In honor of last week -- April 16th to be exact -- (allegedly) being "Ask an Atheist" Day - I wanted to share some of the questions in response after a friend of mine posted about it on Facebook-
1. What made you come to this conclusion?
2. What if you're wrong?
3. Why do you still celebrate holidays?
4. Do you believe in any higher power at all? Intelligent design? Etc? Or just nothing?
5. What if you're wrong?
6. What is your personal take of what happens when you die?
I am an Atheist so I will post some of my responses in the comments. And also, if anyone who is religious has any other questions - let's here 'em.
You saw last week's post on this, Sheala? Some interesting responses provided there under FAQs...
ReplyDeletehttps://athphil.blogspot.com/2020/04/ask-atheist-day.html?showComment=1587404058696
DeleteMy responses, for what it's worth:
ReplyDelete1. What made you come to this conclusion? The problem of evil/suffering, and (in retrospect) a lot of insufferable fundamentalists encountered in childhood.
2. What if you're wrong? As Bertrand Russell said, in response to the same question: "Lord, you didn't provide enough evidence." But if I'm wrong I'm wrong. Won't be the first time.
3. Why do you still celebrate holidays? Because holidays are important human milestones. Even the religious holidays have secular significance, for instance Easter as a time of renewal and "return to life" -- a harbinger of Spring, of longer sunnier days and new possibilities.
4. Do you believe in any higher power at all? Intelligent design? Etc? Or just nothing? I believe in intelligence, empathy, compassion, kindness, community... These are not "higher powers" in any supernatural sense, but of course I don't believe in supernatural higher powers. Give a listen to Ann Druyan's conversation with Michael Shermer, posted below earlier today. I agree with her, what we call the supernatural is sub-natural. Nature is all, and it's more than enough.
5. What if you're wrong? You already asked that. See 2 (above). And consider William James's statement: "Our errors are not such awfully solemn things." They're only human. We don't have the luxury of awaiting certainty, in this life. We must act, and so we must formulate actionable beliefs. If we're wrong, up until our terminal error, that's a learning opportunity. And I'm here to learn.
6. What is your personal take of what happens when you die? Your body decomposes and your atoms disperse. Poetically, you rejoin the great Mother Sea, or Mother Earth, or however you want to represent the totality of material existence. But that's not all, for the foreseeable future. Your memory and your positive actions continue to ripple in the lives you've managed to touch. As Jackie Robinson said, a life is significant insofar as it touches other lives. That's all.
And that's enough for me.
Well, Im not an atheist, I stick to claiming the label of Agnostic, but I still have similar answers to the questions.
ReplyDelete1. What made you come to this conclusion?
I grew up in a religious home, my mom generally telling me the way life works. The point where I began questioning what I was told was when I was around 8. I remember my mom telling me about what happens to people when they die and I asked her about the people who weren't Christians, and she told me that they were cast into a pit of fire in Hell. It didn't set right with me and I asked her about people who never knew about our God and children who were taken before they could learn. She never gave a good answer so it's there that I began turning from religion.
2. What if you're wrong?
If I'm wrong then I'm wrong, I don't expect to be some all knowing person that will never make mistakes. I don't want to waste my time on long-term uncertainties.
3. Why do you still celebrate holidays?
I see holidays as family and friends time, I will respectfully bow my head at prayer, but I don't subscribe to the beliefs. Holidays are time to be with those you love, i don't think that you have to have faith in the religion behind them, but I do think that if you are going to participate that you should be respectful of the customs and beliefs of those who do believe in the rituals.
4. Do you believe in any higher power at all? Intelligent design? Etc? Or just nothing?
I believe that there is a possibility, just as there is a possibility for spontaneous creation. I was not privy to any of the cosmological designs that were set forth before any of us existed and don't see a point in arguing over what is correct or incorrect since none of us have exact knowledge on the topic. Not that I'm not interested in hearing what others believe, I just don't feel that there is any reason to get in a huff over it.
5. What if you're wrong?
If I'm wrong in living how I do now then I really don't want to praise the deity that smites down people for simply not believing in them (like my mother told me). I carry around floor in my car for homeless people, I offer my time to help others, I try not to be mean to others (though im sure I fail on that at points) and if that is not good enough for a god then I will accept my pyre with the rest of them and I've already accepted that choice.
6. What is your personal take of what happens when you die?
I think Keanu Reeves said it best for me, that "I know the ones who love us will miss us." That is what happens when you die, anything else is speculation.
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4/24- Presentation on "There is a God" - post
4/24- Final Report (Patricia's post) - Reply
4/24- Final Report (Patricia's post) - Reply
4/25- This reply
I've always wondered why people tend to have strong very strong opinions about whether atheists should celebrate holidays.
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