Do many atheists pray to God, just in case? originally appeared on Quora - the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights.
Answer by Joe McCracken, CEO, entrepreneur, and solutions architect, on Quora.
I came close to losing my life and was very surprised at my thoughts and actions during that time. I am an atheist.
I was working and living in Switzerland for a few years. My big hobby then was windsurfing on the big lakes nearby. Unfortunately, to get wind in the mountains, you often needed to wait for a storm to pass by.
Late one afternoon, I was out windsurfing with about ten other friends on just such a day when it started getting really windy, too much to handle. I thought about heading in, as I was about a mile offshore on this big lake. But then the sirens on the shore started sounding and flashing that a major storm was headed our way. About half the guys made it to the beach while those remaining, including me, hung onto our boards in the water trying to swim to shore. It started getting dark quickly and the wind blew even harder. This storm was going to be a big one.
A rescue boat was sent out from a nearby harbor and luckily managed to drag everyone except me back to shore. I was a little further out than the others and all my waving and screaming was now lost in the roaring wind and the crashing waves that had now started. I was beginning to panic while I helplessly looked on and watched the rescue boat getting swamped by breaking waves while looking for me. My friends onshore knew I was out there and were doing everything they could to help find me.
It was now dark and I was being blown further offshore than ever. I eventually saw the search lights go out on the rescue boat and head back in to the harbor as it was too dangerous to continue. They had given up the search for me. I was now all alone.
What was unusual was that the whole time they were looking for me, I had my hopes pinned on them to rescue me, and I was getting scared and felt hopeless. The storm was getting stronger and the board started flipping across the white frothy water by itself as I desperately tried to cling to it.
Totally alone, I hung onto my board for a few more minutes until I fully realized the depth of the situation I was in. I was in big trouble.
Then it happened.
A wave of relief came over me, as I realized there was no one left to help me, I could only rely on myself. I had to be the rescuer, not the victim. I cannot explain the overwhelming feeling of relief, freedom, clarity, and relaxation this change of heart had on me.
My thoughts immediately turned to what needed to be done. I knew it was about 4-6 miles to the other side of the lake, and that's where I needed to go. I couldn't swim there in these water conditions and it was cold enough that I could get hypothermia and lose consciousness. Whatever happened, I need to stay with the board at all costs. I pulled out my sailor knife and cut the rigging to the sail and disconnected it from the board, it blew away from me in seconds in the powerful wind, flipping across the lake. Firmly holding onto the board footstraps, I used some of the line I had cut off, to lash my right wrist to the board. The board was my only source of survival. I could not let it be blown away or it would mean certain death. I clung to the board and let the waves and wind carry me across the lake.
Hours later, blue from the cold, I made it to the other side. I had to stumble for a few miles across a boggy marsh in the total darkness to some farmhouse lights I could see in the distance. The farm residents must have been shocked to see this foreign guy in a shorty wetsuit, covered in steaming marsh mud, banging on their door at 3am asking for help in my best, but useless French.
Anyway, I got back home to find everyone in my town thought I had drowned, and that a helicopter had been ordered out to rescue me, but it was cancelled as it was too windy for it to take off. The next day I was on the local newspaper front page with the story about how I cheated death.
The moral of this story is that I now know that being religious and keeping all my faith in others could have resulted in my death. Being an atheist saved my life. I knew that the only person who could save me was me. Praying would have done nothing. Waiting for more rescue services would have done nothing. Taking the bull by the horns and assuming control of my own destiny was what was needed. When I was in my foxhole, being an atheist saved my life.
That experience has since helped me out in my other adventures, especially in business. I now know, without a doubt you cannot rely on others all the time. Sometimes the only person who can fix a problem is you.
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