88 posts tagged “religion”

So, I've been thinking about truth a lot lately. Namely, I've been wondering how important truth really is in our lives. Does truth really matter that much? Most of us make a big deal out of it, but is it really that big of a deal? Does it define us? Does it determine our lives?

In other words, does truth determine our character, our virtue, who we are? I've been thinking about this because I wonder how many of us judge people based on what they think is true and a particular situation I'm in.

I've been hanging out with this girl for a couple of months. We finally had the "relationship" talk, and she essentially told me that my nonbeliever status may be problematic for her (She's a devout Christian). So, we are still hanging out but there's no relationship there. I hope I'm not setting myself up to get crushed....It's kinda feels like it because she hasn't told me that my nonbeliever status won't be a problem...

Anyway, I told her that I understand her concern but disagree with it. After she left, I was pretty bummed about it. She can't potential have a relationship with me because I'm a nonbeliever....Why does what I believe to be untrue or true matter at all? Shouldn't my character, virtue, my life goals, who I am, etc, matter more than what I find to be true? I think so.

It makes me wonder if truth is separate from what really matters about us. At the end of the day, I don't think it determines who we are and how we act. For some reason, I think other things do that. For example, you can't really discuss the truth of character, virtue, or your existence. These things just are; they aren't a function of truth. I haven't decided what they are a function of, though.

When I look at a person, I see a person. I don't see a Christian, Muslim, or atheist. These labels deal with truth propositions, not the person's character or virtue. I am not defined by my truth. I am defined by who I am. At least that's what I currently think. 

There are numerous types of love: platonic love, romantic love, humanistic love. It's been quite a while since I've experienced romantic love. And, to be honest, I'm not sure I will any time soon. As one of my females friends recently told me, I seem to be an emotionally distant person, someone who is emotionally detached. While I've never really noticed this (it's hard to see your own flaws), I don't doubt her statement. For quite sometime, I've just been somewhat emotionless. Now, I'm not saying I'm an emotionless robot or something, but I am someone who watch his emotions and tries to understand when I should be emotional and not. In my life thus far, I've found that we, as humans, are too dramatic and sensitive. It would seem to me that most of our emotions are unjustified--we make a big deal out of nothing. Yet, making a big deal out of nothing is what makes us human because, well, there is nothing, everything is ultimately meaningless, so we have to make something out of nothing.

Anyway, back to the romantic love bit. Recently, I've been hanging out with a girl that I am beginning to really like. Problem is, she is a Christian. Now, this isn't really a problem for me. My current worldview is that we all have our own unique perspectives, which are founded upon subjective grounds, thus making them meaningful. This doesn't mean that I agree with the truthfulness of particular perspectives, but it does mean that I am willing to work with a perspective as long as it produces a meaningful outcome, like living a good life, helping others, etc. Thing is, my nonbeliever status may be a turn off for her (we haven't had this discussion yet).

You see, my Christian friends all believe that a Christian should only marry a Christian. Moreover, they also believe that a Christian should only date a Christian, and should not date if there is no reason to believe that you may end up marrying your boyfriend/girlfriend.

So I'm helping my Christian friends feed the homeless this morning. After the feeding is done, my buddy comes to me and asks how last night went. I tell him I had a wonderful time with the girl I was hanging out with (the Christian girl). He then proceeds to ask me, "Do you know how strong of a Christian she is?" "Uh, not really. We haven't talked about that," I replied. "Oh. Well, I'm just wondering because it may be problematic down the line." The "it" he is referring to is my atheism.

Naturally, this really bothered me. Because I'm not a Christian, this girl may not be able to love me romantically? Mmm, since when did love become constrained? This all led me to ask the question, "Can religion destroy love?" I think it's a good question. I thought love was supposed to have zero constraints. Oh, right, it does if you meet said requirements. If not, then you have problems. You can't be loved by a group if you aren't a part of it. 

Now I wonder if I should talk to this girl about our differences, thereby insuring that neither one of us is wasting our time. Sucks....

Obama gave his speech to the Muslim world in Cairo, Egypt today (Yesterday?). I just finished reading the transcript and thought I would highlight a couple of excerpts for those who haven't read it.

I know -- I know there has been controversy about the promotion of democracy in recent years, and much of this controversy is connected to the war in Iraq. So let me be clear: No system of government can or should be imposed by one nation by any other. That does not lessen my commitment, however, to governments that reflect the will of the people. Each nation gives life to this principle in its own way, grounded in the traditions of its own people. America does not presume to know what is best for everyone, just as we would not presume to pick the outcome of a peaceful election. But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. These are not just American ideas; they are human rights. And that is why we will support them everywhere. (Applause.). 

In fact, faith should bring us together. And that's why we're forging service projects in America to bring together Christians, Muslims, and Jews. That's why we welcome efforts like Saudi Arabian King Abdullah's interfaith dialogue and Turkey's leadership in the Alliance of Civilizations. Around the world, we can turn dialogue into interfaith service, so bridges between peoples lead to action -- whether it is combating malaria in Africa, or providing relief after a natural disaster.

The issues that I have described will not be easy to address. But we have a responsibility to join together on behalf of the world that we seek -- a world where extremists no longer threaten our people, and American troops have come home; a world where Israelis and Palestinians are each secure in a state of their own, and nuclear energy is used for peaceful purposes; a world where governments serve their citizens, and the rights of all God's children are respected. Those are mutual interests. That is the world we seek. But we can only achieve it together.

