keilexandra | A Statement of Faith

Current Mood: contemplative

Entry tags:

A Statement of Faith

This post may be edited at any later time; I intend it to be an overarching statement of my current religious beliefs.

I am what is commonly termed a "weak atheist"--I do not believe in the existence of a higher deity because I have found no satisfactory reason to believe otherwise. However, I am also a "militant atheist," being quite adamant about my faith or lack thereof. Atheism is as important to my sense of self as being Christian is to an evangelicist. I am drawn to the serenity of Buddhism, but I find that personal meditation achieves that quite well without the need for organized religion.

This post will mainly reference Christianity, and I am not tactful. If you're easily offended, don't click the cut.

1) Faith. Fundamentally, believing in a religion requires a leap of faith. One must take a risk to believe, because the right or wrong of the choice will never be proved in one's lifetime. So why should I take that risk? Assume, hypothetically, that God exists. Why should I worship Him?

I do know about Pascal's Wager, and it is unconvincing. One, believing in God for purely practical purposes is akin to false or feigned faith. Two, I believe in oblivion--and I value it at least equally to eternal happiness.

2) Paradox. To me, God seems analogous to a corrupt, power-hungry dictator. His message is: worship me and go to Heaven; don't believe (or believe wrongly) and go to Hell. Eternal happiness, or eternal suffering. That kind of choice is like the classic "carrot and the stick," and it's basically bullying. So is God a bully? Christians say how God is loving and benevolent; I'm not sure how sending good, moral people to Hell just for not being Christian is benevolent.

"If he is infinitely good, what reason should we have to fear him? If he is infinitely wise, why should we have doubts concerning our future? If he knows all, why warn him of our needs and fatigue him with our prayers? If he is everywhere, why erect temples to him?"

- Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), from The Necessity of Atheism.

3) Creationism. I fully admit to lacking extensive knowledge on the theory of evolution. However, that does not prove evolution as a theory to be incorrect, nor does it prove creationism to be correct by default. On this point, I am open to a metaphorical interpretation of Genesis; a literal interpretation, however, is completely nonsensical to me.

4) Oblivion. I'm in the extreme minority with this, I know. But the thought of oblivion is...comforting. Eternal happiness sounds great, but it also seems too easy, and impossible, and similar to eternal life. As vampire stories have made exceedingly clear, eternal life is nothing to covet. I see nothing wrong with the idea of non-existence after death.

5) Truth. I firmly believe in relative truth. This means, of course, that everyone who believes in absolute truth are still true--to their own beliefs. I believe that morality is a product of society, not religion. I believe that nothing is absolute, least of all the Bible or any other religious text.

6) Meaning. I don't believe that life possesses inherent meaning. Humans, with our clever minds and imagination, create meaning. And this is one reason why I write, why I love words--to turn collections of discrete letters into profound theme and meditation. I write so that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. If no sentient life existed, nothing would have meaning; is a tree still a tree if no intelligence may presuppose or contradict it? Without someone, something to need abstraction, the universe is meaningless.

Relevant Links

Atheism
Top Ten Reasons I Don't Believe in God, Part I (and Part II): Highly recommended.
Atheists and Anger: a very long article on exactly its title.
What Do You Want, Anyway? An Atheist's Mission Statement: Presenting two atheist utopias, and a sobering look at the probabilities of either.
In Defense of Atheist Blogging: A manifesto to point to when critiques are inevitably countered by non sequitars.
The Theist's Guide to Converting Atheists: Attempts to answer the question, "What would convince an atheist that a religion is true?"
How Not to Convert an Atheist
Atheism Defined: "If we truly reject the religious notion that some truths are absolutely true for all people at all times, we can hardly turn around and make absolute statements about the non-existence of gods."
The Meaning of Death
A Relationship Between Physical Things: On consciousness and selfhood. Like a rainbow!
A Lattice of Coincidence: "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." How a ridiculously unlikely event can actually be simple coincidence.
The Universal Moral Grammar
Is Atheism What Makes Happy Atheists Happy?: The answer, in fact, is no.
Comforting Thoughts about Death That Have Nothing to Do with God
Does Hoping For An End to Religion Make Me Intolerant?: This resonated with me so, so much. I believe in freedom of religion, but what about "freedom from religion"?
On the Morality of Atheists and Believers
The Star Trek Rule: "Before quoting the Bible to atheists, always ask yourself whether the same statement would be just as effective in your mind if you were quoting Captain Kirk."
Frustration: Highly recommended; An insightful (and relatively brief) analogy regarding argumentation.
With Thanks to My Atheist Mother: Things to be grateful for due to a secular upbringing.
101 Atheist Quotes: Highly amusing.
Atheism Requires No Faith
Atheism and Hope

