It is no small observation to note that religious people have done a fantastic job in convincing everyone not to blame the religion when so-called adherents commit antisocial acts.
"What!? That Christian stabbed a man and said Jesus told him to do it? He must have been hallucinating."
"What!? That man stoned his disobedient child to death? He must have misinterpreted that passage."
It's not supposed to matter how many abortion doctors are murdered by Christians. Christianity is still proclaimed as a moral religion. It not supposed to matter how many Muslim children blow themselves up in the name of their religion. Islam is still trumpeted as a religion of peace. It's not supposed to matter....ummm.... how many Amalekites the Jews once killed. Wait, that one was most certainly ordained by God. Sorry Jews.
So, let me skip to the point. Are non-theists afforded the same luxury? No, actually it's worse for them. Some religious people look upon the non-theists with suspicion, as though the non-theists were synonymous with satanists (a term which itself has varies degrees of meaning).
How is this fair?
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
For your benefit
John finally found a way to force me into writing a blog. Bravo!
So, what do I believe in, huh? Well, let's start with a little bit of personal history.
My parents took me to church when I was a young child. I didn't particularly enjoy the experience growing up. I found church to be extremely boring and would spend the time during the service drawing pictures on the pamphlets they handed out. I don't think there was ever a time in my life where I gave Christianity much credence. I know I had some respect for the idea of a God when I was a child, but I'm pretty sure I was, at the very least, indifferent to the teachings of the Bible.
Now, it should be stated that my parents are not profoundly religious. My dad is some sort of vague spiritualist. He admires Jesus, but I certainly wouldn't describe him as a Christian. My mom, on the other hand, leans towards the skeptical side of the spectrum. Really, the whole reason I was dragged to church was because my parents were involved in some of the "entertainment" aspects of the service. My dad would play the piano and my mom would sing.
As a side note, I would like to say that I never felt pressured to accept or dismiss faith. My parents allowed me to come to my own conclusions on the matter.
My parents stopped taking me to church when I was old enough to stay home on my own. Boy, it sure was nice to sleep in on Sunday! I admit there were moments where I felt a twinge of worry about not going to church. What if the Christians are right and God sends me to Hell for not going to church? Note how the only factor of Christianity that ever motivated me was the FEAR factor.
There was a brief period in my early teens where I identified myself as an atheist. However, I was rather cocky at this point in my life, and eventually came to feel as though I had arrived at atheism for all the wrong reasons. I abandoned the idea of God without really understanding the arguments for or against his existence. Furthermore, I found atheism appealing because it offered me a sense of intellectual superiority.
I decided to adopt the humbler position of an agnostic during my later teen years. There isn't much else to be said about this period of my irreligious development.
So, what do I believe now? Well, let's start with what I hold faith in. I have faith that the material world is real and is not just a figment of my imagination. I have faith my mind is in my body and not inside a vat within a scientist's lab. I have faith that other people have minds not unlike my own. These are called properly basic beliefs, and they are essentially taken for granted by everyone but the most hardcore of skeptics (the kind of skeptic who doubts our ability to know anything). I see them as necessary to function on a daily basis.
Now, on to my current beliefs regarding the divine. While studying the philosophy of religion, I found the arguments for the existence of a non-theistic God to be sound reasons assume his necessity. Specifically, I am referring to the cosmological and teleological arguments.
I am not unquestionably allied to this position. If science could provide adequate explanations for the origins of life and the universe, then I would not stubbornly hold on to my deism.
There you have it. An overview of my experience with religion and irreligion, and a testament to where I stand now.
So, what do I believe in, huh? Well, let's start with a little bit of personal history.
My parents took me to church when I was a young child. I didn't particularly enjoy the experience growing up. I found church to be extremely boring and would spend the time during the service drawing pictures on the pamphlets they handed out. I don't think there was ever a time in my life where I gave Christianity much credence. I know I had some respect for the idea of a God when I was a child, but I'm pretty sure I was, at the very least, indifferent to the teachings of the Bible.
Now, it should be stated that my parents are not profoundly religious. My dad is some sort of vague spiritualist. He admires Jesus, but I certainly wouldn't describe him as a Christian. My mom, on the other hand, leans towards the skeptical side of the spectrum. Really, the whole reason I was dragged to church was because my parents were involved in some of the "entertainment" aspects of the service. My dad would play the piano and my mom would sing.
As a side note, I would like to say that I never felt pressured to accept or dismiss faith. My parents allowed me to come to my own conclusions on the matter.
My parents stopped taking me to church when I was old enough to stay home on my own. Boy, it sure was nice to sleep in on Sunday! I admit there were moments where I felt a twinge of worry about not going to church. What if the Christians are right and God sends me to Hell for not going to church? Note how the only factor of Christianity that ever motivated me was the FEAR factor.
There was a brief period in my early teens where I identified myself as an atheist. However, I was rather cocky at this point in my life, and eventually came to feel as though I had arrived at atheism for all the wrong reasons. I abandoned the idea of God without really understanding the arguments for or against his existence. Furthermore, I found atheism appealing because it offered me a sense of intellectual superiority.
I decided to adopt the humbler position of an agnostic during my later teen years. There isn't much else to be said about this period of my irreligious development.
So, what do I believe now? Well, let's start with what I hold faith in. I have faith that the material world is real and is not just a figment of my imagination. I have faith my mind is in my body and not inside a vat within a scientist's lab. I have faith that other people have minds not unlike my own. These are called properly basic beliefs, and they are essentially taken for granted by everyone but the most hardcore of skeptics (the kind of skeptic who doubts our ability to know anything). I see them as necessary to function on a daily basis.
Now, on to my current beliefs regarding the divine. While studying the philosophy of religion, I found the arguments for the existence of a non-theistic God to be sound reasons assume his necessity. Specifically, I am referring to the cosmological and teleological arguments.
I am not unquestionably allied to this position. If science could provide adequate explanations for the origins of life and the universe, then I would not stubbornly hold on to my deism.
There you have it. An overview of my experience with religion and irreligion, and a testament to where I stand now.
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