All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart, or whether we commit ourselves to an effort -- a sustained effort -- to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek forour children, and to respect the dignity of all human beings.

We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written.

The Holy Koran tells us: "O mankind! We have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another."

The Talmud tells us: "The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace."

The Holy Bible tells us: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." (Applause.)

The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God's vision. Now that must be our work here on Earth.

Thank you. And may God's peace be upon you. Thank you very much. Thank you.
(Applause.)

President Obama said the following in his commencement speech at Notre Dame, which was amazing.

For if there is one law that we can be most certain of, it is the law that binds people of all faiths and no faith together. It is no coincidence that it exists in Christianity and Judaism; in Islam and Hinduism; in Buddhism and humanism. It is, of course, the golden rule--the call to treat one another as we wish to be treated. The call to love. To serve. To do what we can to make a difference in the lives of those with whom we share the same brief moment on this earth.

So, I graduate tomorrow (Saturday). Yay me! I have a year of graduate school left, but graduating with my undergraduate is pretty cool (I guess). As part of graduation weekend, my parents made me attend the baccalaureate service tonight. I didn''t really want to go. Singing hymns, reading scripture, and listening to a sermon--not my cup of tea. Nevertheless, seeing how my graduation seems to be more of a thing for my parents, I went ahead and attended.

The service was interesting. As a nonbeliever, I somewhat felt out of place: what they were doing (singing hymns, reading scripture) aren't things I find any meaning in whatsoever. Part of me enjoyed the community that the service brought, but the other part of me just thought of Nietzsche's herd concept. But these things didn't bother me as much as they annoyed me. What bothered me what was the bishop said in his sermon.

His sermon was about the ABC's of life. A stands for attitude. Basically, we should have the right attitude throughout life. Cool, I can agree with that. C stood for committment, committment to one's self and others. Cool, I dig it. What bothered me was B--belief. He said it was extremely important that one have belief in God. Naturally, I started asking questions in my mind: "Why does one need God? What type of person needs God? How does belief in God help me in my search for truth?" Most importantly, "Why is belief *so* important?"

It isn't. It isn't if you find the highest level of value in yourself. It isn't if you don't believe in the fear doctrines of heaven and hell. It isn't if you see that you are both the problem and solution to everything. It isn't if you have confidence in yourself and your abilities. It isn't if you reject a degrading concept of human beings. Most importantly though, it isn't if you are strong. Strong in the sense that you realize that living life means positively dealing with uncertainty, fear, cosmic nothingness, and maintaining the highest level of responsibility for one's actions.

If only we were stronger...

I'm not one for labels: they almost always never accurately or meaningfully describe the individual. However, I'm fine with labels as long as they aren't used as pejoratives and represent me, to some extent. Sadly, I consider "atheist" to be a pejorative. What does the atheist label represent? Let's see: intelligence, skepticism, anger, bitterness, unfounded harshness, antitheism, immorality, selfishness, among others. While the last two may not be accurate representations of atheists, I'd say the first five are spot on.

New Atheists--led by the Four Horsemen--are, as defined by an interesting NY Times column,  "polemicists who set out to counter in-your-face religion with in-your-face atheism." Pretty much true. New Atheists are usually mocking, express their anger with the absurdity of religion in the form of silly arguments (Celestial Teapot), and antitheists. While I see the dangers of religion, I'm not sure I would/should spend my time complaining about religion's falsity. Religion isn't going any where for a while. This isn't to say that we shouldn't argue with the religious, but we should do it in an honorable fashion. Ultimately, there is more to life than arguing.

When I read the article linked above, I was surprised to find a new label--"New New Athiests." Turns out that a professor, Mr. Aronson, isn't a fan of the new atheists or their books and is more concerned with what happens when one's faith ends. Essentially, the "new new atheists" pick up where the new atheists left off. Aronson recently wrote a book called Living without God that attempts to pick up the pieces and attempts to develop "a coherent popular philosophy that answers vital questions about how to live one’s life.” As he puts it, this philosophy "must answer questions about living without God, face issues concerning forces beyond our control as well as our own responsibility, find a satisfying way of thinking about what we may know and what we cannot know, affirm a secular basis for morality, point to ways of coming to terms with death and explore what hope might mean today.”

If I had to label myself, I would be considered a "new new atheist." I'm not really concerned with disproving religious dogma and truth; I'm way past that. In fact, it's almost boring to argue about religious maxims. It's something I'm just over. Believing, when I first destroyed my faith, this is all I wanted to do: prove the religious wrong and show them the Truth. But what's the existential point in that? There isn't one. It just made me feel better and was somewhat of a coping mechanism, both of which are characteristics of religion. I was not the person that I am to become. Fortunately, I got past this stage, but I have a feeling most of us don't. For some of us, that animosity towards religion will remain perpetual.

But we do not all need religion, something I think the religious are even beginning to realize. For an increasing number of us, it has lost its meaning and its truth. For me, and I think for many of us, I am concerned with filling the emptiness that destroying my faith has created, but with something more true than religion and without forgetting the facticity of ultimate emptiness and cosmic meaninglessness.

But this doesn't mean that I can't identify with the religious. We have so much in common--despite our contradictory beliefs--and I can learn a ton from them. We all can. As humans, we can work together to save our planet, spread love, help others, live good lives, and have fun. That's what we should be doing: transcending our beliefs to work together and have fun while doing it.