An Atheist's View of Religion - Part 2

My first post on my standpoint of religion raised the issue of inter-faith intolerance. Of course, I realise that rejection of other religions is not a universal trait in those with faith - far from it. I have a lot of respect for all people who understand that belief and concrete fact are two very different things. One person's beliefs may differ vastly from another's, but that doesn't make either of them right. The fact that we can discuss and debate our beliefs, without the need to come to solid conclusions, is a great thing.

So it's sad to see that there are still people who are absolutely convinced that their way of thinking is the right way, without question. The mentality of this group is that of "if you're not with us, you're against us", and disagreement or deviance from their beliefs is enough to label a person evil in their eyes.

This "believe or burn" attitude is, for the most part, borne out of ignorance. If it's inconceivable to a person that other ideas and beliefs might exist and be practised, then of course they'll be convinced that it's the only truth and the right truth. Sometimes it's based on fear too - the fear of having everything that you've ever believed in argued against. There are those who would defend their beliefs to the death, simply because they know nothing else.

Observe.

Whilst surfing today I happened upon Atheist in a Mini Van, the blog of an atheist mother of four in California. What attracted me to her blog was a post that has sparked a lot of debate. To summarise, Possum-mama's eldest Possum (I know Sharl would love that term!) wrote an eloquent and powerful response to her teacher's essay question "What do you want for Christmas?" Noting that both she and more than one of her fellow classmates were not Christian, the most telling line of her essay was that she wanted "a less assuming teacher". Her teacher's response was that her "attitude was very Christian" and that she doubted that she was an atheist.

Briefly, in response to her teacher's reaction, you have to ask what the problem would be. If Possum chooses to be atheist, that's her decision alone to make. I wonder why her teacher tries to convince her otherwise.

Sadly, the debate doesn't end there. A Baptist pastor known as "William" has other ideas - ideas that I wouldn't have been able to identify with myself when I was a church-going child and, I'm sure, ideas that most people, regardless of faith, would reject. Here are a few choice quotes from his side of the debate.

"How can you deny your children the love that comes from choosing Christ? It's obvious that your daughter is already lost. You will allow her to spin off in to the darkness of atheism and all of those consequences?"

Now, I can respect this man's position of authority in the Baptist faith. To an extent, I can even respect his wish to share his faith with others. The discussion I had with Mary in my last post touches on the point that there is going to be conflict of belief between all faiths - that's just the way of it. She said this:

"One problem is that a lot of Christians DON'T know how to share their faith with love, because they never really delved deeply into their tenants of faith and what they believe.. Any person who perverts their religion based on a lack of knowledge is wrong. And most religions warn against this. Christ said it is worse for someone to do this than to not beleive at all."

William's lack of knowledge is evident from his phrase "the darkness of atheism". From his point of view as a man of faith, perhaps atheism does look dark. But for atheists, is it really that dark? I can't speak for all atheists, but I'm in a good place. I'm happy and I'm leading a fulfilling life. But I don't think that having faith puts you in "darkness" either. But because William cannot conceive of a belief system that doesn't include a god, he lacks the knowledge to make such a judgement. I believe - and please note that I believe, I don't know - that he is wrong to say so.

Sadly, William then diverts from the sharing of faith into outright insult.

"I don't have to know rapists to know that they sow the sins of evil... I don't have to assume that atheists are bad people. I can see the lack of Christ in their lives and how it impacts their spiritual lives. There may be some atheists who can feign morality, but they will not pass the judgement of God."

Okay, now I know he's wrong.

Faith can teach good morals, that I don't deny. But faith and morals are two entirely separate things, and neither is dependent on the other. My moral upbringing was in a largely non-religious setting, and I'm far from being amoral. My folks raised me right, and I'm proud of that fact. I don't believe in a god, but that doesn't mean that I don't know right from wrong.

Secondly, he's confused faith and spirituality. Those two things aren't intermingled either. Buddhism is a non-theist religion - would you say that a practising Buddhist isn't spiritual?

And thirdly, he refutes himself with his statement about not passing "the judgement of God". An atheist wouldn't believe in such a judgement, so would they have anything to fear from it? No.

William chooses to fill the gaps in his knowledge with concrete, unshakeable beliefs, a lot of which are untrue. One such belief is that "atheists are bad people". However, he cannot know that for sure, because atheists are not bad people.

Religion and scripture can offer a lot of advice, comfort and life lessons. But one must remember that society continues to evolve, develop and change, and some of the old religious teachings are now irrelevant, or even completely untrue. In the 21st century, it's better to arm yourself with all the facts before constructing your own ideas. Knowledge is power - it's one of my favourite sayings. Another good saying is "if you always do what you've always done, you'll always have what you've always had". Being open to change, to other people's ideas, and to discussion is the only way of learning. And don't forget - share with love. Sharing is caring, and it's a long way from force.