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Dec. 1st, 2009 12:48 pmThere is in the local news at the moment a trial of a man who systematically tortured and abused in all possible ways a teenaged girl, who is finally testifying against him. As per her own statements, she has lost her ability to trust, her self of sense-worth, all of her confidence, and very nearly committed suicide. Oh, and she no longer has a belief in her god.
Leaving aside how appalled and aghast I am (if, sadly, unsurprised) that anyone could do such things to another human being, I was saddened by the way the above was presented by the news, as though not believing in a god was the worst outcome of this - that they dwelt on that longer than an inability to believe in herself, in other people, than a want to die.
To me, a belief in a god is so much less important for the ability to lead a happy life than any of the other things she lost.
I hesitated to post that. I worry that I will offend those of you who I know find great worth in your various faiths. On the other hand, many of you do post about the rituals and beliefs you have, and I love to read about them - about how you prepare for Shabbos, about wedding services, about how you deal with deaths, about the comforts you find.
That in itself makes me angry, that I am so conditioned not to speak of the world in the context of my atheism, as though atheism more than any other spiritual context is inherently offensive. Indeed, in some places it seems to be - there are billboards in many places in the world stating "You can be good without God" which are routinely defaced. They don't state that this is the only way to be good - only that God is not necessary - and yet people feel attacked by it.
When I was younger - eleven, twelve, or thereabouts - I was on a group outing with some other girls, and one of them was telling me about how she was going to have her Confirmation as a member of the Roman Catholic Church. She asked me when mine was, and I explained that I was not Catholic and so I wouldn't be Confirmed. She then asked me what Protestants did instead. I explained that I did not belong to a church, that I did not believe in any god. She said there must be, and I said no, how can there be? We discussed this for a time, without any anger - and an adult overheard, and told me I was being inappropriate.
I'm still angry about that. How on earth was it inappropriate for me to try to explain why there cannot possibly be a god, but not for her to try to explain why there must be?
Why is it still inappropriate? Why is it wrong for me to espouse the belief that while religion has many benefits on an individual level, on the whole it is detrimental on a global level? I love the art that has spring from it, the stories - but I do not believe in any deity, and I still make art, I still write stories. Religion provides an excuse for people to behave kindly to each other - but why should we need an excuse, why should we need a reason other than these are fellow living beings and to be kind is mutually beneficial? Religion provides an excuse to go to war, to lynch people, to hurt them - and those are things that there should never be an excuse for. Religion lessens the fear of death - but if there's absolutely nothing after death, then there's also nothing to fear except the act of dying, which is something you'd have to go through whether you believe or not. Religion provides comfort for survivors - but I wonder sometimes if the idea that you'll get a second chance and see each other again after death means you don't eke every single bit of meaning out of life itself. Many religions demand that we go forth and multiply - and that is something which is demonstrably detrimental to our home.
Religion can be beneficial. But it is not necessary. There's the argument that I should be agnostic and hedge my bets, but on that idea, any god petty enough to demand that I worship it is not one worth worshipping.
I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.
- Stephen Henry Roberts
I'm an atheist, and that's it. I believe there's nothing we can know except that we should be kind to each other and do what we can for other people.
- Katharine Hepburn
I want you to have courage to declare yourself to be an atheist, or to serve your god with all your might and power in perfect consecration, whatever or whoever that god may be — whether it be the crocodile of the Nile or our Jehovah, "God over all blessed for evermore."
- Charles F. Deems
Leaving aside how appalled and aghast I am (if, sadly, unsurprised) that anyone could do such things to another human being, I was saddened by the way the above was presented by the news, as though not believing in a god was the worst outcome of this - that they dwelt on that longer than an inability to believe in herself, in other people, than a want to die.
To me, a belief in a god is so much less important for the ability to lead a happy life than any of the other things she lost.
I hesitated to post that. I worry that I will offend those of you who I know find great worth in your various faiths. On the other hand, many of you do post about the rituals and beliefs you have, and I love to read about them - about how you prepare for Shabbos, about wedding services, about how you deal with deaths, about the comforts you find.
That in itself makes me angry, that I am so conditioned not to speak of the world in the context of my atheism, as though atheism more than any other spiritual context is inherently offensive. Indeed, in some places it seems to be - there are billboards in many places in the world stating "You can be good without God" which are routinely defaced. They don't state that this is the only way to be good - only that God is not necessary - and yet people feel attacked by it.
When I was younger - eleven, twelve, or thereabouts - I was on a group outing with some other girls, and one of them was telling me about how she was going to have her Confirmation as a member of the Roman Catholic Church. She asked me when mine was, and I explained that I was not Catholic and so I wouldn't be Confirmed. She then asked me what Protestants did instead. I explained that I did not belong to a church, that I did not believe in any god. She said there must be, and I said no, how can there be? We discussed this for a time, without any anger - and an adult overheard, and told me I was being inappropriate.
I'm still angry about that. How on earth was it inappropriate for me to try to explain why there cannot possibly be a god, but not for her to try to explain why there must be?
Why is it still inappropriate? Why is it wrong for me to espouse the belief that while religion has many benefits on an individual level, on the whole it is detrimental on a global level? I love the art that has spring from it, the stories - but I do not believe in any deity, and I still make art, I still write stories. Religion provides an excuse for people to behave kindly to each other - but why should we need an excuse, why should we need a reason other than these are fellow living beings and to be kind is mutually beneficial? Religion provides an excuse to go to war, to lynch people, to hurt them - and those are things that there should never be an excuse for. Religion lessens the fear of death - but if there's absolutely nothing after death, then there's also nothing to fear except the act of dying, which is something you'd have to go through whether you believe or not. Religion provides comfort for survivors - but I wonder sometimes if the idea that you'll get a second chance and see each other again after death means you don't eke every single bit of meaning out of life itself. Many religions demand that we go forth and multiply - and that is something which is demonstrably detrimental to our home.
Religion can be beneficial. But it is not necessary. There's the argument that I should be agnostic and hedge my bets, but on that idea, any god petty enough to demand that I worship it is not one worth worshipping.
I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.
- Stephen Henry Roberts
I'm an atheist, and that's it. I believe there's nothing we can know except that we should be kind to each other and do what we can for other people.
- Katharine Hepburn
I want you to have courage to declare yourself to be an atheist, or to serve your god with all your might and power in perfect consecration, whatever or whoever that god may be — whether it be the crocodile of the Nile or our Jehovah, "God over all blessed for evermore."
- Charles F. Deems
