Don't be silly, Joe F. You can't put yourself "above" something you don't think even exists!

I don't regard atheists as people who are putting themselves above God. I just regard them as people who don't believe there's anything else except physical life, and that consciousness ends at death. Fine. I don't care. If you like to believe that, it's perfectly all right. If there is an afterlife, then you'll be pleasantly surprised. If there isn't, you'll never know if you were "right". LOL!

In my case, if there is...I'll be happy to see it. If there isn't, I'll never know I was wrong. Sounds like a good deal to me.

And who is asking you for an apology? Not me. Not God. There's no reason for you to apologize to anyone. You are NOT required to believe as others believe. We live in a free Universe, where belief is the business of the believer and of no one else whatsoever. That's my belief.

As for vanity...every human ego (whether atheist or religious by nature) is the victim of its own vanity, unless it has achieved true selflessness and complete love for all people and other beings. How many have done that? A handful. You may have heard their names, you may not have. Some became saints and prophets, great teachers, and founders of great religions and philosophies. Others lived quietly, unnoticed, and died unknown to the masses of humanity around them. Vanity is like sweat and blood. It's everywhere. It is the common condition of man.