Atheist or Agnostic
Which are you? Atheist or
Agnostic? And, how does one know?
I won't bore you with the
definitions but, I will challenge you to think about it. We call ourselves atheist but I sometimes
wonder about the level of "disbelief". I can, of course, only speak for my self but perhaps something
here will ring true for you.
Richard Dawkins uses a scale
of 1 - 7 to judge disbelief. The number
1 being full belief and the number 7 being full disbelief/rejection of a
god. It doesn't matter the religion in
question. The scale is still the same.
My own disbelief varies
from 6.98 to 6.99 and I'll debate my stance with just about anyone. My particular religion to reject is
Christianity but, where ever you come from, it's all the same. Why so strong a rejection you ask? It comes from all the injustices I see in
the world around me. I became aware of
them quite early with the death of my little brother from cancer when he was
5. Why would a merciful god kill a 5
year old after years of suffering? Why
would a just god put a mother through that?
As my world view widened, I saw so much of these incongruencies that I
completely lost whatever faith I might have had. I am now at a point where I actively reject the worship of such
an evil thing known as God. And now, I
add Allah to that list.
I believe we all start out
as an atheist. Then we are taught whichever belief system we happened to be
born into. Sooner or later, we begin to
question our learned beliefs and become agnostic. We must then make a choice to stay the course or further
doubt/reject the teachings of our youth.
So, to be honest, we must
ALL consider ourselves an agnostic first, even me. That .01 - .02 of me still admits that, if real testable proof
was offered, I would change my mind. Although an eternity of mindless worship
to any god would be a hell for me.
Knowing the perverse nature
of the Christian God, maybe that WILL be my punishment.
I grew up in a non religious home. I won't call it atheist as it wasn't given that name for me. It was just a given that we were not one of those religious idiots. We were smarter than that! We also did not discuss it. I was however encouraged to read on any subject, any book, express any view. Christian though were clearly to be viewed as ridiculous. In school however I was presented with all science as proven fact. It was a public school where no religion was presented or ever mentioned. Science was truth.
ReplyDeleteI did not read a bible until I was 12 or 13 years old. My father found me in our library reading an old English version they picked up on a trip. He encouraged me to read it for myself and even presented me with the book as a gift.
I was fascinated with the story. My spiritual journey began there I suppose. I spent the next 10 years exploring faith. I felt let down by my public school for withholding such vital knowledge. Why would they be so afraid to even mention God. Any God.
I felt let down by science and scientists. If its all about truth and proof why did those things keep changing. Why so intolerant of any religious theories. If they are so sure there is no God and no intelligent design why not let their proof and evidence speak for itself. Why suppress other theories.
Well after I finished my formal education I spent a few years self educating. I read and studied many books on religion and science and God. I spoke to theologians and scientists and philosophers.
I came to my own conclusion that something doesn't come from nothing. There had to be a beginning. A Creator.
Sorry for any errors here I am terrible at typing on a phone! Thanks for the discussion!
You mention your conclusion of a creator but don't mention the reason why. Care to go deeper into your description? Why was a creator necessary?
ReplyDeleteI think that "something" started things rolling....the Big Bang or whatever the event might have been. Something is out "there". Some intelligence is at work. We are not alone on this big blue marble! ;)
ReplyDeleteOn another note....coincidence can only get you so far. Too many and it's no longer coincidence...it's supernatural.
One of the things I love about science fiction is the wonder and speculation and endless possibilities out there. It's all so hugh and amazing and wonderful!