I don't give a stuff what people believe in, but it won't stop me poking at it or prodding it. Why should religion be any exemption? Telling me I'm going to hell won't bother me because I have the Flying Spaghetti Monster, the Invisible Pink Unicorn and Bertrand Russell's Teapot in my heart. Google them if you are in the market for some red hot enlightenment.
I spent every Sunday for the first 18 years of my life sitting in a medieval torture chamber listening to a bloke bang on about his imaginary friend who did magic tricks. Then the next 20 years massaging, editing and pruning the brainwashing into something that fit until suddenly I woke up one day and realised I was an atheist.
I wasn't searching for anything. I wasn't dabbling or questioning. I wasn't having any kind of spiritual breakdown. I just opened my eyes one day, looked around and realised that I had once been standing in a house and one by one the walls had collapsed and there was no longer a house there. I was standing out in the open. It was very liberating.
Wearing certain things, eating certain things, mumbling certain things at certain times so some imaginary friend will let you into a club in the sky when you die. I want to do my living now, thanks. I'm not afraid of dying. I'm afraid of never having lived.
I don't care what people believe in, but I do care that religion impacts on political discourse, public policy and that it stunts the ability of people to think for themselves and question. And that it kills people and causes suffering. But most of all I care that the invisible electric fences that are wired in the minds of children brainwashed by religion are difficult to remove. And impossible if you don't even know they're there.
by Catherine Deveny, thanks to Richard Dawkins.net
One of the most troubling things about religious belief is the anticipation of the after life and the thought that this life is just a waiting room.
"Be thankful that you have a life, and forsake your vain and presumptuous desire for a second one." -Richard Dawkins
To spend your life worrying about eternal rewards or punishments seems like such a gross waste to an atheist. This is your chance! Despite the odds, you came into being and you have the ability to think and feel. Don't throw this chance away.
Live, love, and stop worrying so much about what will happen when it's over!
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4 comments:
Sounds like Catherine Deveny was a Catholic, like me. Catholics often equate their denomination with all Christianity and even all religion. Although many atheists have a pretty good grasp on comparative religions, most web posts that I read decribe a distinctly Catholic (or Catholic-ish -- like Episcopal) experience. Vain repetitions, praying to idols, transubstantiation, etc. And it causes a lot of bitterness. Even as a born-again Christian, I am very bitter towards the Catholic church.
Your "seize the day" mentality is very akin to true Christianity. A Christian should attempt to make the most of this life, for we're not guaranteed even the next breath. Even atheists often agree that there's something to be said for the discipline of self-denial and service to others.
The only difference is that atheists seize the day to maximize enjoyment and (good) Christians do it out of the desperation that we're running out of time, that others are perishing before our eyes. A life spent viewing the world through the lens of eternity is a very rewarding, pleasant, and fulfilling life.
Often the argument from an immature atheist (not the learned one) is that they'd rather live it up, party hard, etc. than live a life of sacrifice and self-denial. Atheists who have been around realize that winning the lottery does not necessarily make your life better and that the way you interact with others does. Compare any of today's celebrities with Gandhi (not a Christian) or Mother Teresa (a Catholic) and decide who lived a more satisfying life.
For all the former Catholics out there, I highly recommend a book called More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell. It is a light read, doable in an evening.
Wearing certain things, eating certain things, mumbling certain things at certain times so some imaginary friend will let you into a club in the sky when you die.
While it's true that Catholicism revolves around many traditions, I don't think it was the author's intent to single out Catholicism alone, and it certainly was not mine.
It's true that Catholicism is noticeably different from many Christian denominations today, but I think the extent of these differences are often exaggerated.
The only difference is that atheists seize the day to maximize enjoyment...Often the argument from an immature atheist (not the learned one) is that they'd rather live it up, party hard, etc. than live a life of sacrifice and self-denial.
I don't know if it was your intention, but you make it sound as if you think atheists are only interested in partying hard while we have the chance. I personally want to know that my life was not wasted. That I spent it loving and living, and hopefully helping people that I met along the way, even if just in a small way.
This notion of living a life of sacrifice and denial is distinctly a religious one.
Helping others does not mean you have to deny yourself.
I would argue that people like Ghandi and Mother Theresa did not lead particularly fulfilling lives if all they did was deny themselves. I don't know about celebrities, because there are more than you can count. But perhaps there are some who are really happy doing what they are doing, and they make others happy along the way. What is wrong with that?
It wasn't my intention at all. In fact, I made it clear that the "live it up" attitude is one of immature atheists, a distinction I thought I was politely making between you and your ilk and the kind who rocket off comments in newsgroups.
Many atheists are very interested in living a fulfilling life by helping others. For example, Larry King often talks about how to life a moral life without believing in a god.
But helping others is usually self-denial. I don't mean holding the door for someone. I mean giving to the poor, building homes for hurricane victims, devoting your time to work in a clinic in the ghetto for little money. Those are very fulfilling things that are definite inconveniences to yourself.
This is my third response to your third response. I was hanging on to get a feel for this blog, and now I see that really every single thing that is originally posted and every single response is more argument for argument's sake than discussion, and that's not what I was looking for.
Feel free to post a response for the rest of your readers that says something like, "See? When the Christian meets the least bit of resistance, he flees."
I won't be here to read it.
Wow, I thought the purpose of you posting here was to have a discussion and that's what I thought I was engaging in, a discussion.
Just because we disagree or don't understand each other the first time around, doesn't mean I don't appreciate your input.
I thought by responding to you, I was showing you that I had given thought to what you had said. I certainly don't think I abused you in any way in my comments.
I am sorry you took it that way and that I have lost a reader and a commentor.
That was certainly not my intention.
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