Remember all those posts about God being a douchebag? I’ve been discussing God with a friend of mine who suggested the following argument (which I will probably muddle, since I’m summarizing from memory). I’d love to hear your responses!
So what if God is an asshole? Even if God did order the slaughter of humans in the Old Testament, condone slavery, and send souls to everlasting torture in hell… that’s totally within his rights! After all, if this truly is an infinite being in size, power, and so forth, God is not subject to the morality he gave humankind. Nor does it truly matter if we live or die because we’re just specks–less than specks–to his infinite All. Our souls are like eternal beings; the body doesn’t matter if it’s all about eternity, so the suffering we feel on earth and the resentment for experiencing it is meaningless in the face of the eternal life of the soul and the ultimate power and all-knowing will of God.
I may have sped through her ideas, but do you get the gist of what she’s saying? And what would you say in response to this sort of argument? Does God get a free pass because he’s just so damn big? Should we really have a problem with an all-powerful deity that does whatever it wants with its creation?
Photo © Jim Kuhn
I suppose I’m a bit of an atheist cliché. I have expressed on numerous occasions my distaste for the Judeo-Christian god as depicted in the Bible. (check out why God’s justice is anti-American and God is immoral). But if we don’t speak up about the inconsistencies we observe, they might go un-recognized by those who seek the truth. So in the name of critical thinking, I’ll continue to challenge the Get Out of Jail Free card often handed to God even when our own reasoning indicates he’s in violation of the most basic standards of morality.
So, what about torture? This topic has been the focus of a steady buzz in past months, but only recently have I had much personal interaction with the topic.
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photo by Luciano Meirelles
One of the most common disputes non-believers have with Christianity (and I would think Judaism, considering the circumstances) is the depiction of morality in the Bible.
As a Christian, I was constantly reminded that God is special and unlike other gods because he valued fallen sinners. I was taught the bible was honestly written because the book shows imperfect people doing horrible things and still God uses them to bring forth his Perfect Plan™. At the time, I believed this was an amazing, praiseworthy reason to trust what the bible said and to love the so-called Author.
Did I ever take an honest look at the morality of God himself? No. God received a Get Out of Jail Free card because according to my beliefs, he was the source of everything that was good, perfect, loving, and just. If he was the source of morality, then he had to be 100% moral (i.e. good). Any evidence to the contrary had to be based in misunderstandings or closed-minded hatred. There was no ability in my mind to think of myself as more moral than my God. If I was, then why worship him? Why trust him? Why should I give up my life for him if my standards seem to surpass those of the Almighty? I wasn’t able to even consider these questions. I had built a protective wall inside my mind: critical thinking and challenging my assumptions on one side—God and faith on the other.
It wasn’t until after I deconverted from Christianity that I took the time to critique this deity and the depictions of its so-called “goodness” that I had accepted my whole life.
Is God moral?
Read the Rest! Post a comment (3)“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?”
What if–instead of swearing on a bible, holy book, or other boring document–we could pinky swear? I’d even go for a “cross my heart” every once in a while.
Well, the folks over at secularpinkyswear.org have got the right idea. They’ve written out a pledge for those who wish to live by secular principals.
Here are the ideals you would affirm:
- I will be open about my secular values and will not feign religious values due to pressure from friends, family, employers and/or the general public.
- If I face religious pressure in the future, I will be mindful that as an individual I have a right to believe and act in a way that I deem appropriate. To accept dogma, superstition or creeds that I don’t believe in would be to sacrifice freedom of conscience and expression on the altar of conformism.
- Without need for religious reference, I will make every effort to take a mature, intelligent approach to decisions regarding my sexuality. I understand the appropriate context for sexual abstinence and appreciate the benefits that communication and maturity bring to intimacy.
- If I marry, my wedding ceremony will be either humanist, secular, or a joint ceremony that avoids the implication that I hold to views not actually my own.
- If I have children, I will recognize the importance of letting my humanist values inform my childrearing, and won’t yield to cultural, family, or other pressures to indoctrinate them into traditional religious beliefs or force them to participate in religious rites of passage.
- Without losing sight of the importance of diverse viewpoints, I will encourage others to appreciate the value of reason, compassion, equality, and other enlightened principles that make the world a better and safer place for humanity, now and in the future.
- In all of my actions, and without threat of divine retribution, I will strive to respect the dignity of all people.
That first one is a real challenge for me, since I’m still in the closet. I don’t pretend to have religious values, but I am not public about the fact that my views are godless. Think I could still put my name down?
What do you think of these affirmations? Would you add any others? Will you pinky swear?
(via @Pharyngula)
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