So, what DO you believe, Phil?

[dslartoo]

Pursuant to my last entry about atheism and why I strive to be a decent guy even though I don't believe in a god, here's a link to a well-written post on Atheist Revolution, called Then What Do You Believe?. It brings up some excellent points, including some of my own core beliefs, but because I'm feeling philosophical, I'm going to write today about what I, myself, personally believe.

I believe that no gods or Supreme Beings exist. Define a Supreme Being. Define a "god". Can you reconcile the three attributes "omnipotent", "omnipresent" and "omnibenevolent" with each other? Can you show any evidence for the existence of these beings, anything concrete beyond the tenets of blind faith? These are the primary reasons why I do not believe in any supreme being.

I believe that it is not just a choice, but a moral imperative of every human to explore, question, and expand their worldview. By the same token, I do not refuse to entertain discussion about religion or religious concepts. I will happily listen to arguments, viewpoints and opinions that differ from my own. Religion makes many good points, and those few who actually espouse the good principles of their religion are, at their core, Good People even without their religion. This is my firm belief. I can learn from them just like I would learn from any atheist. Closed minds gather nothing but dust.

I believe that people should be good to others, until they give you reason to do otherwise. I went over this in the last post, but it bears repeating. It is Good and Right to be cool to others. I believe this with all my heart.

I believe that truth is always preferable to fiction. Although I'm often tempted to play ostrich when something unpleasant happens in my life, I will always confront it sooner or later. Because truth, pure truth, is the last, greatest bastion of human thought. I would prefer to see reality as it is, even if it interferes with my own worldview, even if it shakes me to the core, even if it rips me apart. Reasoned, clear thought, science and demonstrable evidence will lead -- MUST lead -- to truth, unvarnished truth, and it's that truth that I prefer to any fiction which might be more attractive.

I believe that there is no afterlife. For similar reasons that I believe there is no god, I believe there is no afterlife. Because this is the case, I also think it's a moral imperative for people to make the most of what little time they do have here on earth. Make the world a better place with your actions, your presence, and the memories and things you leave behind.

I believe that there are many things in this universe that we do not understand. Albert Einstein is the source of one of my favorite quotes: "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed." By this same token, I believe that there are many strange and mysterious things out there in this universe that we don't yet understand. I say this not as a fallback position for when science fails to explain something strange, but because I freely admit that humans are tiny creatures and our knowledge is limited. Are there other races out there, beyond the stars, with greater knowledge of the cosmos? It's possible. Do I hope to meet them one day? You bet. And going back to what I said about exploring and questioning -- just because we currently don't understand something doesn't mean that we might not be able to understand it one day. I do not think that anything is "unknowable" or "unutterable", merely misunderstood due to insufficient knowledge and understanding.

I believe that people are entitled to their own beliefs and that my own is not the One True Way. I, personally, believe I am correct in my belief (of course I do). But I also believe other people are entitled to whatever beliefs they choose. I don't agree with those beliefs, and I may not understand why you believe that, but whatever gets you through the night. I'm not going to call you a Godded right-wing Jesus freak because you do believe in a God. You're entitled. I won't try to convert you, or change your mind, unless you want to discuss it freely and openly.

What about you? What do you believe?

-- END OF LINE --

[[The Oracle would like to know if you have a magic or lucky number.]]

Comments

[fairgoldberry.livejournal.com]

What interests me is that you address all of this to a monotheist, JudeoChristian notion of 'God'. It's very reactionary with regard to mainstream culture. I don't wish to sound critical, though I probably do, when I say that many atheists in the US just dismiss non-mainstream positions regarding faith, belief, and deity as irrelevant without addressing the very real fact that most of their positions vis-a-vis the snarky dismissive 'Sky Fairy' logic lump polytheists, pagans, pantheists, and animists in with the monotheists, when they've never cared to find out very much about what anyone outside the dominant paradigm believes. It speaks to me, often, as an incomplete position based primarily on a rejection of that dominant paradigm without regard for its development as anything beyond a counter to contemporary JudeoChristian philosophy. In other words, by disregarding how so many other paths address some of the issues you raise here, you suggest that anyone who doesn't reject gods and godhood entire must clearly be a hidebound monotheist who buys into the specific belief system you've got pat rejections arranged for. If I sound angry, it's because just about the only 'debate' I ever get from atheists about the nature of faith that doesn't center around Why Jesus Is A Stupid Myth is pretty clearly cobbled together into Why Jesus Zeus Is A Stupid Myth.

