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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 All Rights Reserved World Copyright © Martin Foreman PREVIOUSLY... People kill to protect their faith. They kill to force others to accept it. They kill with a clear conscience because their imaginary God tells them it is acceptable, even desirable, that others die so the “true” faith can prosper. Kill God, save lives 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) |
Column 96: Happy Reasonday! Socrates and March 20 By © Martin Foreman Word Count: 800 words Publication date: February 11, 2007 Print publications wishing to syndicate the column should click here. Individual subscribers wishing to receive columns by e-mail should click here. When was Socrates born? I am, of course, talking about the Athenian philosopher who died over 2,400 years ago rather than the many other semi-famous Socrateses listed on Wikipedia. We know very little about the ancience sage. Our scant knowledge is all secondhand. Most of it comes from descriptions of his life written by one of his pupils, Plato. He also appears in Aristophanes’ plays and Xenophon’s Dialogues. The picture that emerges of the man is not always complimentary. His devotion to philosophy and the development of the reasoning in the young appears to have been accompanied by neglect of his wife and sons. After a military career in which he served with distinction, it is assumed by many that he did no work and lived in permanent poverty, spending his days surrounded by young men. (Unlike many of his contemporaries, his interest was more educational than sexual.) At the age of 70, he was sentenced to death for questioning the wisdom of Athens’ leaders after the city’s defeat at the hands of rival Sparta. He refused the opportunity to escape his jailers and died from a draught of hemlock, the contemporary equivalent of death by lethal injection. Socates’ great legacy to the Greeks and the world was his method of reasoning. In its simplest form, the Socratic method has two components – admitting ignorance and asking questions. The purpose is not expound one’s own philosophy or beliefs, but to examine the views and principles of others and in doing so, to help them consider the foundation of their own beliefs. if we apply the Socratic method to modern religion, we make no effort to convince others of atheism. All we do is help Christians, Jews, Muslims and others to look closely at their own faith. “I get you, God is omnipotent and he loves us all. But doesn’t he allow earthquakes and disease to kill millions? Why doesn’t he prevent these calamities? Do you think he wants us to suffer? What do you think he thinks while he sees humans suffering? You don’t know. “God’s ways are a mystery is beyond understanding. We have to love him unconditionally or he will condemn us to hell, is that right? “Do you understand why others find this concept of God difficult to accept? Are you happy worshipping a God who appears as capricious as the one you describe? “Do you try to lead a good life? Do you think you will go to Heaven or Hell? How will you react if you find yourself in Hell? Can you describe eternity to me? Do you think it is good to live forever? Why is it good?” And so on and so on. The more cynical among us encourage questioning along lines intended to tie believers in metaphysical knots, although most are unaware of the contradictions they offer in defense of their faith. The less cynical among us have no interest in pushing believers into corners. We are satisfied merely to start a process of self-reflection that we hope will continue for months and years to come. The true heroes among us are those with no hidden agenda, who are both genuinely atheist in their stance (they have no God) and who approach religion with open yet penetrating minds. In this they come closest to Socrates. It was he, according to history, who first understood that true wisdom lies in recognition that we know and should assume nothing, while foolishness consists of assuming we are knowledgeable and wise. I am, I know, less wise or more arrogant than Socrates. I claim to know a very little while assuming nothing at all. But from this starting point, with Socratic reasoning as the only light in the philosophical darkness, I, along with millions of others, have found my way to atheism. I want to acknowledge my debt to the Athenian as publicly as possible. If national holidays can be given to Christ and Mohammed, whose legacies include violence, ignorance, bigotry and death, can we not offer at least one day to the man who represents the highest principles of wisdom? His birthday would be most suitable, but nobody knows when that was. As an alternative I suggest the spring equinox, the first day when light lasts longer than shadow. In the Northern hemisphere, where Socrates was born, that is March 20. On that day, henceforth known as Reasonday, we should come together to celebrate. (We can combine the event, if we wish, with Earth Day, held on the same day.) On Reasonday we celebrate our humanity. On reason day we publicly declare our allegiance to reason. On Reasonday only one topic is taboo: myth, superstition and religion.
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If God existed, he would... If God existed, he would be an atheist. If you are a British citizen or resident sign here and pass the word among other Brit cits or residents. |
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