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God would be an atheist...
A rational look at religion, morality, politics and daily life |
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HOME / This Week About GWBAA WEEKLY COLUMNS Previous Print column Why subscribe? Schedule Terms & Rates Subscribe Online column Subscribe BASICS Definitions Atheism Faith God Religion etc Analysis The meaning of life Morality etc NEXT STEPS Buy Discuss Join Read REVIEWS CONTACT Link to this site Your support for advertisers helps to provide an income for this website. All Rights Reserved World Copyright © Martin Foreman PREVIOUSLY... Let us be generous and accept the Family Research Institute’s definition. American society should support the ideal family of one husband and one wife living with their children, free of grandparents but holding fast to the option of divorce when times get rough. Nice theory, pity about the facts Chapter three tells us how Eve is tempted by the serpent to eat the forbidden fruit. She then persuades Adam to do the same. Suddenly they both realise they’re naked. Any other young couple would consider this a significant step forward in their relationship, but Adam and Eve aren’t that bright. The confused Christian creation myth Because I wasn’t ready for sexual abstinence, total vegetarianism and being nice to everyone 24-7, I kept postponing the moment when I would sit down and learn by heart the Four Noble Truths or the Eightfold Path. A would-be Augustine, I suggested to the God-who-didn’t-exist to make me Buddhist, just not yet. Make me Buddhist... "Surely no theist would choose to stay on this polluted, violent planet when offered eternity in paradise? Foolish me. It takes little effort to find articles on the web where believers tie themselves into tight intellectual knots in the vain effort to prove that delaying entry into God’s kingdom is something that God Himself would approve of." I want to live forever (not) "The fact you do not like something does not mean you can wish it away. I am afraid of violence and cancerous disease but they will not magically disappear if I do not believe in them. Reality exists irrespective of my personal desires. Similarly, the fact that Reich wants God to exist – to protect him from “emptiness, the disconnectedness…” and so on – does not mean that there must be a God." Helping stranded motorists "No further proof of an emotional response is needed than the banning of same sex marriage in the states where such an initiative was on the ballot. This was democracy in action, but it was the same democracy that formally deprived African-Americans of their civil rights for eighty years and informally continued to do so for another century. (Some would say that denial continues today.)" Who won? |
April - July 2008: Apologies for poor design while this site is renovated. Column 95: An atheist's credo Knowledge and belief By © Martin Foreman Word Count: 792 words Publication date: February 4, 2007 Print publications wishing to syndicate the column should click here. Individual subscribers wishing to receive columns by e-mail should click here. What do I know? What do I believe? What do I believe in? I know that I am. I know that I think. I know that I am a human being living in a world surrounded by millions of others like myself. I know that I can learn more, but that knowledge requires dedication. To understand the world around me, I have to think. I also know that most of us are mentally lazy and unskilled in reasoning. I know the principles of basic science. If something is true it is true on every occasion. Water always boils at one hundred degrees celsius at sea level. Gravity will always prevent me from flying unaided. I know that true science begins with ignorance and the willingness to spend lifetimes and generations analyzing and interpreting a phenomen until it is clearly understood. I know that science allows no shortcuts. If a phenomenon remains unexplained, the honest response is “we do not understand this”. Only the dishonest or ignorant invoke superstition or magic. I know that knowledge requires humility. True knowledge comes from admitting ignorance when we know nothing and from welcoming correction when something we once thought true proves false. Knowledge requires proof. Belief is close to knowledge but lacks conclusive evidence. We know a little. We believe a lot more. I believe things that, theoretically at least, can be proven or disproved. I believe there is life on some other planets. I believe that Osama bin Laden is in Pakistan. I believe that George W Bush is the least intelligent president to occupy the White House. And I believe things that reflect my personal tastes and judgements. I believe that Wagner is overrated and Debussy is sublime. I believe that Graham Greene was the greatest twentieth-century writer and Robert Altman its greatest film director. The boundary between belief and knowledge is sometimes unclear, particularly when considering non-existence. I cannot prove that there is not a whale drinking tea on the surface of Pluto. Yet all the evidence available – whales evolved on earth, they do not drink tea and they require quantities of water and oxygen that Pluto lacks – tells me that such a phenomenon is impossible. Some say they believe there is no such whale. I say that I know there is no such whale. I cannot prove there is no life after death. Yet, despite the claims of many, there is no firm evidence to prove that consciousness persists after the body dies. Those who honor superstition rather than science say there is life after death. Others say they believe there is no life after death. I say that I know there is no life after death. I cannot prove that no supernatural being exists beyond the boundaries of our universe. However, all the evidence suggests that if there is such a being it does not – perhaps cannot – affect this universe in any way. I doubt we will ever penetrate the boundaries of our universe. I believe that no supernatural being affects this universe in any way. And I know that no God, as defined by religion, exists in any form. Belief in a thing is different from belief that a phenomenon is true. It is similar to, and sometimes the same as, trust. I believe in myself and my ability to keep myself physically and mentally healthy. I believe in freedom from ignorance, hunger, violence and prejudice. I believe in freedom to explore the full potential of my life in any way that I choose. Because my well-being depends on the well-being of others, I believe in extending to all others the same freedoms that I require for myself. I believe in pride in oneself and humility towards others – the ability to know one’s own strengths and to learn from others, no matter how different from ourselves they may appear to be. I believe in truths which are proven and in the honest expression of doubt. I believe in respect, in considered responses rather than instant reactions, in acceptance of the inevitable and in determination to change the regrettable. I believe in forgiveness and the ability of all human beings to learn, no matter how slowly or how late in their lives, from their mistakes. I believe in the potential of young human beings to develop into caring, responsible members of society free of the mental crippling of superstition, ignorance and prejudice. I believe in full, open and honest democracy. I believe in political leaders who listen to people not money, who offer visions not dogmas, who prefer to collaborate than to impose. I believe in science and its ability to unlock mysteries and to show us wonders far greater than we could ever imagine. Above all, I believe in reason. With thanks to Mike Falick – and his son – of Colorado Springs, who inspired this column.
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If God existed, he would... If God existed, he would be an atheist. Camp staff will supervise activities that may include a variety of interests such as arts and crafts, nature study, astronomy, evolution, history, literature, famous freethinkers, and critical thinking challenges. A high staff-to-camper ratio (1:2) maximizes camper fun. For more information, click www.michigan.camp-quest.com |
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