Christianity
Dear Religious Fundamentalist: A humorous open letter to religious fundamentalists.
What Would Convince You That You Were Wrong? The Difference between Secular and Religious Faith: Highly recommended.
Can You Prove It Didn't Happen? Progressive Religion and the Standards of Evidence: "Do you think it's reasonable to hold a religious belief that isn't supported by evidence...as long as it's not actually contradicted by evidence?" Then, of course, going on to answer and support this question in the negative. The comments are unusually calm and rational.
Eternal Fire: What Jesus Says in the Gospels about Hell
Invisible Punishment: Hell as Social Control
Going to Church: On Greta Christina's experience in a very liberal Christian church.
People Are Going to Hell: Then why aren't you dedicating your life to saving them?
Things I'm Getting Tired of Hearing: "Atheism is a religion," "Righteous," "I don't believe in evolution," "Atheists are responsible for banning prayer in schools," "The United States is a Christian nation," "Darwinism." A bit radical, but still worth reading for the open-minded.
Protect the Constitution, Not the Pledge: Slightly inflammatory language but valid points.
SIWOTI: On the founding of America as a (not-)Christian nation.
Liar, Loony, Lord: An informative article dissecting one of the most common arguments used by Christians.
Why "What is reality?" Is Not an Argument against Evolution: Also, why truth is not a democracy [video].
Defending the Blasphemy Challenge: Why even if an argument is hurtful and childish, it should not be taboo.
Fundie 101: We're all very, very naughty: On sin, of the non-Original type.
Why is God's Grace Exactly Like No Grace? Colorado Church Shootings and Atheists Grieving
"All This for Us?" The Arrogance of Human-centered Faith: Specifically aimed at the "modern" branches of Christianity, as opposed to hardline creationists.
Hypocrisy and the "Modern Theology" Argument
The Problem of Unfishiness: Differentiating unanswered questions in science vs. religion.
The Divine Assumption: The logical fallacy of "proving" God's existence.

Evolution
Science and Christian Apologetics: Highly recommended; transcription of a speech delivered to a church (and therefore intended for Christians, by a Christian).
God and Evolution: Q&A about reconciling evolution and Christianity.
An Index to Creationist Claims: Comprehensive; I haven't gotten around to reading it yet, but I hope to peruse all of it eventually.
The Short Proof of Evolution
Creationism in the Science Curriculum: Expanded version of "The Short Proof of Evolution."
The Blind Watchmaker Makes a Watch: [video] A complex computer simulation of evolution using clocks.
Darwin Day, Judgment Day, and the Non-Science of Intelligent Design: I'm especially interested in the last topic addressed here--ID. Call it what you like, and I have nothing against other people's religious beliefs (except when they try to convert me and don't expect the converse), but intelligent design is not a scientific theory.
The Best Anti-Creationist Message Ever: I won't spoil it. The captioned photo says all.
The Only Debate on Intelligent Design that Is Worthy of Its Subject: Snarky and oh, terribly funny.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

>1) Faith. Fundamentally, believing in a religion requires a leap of faith. One must take a risk to believe, because the right or wrong of the choice will never be proved in one's lifetime. So why should I take that risk? Assume, hypothetically, that God exists. Why should I worship Him?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal's_Wager

Not, ultimately, convincing to me. But Pascal is hilarious.

