photo by Russell Harrison
What gets you riled up? Which topics of conversation, political positions, controversial ideas, social causes, (and I could go on) excite you? For a lot of us, atheism’s place in a religious society is one of our top issues to explore and debate. What other interests or causes makes you want to shout from the rooftops or throttle those who just don’t get it?
Examples:
Hunger, poverty, homelessness, fair trade, sex trafficking, child labor, LGBT rights, taxes and government spending, corporations, ethical food industry, gun rights/control, media bias/monopoly, sex education, net neutrality, disease awareness and research , disabilities, health care, religious persecution, alternative energy, pacifism, circumcision and genital mutilation, education reform, child abuse, rape and molestation, and on and on!
Pick some favorites and let us know what you think about them in the comments.
photo by hipposrunsuperfast.com
It’s really not.
When I began this blog, I had this sense of being part of a great discovery, a wondrous evolution of mind. I felt exhilarated and puffed up. In some ways, I felt like a new convert. My ferocity and passion about my new journey away from religion seemed so important, so radical.
But being an atheist isn’t a big deal. Not believing in one deity or a thousand deities doesn’t make me a revolutionary or unique individual. It’s actually kinda bland. My life isn’t packed with people flocking to hear what I have to say. It’s more or less packed with my everyday activities: I sleep, eat, goof around, work at my job, hang out with friends, talk to my boyfriend, daydream, read, enjoy entertainment and the internet, and sleep some more. Somewhere in there I might have a thought about someone else’s religion or a question about some philosophical idea, but more or less I’m just your average person living life.
Being an atheist isn’t a big deal. There are heaps of us … everywhere. I’m sure I see more atheists every day than I could ever guess, and these people aren’t any more cool or outstanding than I am. We’re just experiencing life in somewhat unremarkable ways, just like everyone else. We walk right past religious people all the time and no one explodes or runs away in panic. The world doesn’t end because we don’t believe in the supernatural.
Being an atheist isn’t a big deal. In fact, we’re all born this way. I’m not sure why we make such a fuss about it, especially here in the USA. In fact, atheism is so “ok yeah, whatever” that I’m not sure I should even need to blog about it. It’s just your average state of being. Atheism is just another ordinary trait. It’s a shame not everyone sees it that way. That’s why people think we need awareness campaigns and books and slogans and symbols and media icons and organizations and blogs and public speakers and rock stars.
But being an atheist isn’t a big deal. It’s actually quite… normal.
Why should outsiders have to work so hard at pointing out the flaws in Christianity when Christians do it just fine on their own?
I can take that vacation now!
What you’ll hear: an interview on Way of The Master Radio with Todd Friel interviewing an ex faith pentecostal faith-healer, Mark Haville. They discuss how “being slain in the spirit,” faith healing, and revival services are a sham. The irony is that the same arguments about emotional manipulation, pastor preaching styles, and it all being in the person’s brain still work for fundamentalist anti-pentecostal Christianity. Maybe they’ll realize this one day.
Your thoughts?
photo by Trois Têtes
Frans DeWaal of the New York Times has written a thoughtful piece on the origins of morality, altruism, and whether God has anything to do with it. It’s definitely worth the read, so check it out.
What does science say about morality?
While I do consider religious institutions and their representatives — popes, bishops, mega-preachers, ayatollahs, and rabbis — fair game for criticism, what good could come from insulting individuals who find value in religion? And more pertinently, what alternative does science have to offer? Science is not in the business of spelling out the meaning of life and even less in telling us how to live our lives. We, scientists, are good at finding out why things are the way they are, or how things work, and I do believe that biology can help us understand what kind of animals we are and why our morality looks the way it does. But to go from there to offering moral guidance seems a stretch.
Many people in the comments suggest Sam Harris’ new book The Moral Landscape to help explain what science can offer in terms of moral answers for humanity. I haven’t read it yet, but it’s high on my list! Have any of you read The Moral Landscape? What do you think?
Imagine no religion
DeWaal seems to think any ordered guidelines for moral living—even if formed completely without God—would be indistinguishable from the religion-based guidelines we have today.
… [T]he building blocks of morality are older than humanity, and that we do not need God to explain how we got where we are today. On the other hand, what would happen if we were able to excise religion from society? I doubt that science and the naturalistic worldview could fill the void and become an inspiration for the good. Any framework we develop to advocate a certain moral outlook is bound to produce its own list of principles, its own prophets, and attract its own devoted followers, so that it will soon look like any old religion.
Atheists tend to daydream about a world without religion (a la John Lennon). It seems as if DeWaal is afraid of what might happen if such a radical change came to pass. Personally, I don’t see this happening. Do you think we will evolve ourselves out of religion? Will we become a secular world society one day or simply destroy ourselves first?
I recommend reading the conversation that continues in the comments of this piece. Many mature insights are shared. Here’s one response to the quote above:
But is religion really “an inspiration for the good” ? If the “building blocks” predate religion, why would we need religion to inspire us to do good ? Just like a child will make something out of the Lego blocks you put in front of him without you telling him to, we could very well just be tempted to use those blocks we have. At best, religion just has a placebo effect: some people think they are good because religion tells them to, while in reality, they would be good anyway.
What do you think?
(HT goodreasonnews)
Chris on 
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