I stumbled across this little gem and wanted to share it with you all. I'm sure that many of you have been told by "believers" that atheism is a religion. I keep trying to point out the fallacy of this statement and I think this vid captures the essence of how I perceive atheism in regards to religion.
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I think we are getting hung up on the idea of religion being about gods...to me it is more about the set of beliefs that we all ascribe to. Everyone has a stance on their place in the universe, and we ALL structure our lives around it in one way or another. By the definition in this video I don't follow a religion either. I don't even really care for the term. This reduces my belief system to the simple matter of believing whether or not a god exists. If that is all that my belief is about then it carries no significance to my life.
ReplyDeleteMy set of beliefs, "religion" (if we must) is about following the way that Jesus taught was best to live. It is about structuring my life around what I believe. Never does my devotion include not-believing in something else. I don't think thats what I am supposed to focus on.
You and I both have beliefs. I know that often atheists would rather claim to believe nothing, but that in itself is a belief; the belief that no god exists. I suppose this is where some people are coming from in claiming atheism to be a religion. I think the debate is pointless, but I figured I would weigh in.
I gave up my "religion" a long time ago...what I retained was my belief in a God who loves me even if my ideas about him are wack...it is about living in the process of exploring the inexplicable and wrestling with the irrational. I suspect that we probably don't differ greatly in this respect. I will never fully "get there" because it is beyond me to comprehend. Where I am is where I am, and if believing that the universe is beyond our human ability to understand makes me narrow minded then so be it.
Thanks for the vid, it gives me lots to think about.
I have often been told that as an atheist, I believe in nothing, or that my lack of belief is a belief in and of itself. I agree with you the we tend to get hung up on the wrong things. I actually don't even care for the label of atheist, because it seems to limit my "beliefs" to a particular lack of belief. I have, as does everyone else, a set of beliefs, morals, and values that I follow. I would have no issues calling them a religion, if we could simplify and clarify the definition of religion. I don't worship anything, nor do I attend any type of meeting or gathering with other people who share my beliefs and values. I don't believe in the supernatural, or in any type of afterlife. If I could find a term other than "atheist", that clearly labelled me as who or what I am, encompassing my values and morals and my life goals and ambitions, I would much prefer to use that. The purpose of this blog was not intended to be a forum for me to systematically tear apart the reiligions of the world...but unfortunately that seems to be a recurring debate for a lot of people. Atheism has received such a bad name, because many of the prominent, outspoken atheists in history have been loud-mouthed, intollerant assholes. When you "YouTube" atheism...you are often presented with a video of some ignorant 17-year-old rebel who wants to tell the world that he thinks Christians are crazy, and God is the same as the Tooth Fairy. The blog I just posted the other day entitled "Why am I an atheist?" better describes my personal feelings on the matter. I would much rather focus on something more positive. Ideally, I would love to see a day where the world could unite as one whole, without gods and religion as a driving force. I'm sure that makes me sound like a pot-smoking hippy, and "ideal" often equals "impossible", but I suppose I'm allowed to dream. I never bought into the "outreach" programs of my church-going childhood. Not because I didn't believe in God or The Bible, but rather because I believed that each person was entitled to their own opinions and beliefs, without being harrassed by some teenage "Jesus freak" who could repeat the rhetoric I learned in Sunday school, but couldn't have an intellectual conversation about the origins of my faith. If I was approached by someone who was interested in my faith, I was more than willing to share my thoughts with them, and even converted a few of my friends. But I never actively sought to win souls for Jesus. I feel the same way as an atheist. I don't go out seeking to deconvert anyone...but rather, if people are interested in what I have to say...I let them come to me.
ReplyDeleteI don't think any of what you said or what you believe makes you narrow-minded. I actually really respect the way you've approached these topics with both myself and with Rob. It's refreshing to have intellectual, open-minded conversations, instead of juvenile debates about whether or not atheists eat babies.