Oh yes, I've heard of Pascal's Wager. :D My friend used it against me. It makes sense but turns religion into a purely practical thing--and to be true to myself, I'm willing to risk it.

Hee, yeah. I didn't mean to suggest I thought it'd change your mind or anything. I just think it's funny how snarky he is.

Makes me wonder if Pascal is atheist. :D Since really, believing in God because it's a good wager isn't true belief.

Yesssss, links to email to those people who try to convert me :D

thus, there evidently is "belief" in it.

However, i would strongly suggest you to..."try religions" out.

in my opinion, try christianity, but feel free to try others.

many christians, like myself, we don't know all the facts and specifics.

but we feel. Kind of like, "you'll never know you hate/like it, until you try it." You would never fully know if you hated ...math, for instance, if you never actually tried it.

You might watch TV shows, like Numbers, and think "how cool is math!" But, you'd never actually truly know what it's like.
(awkward simile, but it works i guess)

in the same way, you never know christianity until you try it. and i'm not talking about go to church once, see what its like. I'm talking...be curious, be open. Pray.

Praying..is what keeps me to Christianity the most.
When you see answers to your prayers...it's absolutely the best evidence i have that my God exists.

He may not answer you in the way you like, but He's there. You have the keep your eyes wide open though, because many times people don't see the answer.

too many times...

so yeah, that's my suggestion.

excuse the spelling, grammar...not exactly the expert at writing..

A pity this is an anonymous and unsigned comment, but I'll just have to hope that you, who ever you are, will eventually check back and read my response. Which is as follows:

First, I don't hate religion. I dislike the oppressive aspects of Christianity as an institution, but that is entirely different (I am absolutely loyal to Canada, but there are certainly aspects of their government I don't agree with).

Second, why do you think I should try Christianity first? I am a nontheist, obviously, so all religions are roughly equal in my eyes. (I must admit being drawn to the philosophy of Buddhism, but that isn't a theistic religion.) I pose a question to you and to all Christians: if there does exist a higher deity, why is it God versus the deity(ies) of any other religion in the world?

And third, I am quite open to the idea of prayer. But how do you "see" answers to your prayers? Your comment implies that one must be very open and accepting--this could quite easily be the same as believing something because one wants to believe. The human mind is a powerful, flexible thing; if you want to believe something, chances are you will. So let me be willing not to disbelieve God--would my prayers really be answered definitively, in a form that does not require aggressive belief? (Aggressive belief = being predisposed to believe something. Passive belief = believing that something could, but not necessarily, be true.) I interpret "keep your eyes wide open" as an implication that if I don't see miracles and answers in simple coincidence of life, I'm blind. That is hardly a fair judgment, though you have not made it explicitly (and I hope that isn't what you mean).

every missionary and many if not all priests RELY on God for everything in their life. money, food, their job, and their lives?

I know missionaries who never seem to have enough for the trip their making, yet they are never in debt and never fail to complete their payments. Sure, first they worry like crazy. But after a while, they reach a point that all Christians would love to reach--rely entirely on God.

2) Paradox.

Pick up a Bible and read it, I suggest the proverbs/james...NT

God IS loving, but just. Your parents (I hope) don't baby you when you make mistakes. This World? Is not of us, that is why it is corrupt.

God gave us free will. We, for lack of better words, just screwed it up terribly.

Stand in God's point of view. You made all these people. You made their lives and everything. Yet, these people you make...deny your existence, or see your existence and avoid it. Or maybe even worship so nonexistant being for your (God's) accomplishments.

Loving, but just. There's a huge difference between that and just "loving."

Why should you try Christianity first? err...go ahead and try other religions.

