Earlier today, a pal of mine started a discussion on this backwoods little message-board we frequent. It was an olive-branch, of sorts, intended to heal perceived wounds between the more religious members of the board and the more vocal of the atheists/agnostics. Being one of the latter, I felt the need to express myself, as I often do (on the Internet at least), and the result turned out to be a reasonably coherent expression of my views, as opposed to my normal snarky babbling. I share it here, alongside the quotes that inspired parts of it, mostly because it's a chance for this blog to actually be personal for a change, and also to invite any discussion it might inspire.
Zero, I hear what you're saying. Shit, those could be words straight out of my mouth, a couple of years back.
| Zero101 wrote: Despite being extremely agnostic (or maybe because of it), I do think we "bash" religion WAY too much on this board. It doesn't help that Oge is constantly beating the religion drum, but everyone immediately jumps all over him and makes him out to be the posterboy for people of faith... when we both know there are idiots on both side of the fence and it is unfair to point at them as shining examples of any group of people. We have perfectly sane and enjoyable "religious" people on this board and I worry that they may not feel as welcome to post here because of the strong anti-religion sentiment here. |
I certainly don't want to many anyone feel uncomfortable or unwelcome.
I don't view Oge as a "typical" Christian any more than I'd view myself
as "typical" atheist. "Typical" people typically aren't. I know and
love many people with strong religious beliefs, including most of my
family, and that love and respect isn't diminished in the least by
their faith. It doesn't mean I can't think they are wrong, the same as
I think a lot of people are wrong about a lot of things.
The concept that I have a problem with is the taboo against talking
about religion like we would talk about anything else... as if it is,
no pun intended, holy ground upon which we must not tread. For example:
If you want to believe that the Earth is flat, you are more than
welcome to. I'm not going to call you an idiot outright, but I'm going
to disagree with you, and provide supporting evidence to my case. If
you can show me compelling evidence that the Earth really is flat,
after all (which you can't, cause it isn't, but hypothetically), I'm
all for hearing it, and will take that into consideration.
You can't say something is true just because you "feel" it is
true.... at least not if you know anything about how the human brain
works. The mind is constantly making patterns out of chaos... We may
see a creepy face for a moment in a TV full of static... but I doubt
any of us believes it is a demon or a ghost. If you've been raised from
childhood to believe that demons live in your TV, and that's been
reinforced by every authority figure in your life as a child, you might
feel differently (even if you're afraid to admit it and possibly look
foolish).
| Zero101 wrote: So, from that perspective, everyone who is adamant about there not being a god or that religion is a waste of time is just as kooky as the people who try and shove religion down your throat. Nobody has all the answers, so we could all benefit from just keeping an open mind. |
I think you'd be hard-pressed to find any atheist, anywhere, who would
say to you "There absolutely is no higher power or anything that could
be described as God". There's always a possibility, of anything, even
if it is extremely unlikely.
What I WILL commit to is that The Bible (and all religious texts in
history, as well) was written by man, and that the God described in
those or any other pages does not exist as described. I don't believe
this just because a pastor touched me, or because I didn't like Sunday
school, or because I'm a cantankerous old goat with a crusty old empty
heart (plenty of Atheist stereotypes to go along with those
Christian/Muslim/Jewish ones). I believe this because of overwhelming
evidence that it is true, and ZERO evidence to the contrary.
The moment anyone is willing to share ANY evidence of god, gods or
God, I'm all ears, and I will consider it the same as I consider
anything else. Until then, I plan to do what little I can to prevent
misguided, superstitious people from affecting my life any more than
necessary. At the same time, to try and help others that share my
feelings get out from under the fear and repression inherent in their
religious upbringings, and realize the world (and the people in it) are
generally pretty awesome.
EDIT: Also, I LOVE how atheists get lumped in with "hard-core bible
thumpers" as equally asshole-ish. Somehow I'm guessing you haven't seen a
lot of atheists at hate rallies, or holding "Science Hates Christians"
at funerals, or throwing bricks at people outside of a Right to Life
clinic (if that's something that exists? Sorry, my metaphors broke)
