The thing I find most unsettling about religion or faith is that it seems to require an abandonment of a persons critical faculties. The underlying idea seems to suggest that questions and inquiry are a barrier to faith. By inquiry I mean not simply an investigation into the subject at hand but an entertainment of the idea that the subject maybe true or false.
The abandonment of reason and inquiry is a frightening prospect to me. It exposes individuals, makes them vulnerable. Leaving then open to influence and suggestion. It makes people easy to manipulate. Maybe I'm being to cynical? I don't know. I do know a number of people who are of excellent quality who believe in god absolutely. From my knowledge of them their brains seem to work quite independently and also very adequately.
With that in mind It is fair to say I do not understand faith, at least when it comes to the concept of 'god' or 'gods'. I didn't grow up with it so I feel that I lack the necessary 'priming' that belief in something as abstract as God requires. Faith seems to ask, "abandon your doubt and skepticism". I guess the reason this is asked of a believer is that doubt and skepticism appear to be antithetical to faith. Perhaps I'm wrong, but this seems to be the case.
The Christian God, or what I know of the concept and it's related stories are no more true to me than say Sauron, Gandalf and the plot of 'Lord of the Rings'. Both stories, to me at least, are equally fantastic. Once again I feel that to believe in a thing like the bible one must be primed from an early age or least be susceptible, via physical or emotional trauma, to the palliative carrot of an eternal, loving father figure and it's accompanying after life.
I am an atheist. The world I live in has no god although I cannot prove it. In my limited experience and knowledge I see no evidence that puts the argument for god beyond reasonable doubt, and for those who would attempt to convince me otherwise I would say to you that the burden of proof lies predominantly with you.
Not sure if you want comments on this one, Christian, but I can totally understand what you're saying.
ReplyDeleteAs a cynical person and a human whose brain leans unhealthily towards critique and over-analysis, I have a strong belief in a 'God'. Although I was raised with this concept, my parents both grew to become 'non-believers' when I was an early teen. So during my upbringing, I guess I've been exposed to a myriad of different arguments about the existence of gods/a god/God. I've also been close to a number of people who have passed away, in an untimely manner, which may skew my perspective in some way, however.
For me, I'm not interested in convincing others about God and very rarely talk about it. In fact, a lot of people assume that I am an atheist because I am a staunch feminist. I have massive misgivings about the message that a number of religions push because of what this means for women's rights. However, I have come to understand the massive difference between religion (and its dogma) and an individual's faith.
I guess I also perceive that it is not necessarily all (absolutism) or nothing either. I think belief or investment in anything should be constantly questioned because history has shown that absolutism becomes rotten at some point. What I'm trying to say is, belief or faith is not necessarily mutually exclusive to critical thinking or questioning.
Under the same logic, as a critical thinker, I am loath to entirely rely on the human experience and the idea of 'evidence' as this is also prone to become rotten and faith-like when it is taken as an absolute proof that there is no 'higher' or 'other' being.
So that leaves me with a faith that I incorporate into my life in a very private way. I really enjoy people, don't mind what they (do or don't) believe in. I just wish for people to live 'good' lives, treat others with respect, dignity and avoid hypocrisy. I frequently question and am skeptical about the existence and nature of God though think that's a natural part of having a relationship with any being. Even if I didn't believe in a god, I would still try to treat people with kindness and help where I can.
Again, not sure if you wrote this as a conversation piece, so my apologies if a dialogue isn't what you're looking for.