God bless the atheists who get on with life
who aren’t hanging on for eternal rewards
Who aren’t thinking about the post-match
hot bath and nosh-up, but leave everything
they have out there on the field of play
God bless the atheists who try to do right
by their fellow man because it is right
and not for fear of hellfire
God bless the atheist who has enough faith
to believe there cannot possibly be a god
who imposes eternal punishment
for temporal mistakes
A god who creates fallible human beings
and then blames them
for their fallibility
Who would go to the trouble of making
a devil to tempt them
and then blame them
for falling into temptation
A god who might even lead people
into temptation unless they remember
to tick the box marked
lead us not into temptation
God bless the atheist who looks around
and decides that if there is a god
he has forsaken us
But if there were a god
he would surely never forsake us,
and therefore there can be no god
Who cries, Why hast thou forsaken us?
and receiving no answer
gives god the benefit of the doubt
God bless the atheists who accept
the dark and lonely vision
of a world without guiding spirits
or guardian angels
A world where you grow up
and look after yourself
God bless the atheists who acknowledge
that we need to look after one another
God bless the gentle atheists
the caring atheists
God bless the Christlike atheists
who don’t leave it up to god
but do the needful things themselves
The healers, the counsellors
the workers for justice
the up-turners of temple tables
the drivers out of the money changers
the friends of tax collectors and sinners
the enemies of corrupt priesthoods
God bless the loving atheists who lay down
their one and only life for their friends
Who seek for no reward save that of knowing
that they do what seems to them to be right
Who give away their widow’s mite
who give all they believe they have
Who have no secret stash
no heavenly strongbox
full of unearned bullion
who expect no privileges or upgrades
for good behaviour
God bless the atheists
who would like to believe
but choose to remain true to themselves
who treasure truth wherever
they encounter it
God bless the saintly atheists
the true and faithful atheists
God bless the agnostic atheists
the carol singing, occasional church-going
bible quoting, golden rule obeying
in a tight spot praying
compromised atheists
The organ playing, bell ringing
choir-mastering, tea making, old folk visiting
child fostering, charitable giving
chain smoking, beer swilling, joke telling
party throwing, side splitting, straight talking
balloon pricking, meditating
truth telling atheists
God bless the atheists who don’t leave
the task of blessing to god, but bless
as Jesus blessed, in deed and in word
God bless the atheists who in their despair
do not forsake us
but lend their lives to planet earth
and her inhabitants
God bless the atheists who care about
future generations
yet when shown pictures of things to come
do not seek their own likeness
among the faces
God bless the atheists who love because they love
and hate because they hate
and do because they want to
and try when they don’t have to
Who find their own meaning, who say
the meaning of life is to give life meaning
Who don’t ask to have their sins expunged
so they can clear their conscience
and commit them all over again
Who don’t go through the weekly sin-wash
but learn from their mistakes the hard way
God bless the atheist who does not believe
that the world is disposable
who does not think it’s okay
to drive the planet into the ground
because there’s a better world a-waiting
in the wings, in the wings
God bless the tree planting atheists
the beach cleaning atheists
the campaigning atheists
the bike riding, tree hugging
Green Party atheists
God bless the atheists who reject
ridiculous religions and challenge
the well-meaning or self-seeking people
who prop up those crumbling edifices
God bless the atheists who have more faith
than the faithful, who believe in more
than the believers. who are more Christlike
than the Christians, who do not beg for blessing
but bless themselves and their families
Bless the atheists who are a blessing
to one another and to the world
and who would put a smile on the face
of the most demanding deity
God bless the atheists who face extinction
without fear and without hope
Should they be proved wrong
may their confusion be brief
and their reward all the greater
and all the sweeter for being
completely unexpected