My Big Bro posed a question to me in a comment on the last blog post, and i decided my response necessitated a new post. So, to recap, the question was:
I’m curious as to why you have [been reading so many books about religion] and what you’ve come up with.
Well, i guess it started because i began reading the atheist blog Unreasonable Faith, which led me to watch some YouTube videos featuring Richard Dawkins, and the stuff he had to say gave me a lot of hope that maybe other people see things the way i do. So i read The God Delusion, and i got a lot of flack for it, since Dawkins is apparently “arrogant” and his ideas are “illogical.” Thus, i’ve picked up other Atheist books in order to broaden my knowledge on the subject, though i’m still getting through the big NY Times bestsellers, and some might argue that they’re more sensational then sensible.
I think they’re brilliant. But at the same time i’m getting tired of hearing the parts about how the Bible features all sorts of cruelty and contradicts itself anyway. I’m not really interested in the Bible. I’m interested in God and why people cling to the idea of his existence despite a complete lack of evidence.
People will look at some little coincidence in their own life as “evidence” for God’s existence, and overlook all the times they’ve prayed for stuff that didn’t happen or – what i think is the biggest point of all – the question of why God would have made us at all, just to jump through his little hoops and heap praise upon him and join him in the playground of Heaven after our trial-run on Earth. People just want existence to have meaning and death not to be final. But they don’t consider that life might be just as stunningly beautiful without a divine plan, and that death might be just as easy to deal with if we realize that we’ll be only as aware of our state after death as we were before we were born.
Also, people think that without God there’s no reason to be good. But first of all, there are millions of people who have committed atrocities in the name of God throughout history, and millions who continue to do so to this day; bombing abortion clinics, toppling the Twin Towers, genitally mutilating girls and baby boys, burning women alive for the crimes of their brothers. Teaching their children to feel guilt and shame. And those who choose to be more like Jesus have done just that – made a choice. If you can choose to follow Jesus rather than the God of the Old Testament, you can figure out for yourself that it’s not okay to cheat and steal and kill.
I’ve gotten pretty passionate about all this, because 1. i’ve been judged negatively and held at arm’s length by certain people just for standing up and owning up to being an atheist. I agree with Dawkins that atheists need to speak up and come out of the closet so that people can put their stigmas to rest, as we’ve all made strides toward doing with respect to gays. There’s something wrong with the fact that atheists pretty much cannot get elected to the highest offices in this nation. And 2. i really think that people are missing out on some important stuff in life by deluding themselves with the idea of the importance of God. We can be good people and stop fearing death and enjoy life to the fullest and connect deeply with one another without attributing everything to some imaginary entity watching over us like Santa Claus. We’re not children anymore, so why cling to such a juvenile point of view?
Monday, June 1st, 2009 11:12 am • books, religion
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June 3rd, 2009 at 6:42 pm
I may be inferring incorrectly, but it seems that you think that the only reason a Christian would want to enjoy life and live it to the fullest is to get to go to Heaven. (“…the question of why God would have made us at all, just to jump through his little hoops and heap praise upon him and join him in the playground of Heaven after our trial-run on Earth. People just want existence to have meaning and death not to be final. But they don’t consider that life might be just as stunningly beautiful without a divine plan…”) I know plenty of Christians who don’t obsess over “what’s the meaning of my life?” Although it doesn’t matter if you’re atheist, religious, or somewhere in between – you should at least try to have *some* purpose in your life. If you’re not doing something with your life, then what’s the point of living it? If there isn’t some sort of divine plan, I should at least be able to say “I enjoyed my life and I hope that I affected the people I knew in a positive way.”
Regarding doing horrible things in the name of God (whichever one the perpetrators profess to believe in) … people who actually believe in their religion find these things just as horrible as you do. My favorite example is the Phelps family – you know, the “God hates fags” idiots. As much as they like to think they’re Christians, they are not. Anybody who *actually* is a Christian is a fan of kindness, love, forgiveness, understanding, etc. You know, all that mushy crap. Those who hate and tag on “God” or “Jesus” with their anger are blinded by their own psychosis and are not truly followers of God/Jesus/whomever, no matter how much they think they are.
I may sound like a “Jesus freak” in this reply, but I can assure you, I’m farrrrr from that. I just like to think of myself as a level-headed Christian… and I have no beef whatsoever with atheists, for the record. Anyone can believe, or not believe, in whatever they wish. We’re all just a bunch of people hanging out for a pretty short time on this big hunk of rock and water floating in space. In the grand scheme of things, it just doesn’t matter who’s right or who’s wrong in the religious debates.
/long-winded reply
June 4th, 2009 at 8:45 am
It’s not that i think that Christians want to enjoy life solely to get to Heaven, it’s that Christians seem to me to think that life is only enjoyable because there is God. When i tell believers that i’m an Atheist, they get this very sad look on their faces and ask me what i think the purpose of my life is, then.
It’s as if to many believers, the only possible purpose of life is to worship God and carry out His work, and that is fulfilling enough for them but they feel terribly sorry for anyone who doesn’t have that purpose.
Your second paragraph is a perfect illustration of the fact that everyone of faith thinks that the way they believe and act on that belief is the One True Faith and the Way to carry it out. Your attitude is no different from that of the Jihadists – that’s why they want to kill all infidels. To them we’re doing it wrong, no matter how much we disagree. And they believe in the same god that Christians do, by the way.
I keep arguing because to me it does matter. Until all religious people are as tolerant as you are, Justin, i’ve got some cages to rattle. Thanks, as always, for your input.
June 17th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Here’s the beauty of atheism, at least my personal brand of atheism:
You don’t believe in God. That is it. There is no belief system here, no philosophy, no one else to convince, no arguments to make. And that is it.
That doesn’t translate into standing aside for injustices. It merely translates into, “Huh. Religion. Okay, next topic.” And in treating it like that, I’ve also never found disrespect for being an atheist.