“The Guitar Man” spent a lot of energy commenting on some of my posts. I would like to bring his ideas to the forefront.
I would appreciate if comments use the question format which I use. 1) It is easier to reply to their query 2) A statement says “this is fact”, if someone disagrees they hesitate to respond. When you present a question you are saying “this is why I believe, please enlighten me if you think I am mistaken”
As I mention in my profile “I was raised religious and wanted to run away; I failed.” Why didn’t I accept atheism?
I will spend the next few posts on The Guitar Man’s comments as well as the general concept of atheism. I’m not sure who “The Guitar Man” is but if seems that he has thought through his ideas.
The Guitar man] “I can't see any ulterior motives in Atheism.”
I would present this; Are there motives of atheism?
The Guitar man] “The atheist doesn't wonder at how a merciful deity can bury 150,000 poor Haitians under rubble and drown 225,000 Asians under a tsunami.”
Who said the deity is merciful?
In previous posts I bring out how many people follow their religions for personal benefits. Don’t you think that some religions interpret their deity to fit what people want to hear?
[The Guitar Man] “Religious people spend there time on their knees, grovelling to a non-existent deity. Atheists stand tall and walk the earth proudly. They gaze in wonderment at the awesomeness of the universe and of nature (without thinking that it has a creator who 13.5 billion years later is highly, highly offended by someone who chooses not to believe in him…)”
Who said he is offended?
[The Guitar Man] “So I can't see the ulterior motive of atheists other than the desire to be free from the control of a deity they don't believe in and to free themselves from the control of the adherents who enforce what Christopher Hitchens calls 'this celestial dictatorship'.”
“Other than”? So you found an ulterior motive let’s try to find more.
Many religions misuse catastrophes to warn “sinners”. Accepting such preaching puts tremendous pressure on a person. Is an Atheist trying to get rid of their emotional burden?
It seems worrisome to believe that a deity commits what humans think is evil. Isn’t it comforting to believe that no intellectual being causes major world disasters?
Isn’t life easier if there is no deity to serve? Isn’t it comforting not to be worried about consequences?
Isn’t this an ulterior motive?
This blog is called “The True Religion”. What is the truth? Not, what feels better?
If there is a deity who enjoys seeing the blood of his creations, what do you accomplish by denying him?
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4 comments:
I've been reading along for a week or two. One question that springs to mind is, does it make a difference which G-d/God/god/gods you are talking about? Various Gods followed worshipped around the world have different attributes and expectations or instructions for their followers. Is there a concept of an intelligent higher being, or a higher interconnectedness that is not a God? What is your definition of God/a God? Another question I ask is, which books do you find shed any light in this area? Thanks for the blog, it's got me thinking.
This blog is based entirely on logic. I present a logical question and I would like people to give a logical answers. If I disagree I still allow the post if its logical. If I feel it contradict my thoughs I will explain either in a comment of a future post.
In the future I intend to focus on the various concepts of a deity.As you mention, there are many. For now we are dealing with 1) Understanding the motives for belief 2)Understanding if there is a spirit within humans 3) If there is, can we sense it?
My thoughts come from many books. In most cases I agree with parts of books and disagree with other parts. The only thing I could suggest is to read many books on spirituality but don’t accept what you don’t understand.
([soulsearcher] I took out the last words of the comment since there was not intellectual benefit to comparing atheists with other religions)
I don't agree that Atheist are trying to "avoid the consequences."
You can always be a consquentalist and be Atheist, in fact I would think that most Atheist's have a better idea how their actions effect others
Ulterior motives for atheism? Well theres nothing ulterior about searching for and speaking up for the truth. When religious people speak what we consider to be untruth then we speak up in the hope that our voices will influence the decision makers.
The Vatican, for example, has an enormous infuluence on public policy. There opposition to condom use and the devastating consequence this has had on the AIDS epidemic is a case in point. We point to the evidence that condoms prevent AIDS. Vatican officials on the other hand make claims completely against the evidence that the virus can pass through the condom and continue to see the problem of AIDS as a moral failing rather than a health problem. The Vatican is part of the problem and not the solution. As an Atheist I can speak freely on this issue. Church men and lay catholics can't.
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