Atheism

Politics and Social Issues
1

I see the word "atheist’ bandied about, with everyone having their own opinion of what it means, but few bothering to define it in discussion.

So I’ll toss in my own shot at definitions. When it comes to a “personal” God that’s waiting to hear my worship and bestow his blessing on me in particular because I was such a grand obedient servant - then I’m 100% Atheist.

But when I think of the unfathomable reaches of time, and the amazing intricacies of life here on Earth and during her long evolutionary history, then I’m no longer such an atheist. In fact it becomes a silly meaningless notion in the face of the wonder of Creation, where I can see a direction and will at work.

I liken it to Dark Gravity, physicist don’t have a clue WHAT it is, but they know it’s there from the impact it has on the material world.

Here are a few more personal thoughts on the topic, ;- )

"… Well, lets start by thinking about our country and how over the past few decades easily a third of our citizens have been brainwashed into believing they actually know God’s Will.

Sadly, their God’s Will seems to be focused on envying, fearing and hating their fellow countrymen and the way we want to live.

They are blindly self-certain of their God and there is only one way. Their way. That’s Ego, not God at work!

It doesn’t matter to them that America was founded as - and has always been - a pluralistic nation.

It’s hideous. Now I’m no atheist, it’s a meaningless concept to me. A personal ‘almighty god’ does not exist, that’s Ego - manmade god through and through. Period!

But, beyond that? I’m too intimately familiar with evolution and biology’s utterly mind blowing ways and means and the story of how she got here. I don’t care how much my science pals howl, there’s a direction, randomness is ordered, and there is a ‘will’ going on.

Definitely way beyond my comprehension! But like ‘dark gravity’ we see its result without knowing what it is. Call it what you want.

I’m good with notions of God, but She’s a whisper, an unknowable something beyond our mindscapes.

For me God is Creation,
all four and half billion years of her, unfolding one day at a time.

Our individual unique relationship with God is the most intimately personal humans have - but it’s a nontransferable relationship - to nurture or squander as our own numbered days unfold.

But not to force others to fit into. That’s tyranny, a human thing.
Which is why people always make god’s in our own images. Seeking god to hide their own avarice behind, we’re so transparent.

Hell, the Biblical Book of Job even warns believers:
God is beyond human understanding,
PERIOD!
FULL STOP!
But do they listen?

There’s no denying that religions bring communities together and they help us feel the spirit in our hearts. But what they offer is shadow plays and ritual.

Nothing’s wrong with that ! We need it !

But, for God Sake stop mistaking that
with down to Earth Physical Reality !

God is in our hearts and souls, why isn’t that enough?

How did it get this bad?

I think it’s because no one called greed driven evangelicals on their insane hubris and amorality!

We’ve been giving them a free pass since this hostile takeover attempt got serious with Reagan’s ruthless political strategists marrying some Me First power hungry evangelicals that had learned how to pimp Jesus for cash and power.

Now more than ever we need to stop talking past that part of our nation. We need to start confronting them, even if they and us find it uncomfortable.

Not with anger, but with intelligent spiritual challenges of a more constructive way to look at religious certainties versus physical certainties.

Why not make them question themselves?

But, that message has got to come from your heart.

I believe a fact based Earth Centrist appreciation for Evolution and our place on this Earth and in this time offers opportunities for us individually to develop our own intellectual/spiritual awareness, grounding, strength.

That in turn, will help us develop individual constructive and challenging messaging towards the faith-shackled people who exist within our own circles.

Why not challenge them to question their self-certainty?
Why not challenge them to rediscover religious faith as something reflected in how we live our individual lives, not in how we demand everyone else to live theirs.

Least we can do is demand that geophysical facts and down to Earth reality start being respected and taken seriously."

http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2019/04/petermiesler-why-earth-centristism.html

2

Challenging someone’s self-certainty sounds like more than just a challenge. The more I learn about history, the more I get worried about the future. Not that things haven’t improved quite a bit, but the time it takes for it all to catch on doesn’t seem to match the urgency required. The last hundred years have been more about changing language than attitudes, so we don’t say we (USA) are colonizing anymore, but we still act like the Babylonian empire.

I think you’re on the right track with this earth centered idea. I’ve heard the term “de-civilize”. I’m not sure what it means, but it’s something to do with not worrying as much about how we smell or who is better Bach or Beethoven, and more about how our food was grown.

3

“God” is a story. The variations on the story, now and throughout our history, are multitude. The Earth, the air, the water, the organisms, are real. Tho we make up stories about those also.

4
It’s hideous. Now I’m no atheist, it’s a meaningless concept to me. A personal ‘almighty god’ does not exist, that’s Ego – manmade god through and through. Period! But, beyond that? I’m too intimately familiar with evolution and biology’s utterly mind blowing ways and means and the story of how she got here. I don’t care how much my science pals howl, there’s a direction, randomness is ordered, and there is a ‘will’ going on. Definitely way beyond my comprehension! But like ‘dark gravity’ we see its result without knowing what it is. Call it what you want.
You have something in common with those self-certain theists.
5
Thatoneguy: "You have something in common with those self-certain theists." *
And you are too common.

Like your stupid one liners mean anything to anyone but your own head. At least I’m willing to dialogue and process what others have to say to me and try to explain myself to others. You, what are you? A cipher? An algorithm tuned to ‘rejoinder’ without ever processing the substance?

Let me ask, Thatoneguy, Who are YOU?

 

  • yeah, like what? Why not spell it out in a decent ‘FairPlay’ sort of way? Let me mull it over, see how much applies, and in what way it applies. Then we can take it from there. That’s what a dialogue is all about. One, are you familiar with the concept of constructive dialogue???
6

It reminds me of a Key and Peale skit, where several guys are sitting around talking, and whenever the Key character gives an opinion about anything, the Peale character emits some snide 1 or 2 word derisive response. This goes on for a while, until finally, the Key character starts confronting the Peale character intensively, and pressing him to give an opinion of his own (instead of just emitting a blithe, derisive one word response). Eventually the Peale character is reduced to a blubbering cringing mess who whines out an admission of being unable to form an opinion of his own, who hides his face in shame from the others.

 

(note: I might have switched the Key and Peale names. I get them mixed up.)

7

Maybe CitizensChallenge is hitting the bong again because it’s easy to see that his certainty about a “will” in nature isn’t much different from those people who are certain they know god.