I don't believe an omnibenevolent, omniscient, omnipotent being would have created the Universe as it is, which is in large part why I'm a polytheist. I believe in my gods because I have had, to the best of my understanding, direct interactions with them. They are a real presence in my life with whom I interact. I've seen magic work often enough that either it's real or I'm some sort of quantum singularity of coincidence. Either way, it makes sense to keep doing as I have been. It means that often, the insensibility of things like "Why is there evil and pain?" makes a lot more sense to me than to my Christian friends, because if there are two (or ten, or a hundred) gods working at cross-purposes, there will be conflict even if one of them is not strictly 'evil' in the Right/Wrong Big Picture sense.

As to an afterlife, I believe that we're all, at the moment of death, granted an understanding of the impact of our lives. Whether this is an interview with some divine being or simply a crystalline flash of clarity before oblivion, the true reward or punishment takes place in that moment, when you're fully aware of the person you were and the life you lived, and you must face that without your rationalizations and defenses. Because morality and Being a Good Person are so subjective, I try to live with that moment in mind. I don't have tenets and prohibitions and a Big Holy Book to tell me what to do and when. I've got my belief that the world becomes what we will it to be, both in action and in thought, and so I carefully consider my actions because I am empowered to change the world around me with them.

Many atheists seem to labor under the misconception that it matters to all people of faith whether or not you believe in our gods. I don't *care* if you believe in my gods, because as I said above, either they're real or I'm an epicenter for remarkable coincidence and either way I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing because it works for me and I'm happy. If you don't believe in my gods, that doesn't really affect me, but since you can no more prove to me that they don't exist than I can prove to you that they do, I don't accept their nonexistence as the default.

But please, when you're formulating your arguments against God and gods, offer those of us outside the dominant mainstream the basic respect of considering us as dynamic individual faiths, not simply an insignificant fringe element of monotheistic JudeoChristian philosophy.

Love,
Rowan

[dslartoo.livejournal.com]

You still seem to think that I was accusing, pointing fingers, describing what all other religions do, or doing anything at all with respect to any other religions. I wasn't, and I still am not.

Please go back and read the original entry again. "I believe this". "I believe that". "I think this." Every single line regards what I, personally, believe. Again, I very specifically did not mention anything at all about what other religions believe, or what their choices are.

the fact that you *framed* your argument with regard to monotheism is significant in itself

Some of this may be due to my upbringing, as I was raised Methodist, a Christian monotheistic religion. But we'll let that pass for a moment.

Let's look at this from another direction. If I don't believe in the existence of A, why would I believe in the existence of multiple copies or versions of A? Again, since I don't believe in a single god, I don't believe in multiple gods. Thus, pantheism and polytheism are not relevant to my personal worldview either. I "framed it", to use your words, within a monotheistic viewpoint because that's what I've got the most experience with.

imply that theists of any stripe are hiding their heads in the sand like ostriches

Where did I do this? The phrase was that I, personally, tend to hide my head in the sand like an ostrich when something goes wrong in my life. As it happens, I wasn't even talking about purely religious beliefs there. I was saying that I tend to play ostrich when confronted with a hugely unpleasant situation. I then stated that I realize this is a bad attitude to have and that I prefer for truths to be brought home to me, regardless.

For example: the fact that the original post really offended you, for reasons I still don't fully understand. That's a hard truth to accept because I thought I was being fairly clear, but I can accept that it may have been offensive to some. For which, my apologies. But it wasn't aimed at anyone. It was me standing on my soapbox saying "this is what I believe". There was no denigration. There was no finger-pointing. There was no scorn. Just what I believe.

And that's all.

cheers,
Phil