 2003 something shifted.

After a 70mph car crash — a near-death experience — I left the church. There was not a mark on my body, yet I saw myself in the morgue, my body on ice. I heard the conversations people were having about me, saw those who mourned, and those who secretly, deep down, were glad. Finally, I saw myself before the throne of God, and He asked one question:

“Why did you devote yourself to the church?“

In that moment, I realized that when I finally leave this Earth, I wanted to stand before my Judge based on my own conscience and conviction — no one else’s.

So after that 70mph crash, which I walked away from without a scratch, I started life again — without religion.

One night, however, I prayed and asked a simple but burning question:

“What pleases you? What do you seek in mankind?“

I thought the answer would come in scripture, or in a sermon, or in some religious devotion. Instead, it came through two men who had no interest in God at all.

The Business Partner & The Broken Shoes

One was my business partner. The most real man I have ever met. If you met him on the street, you’d think he was just another streetwise guy, sharp and rough around the edges. But one day I overheard a quiet story.

One of our associates had broken shoes he couldn’t afford to replace. The next day, I saw him wearing new shoes. Later I found out my business partner had bought them for him — secretly. He didn’t want recognition. He didn’t want thanks. He just saw a need and quietly met it. Getting to work closely with him I became aware of many other secret deeds, he help many people but kept it private. I asked him about his faith in God, he paused. He had never really thought about God, he wasn’t sure God existed.

That stayed with me.

The Teacher Who Walked Someone Home

The other man was my web design teacher. One night, during a power cut, I saw him escorting a woman home in the dark. He just wanted her to feel safe, to know she wasn’t alone. Over the duration of my studies, I saw many things in this man I considered holy.

I thought to myself: What a godly deeds. What a sign of faith.

So I asked him: “You believe in God, right?”

He looked at me, confused, and said: “God? I’ve never really thought about God. I don’t know if God exists or not.”

I was stunned. Here was a man living with more care and kindness than most Christians I knew — and yet he had no thought of God at all.

Where Did Their Goodness Come From?

That night I remembered my prayer: “What pleases you?” And in a dream, I received the answer.

The Source is pleased when goodness flows — even through those who never pray, never attend a service, never use His name.

I remembered Christ’s life. His harshest words were for the religious elite, the ones obsessed with ritual and recognition. But his friends were the tax collectors, the thieves, the outcasts, the sinners.

It struck me deeply: It is not religion the Creator seeks. It is the pureness of heart, the realness of love.

The Parable Rewritten

We all know the story of the Good Samaritan. A man beaten, left on the road. The priest passes by. The Levite passes by. But the Samaritan — the outsider, the despised one — stops and shows mercy.

Now imagine the same parable in our time. A man lies hurt on the street. A bishop walks past. A worship leader walks past. But then an atheist stops, picks him up, binds his wounds, and pays for his care.

Who was the true neighbor?

The answer is the same: The one who showed mercy.

My Conclusion

That is what I learned in those years. That was the answer to my prayer.

It’s not about being religious. It’s not about belief or unbelief. The Source does not measure the lips that pray, but the love that lives.

The Good Atheist showed me that.