I think you'll see their flaws and soon be lead toward Christianity

it's late. i'll come back to add on to this if i remember, since i haven't answered all your questions. gotta do hw. haha

-by same person

(I have deleted your previous comment as it seems to be just a repeat of this one.)

Christianity /=/ faith. It is A form of faith, but certainly not the only kind. I call this my statement of faith, because that is exactly what it is--a statement of the philosophy by which I live, my faith. Atheism is not a religion, but it can certainly be a spiritually fulfilling faith if one wishes.

Missionary work is a noble and just profession, but what does it have to do with believing in God?

Please see my link to the Star Trek Rule, and refrain from quoting the Bible without a good reason. As it must be regarded as a work of fictional literature in such a discussion, you must consider it as such when quoting. But in any case: why would God make people with free will if they were to be punished for choosing FREELY? Since He has chosen not to present definitive proof of His existence, it is perfectly reasonable to not choose blind faith. All this predisposes the existence of God or any other creator deity, of which I am far from convinced.

Your argument for the truth of Christianity is practically nonexistent. I have, indeed, explored other religions, notably Buddhism--which makes a lot more sense, with fewer contradictory flaws, than Christianity. I believe that religion can be good for the world, but only if it is accepting of other faiths and used as a guiding life philosophy. This is one of my problems with Christianity--it is so obstinant in pushing its God on other people.

I await, with interest, your answers to the rest of my points. Also, please sign anonymous posts with some sort of name or handle; it need not be your real name, of course, but I would like to be able to distinguish you from another anonymous Christian conversion attempt.

True love needs free will, which is why God gave it to us. Otherwise it wouldn't be love; it would be robotic.

What are the contradictory flaws of Christianity?

What does being a missionary have to do with loving God? Look up "Great Commission" at the end of the book of Matthew (look up a bible on the internet if you don't have one)

In response to "Why I'm Atheist, Reason #42": I believe it was Søren Kierkegaard who said faith cannot exist without doubt. All Christians doubt at some point in their lives and that's all right. Without doubt, faith is worthless. Not everything has to be rational. Is love rational?

I'm such a terrible writer. I forgot a lot of my points. You have nice writing skillz though.
-KZ

So, God gave humans free will so that humans could love Him, correct? So why does he WANT humans to love him, so much that he will send non-loving humans to suffer for eternity? If someone is in love with me, that's fine and dandy, but I don't have to love him back.

I have read very little of it personally, but I have read articles with specific citations on the Bible's contradictions. Explain them away if you like, of course, but if the Bible was written by a flawed human hand, then it can't be the true word of God (unlike Islam, which contends that God Himself wrote the Quran). Also, how do you reconcile God-as-Jesus who is loving/compassionate/etc. and God who asks his followers for human sacrifice as a "test"? Personally, if I were a deity, I wouldn't want followers fanatically enough to kill their children for me. And a deity who does, I would think bloodthirsty and selfish, certainly not just. (What happens to unbaptized children? Or baptized children who don't really worship God, just follow the motions? Or outright deconverted atheists who are nevertheless moral?)

Thanks for the Great Commission reference, which does explain evangelizing--but if you follow the Bible strictly, you're forced to be an intolerant bigot. There are also, I believe, many instances of sexism and racism. How is that reconciled with modern day?

The faithful do doubt, I'm sure. But that doubt is presented as bad, an obstacle to be overcome. Why is it bad to doubt? In science, great discoveries have occurred because someone doubted the conventional explanation and took it upon him/herself to find a better one. Doubt might be false, but it might equally be true--that is, there is an equal statistical chance of God existing or not existing, with the additional caveat that God may exist but in a different form, with different principles, than a religion may postulate.

Love and faith are both irrational, I agree. The physical world, however, is rational--and ID is not a rational theory, or even a theory outright by scientific definitions.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A Statement of Faith

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

christianity is faith

Re: christianity is faith

Re: christianity is faith

Re: christianity is faith

Re: christianity is faith

Re: christianity is faith