Is there life after God?
A very interesting article by Tim Dean. He raises some interesting points about the social aspect of attending a church or religious congregation and how that may be one of the biggest incentives for religious people to stick with their beliefs and rituals. Some of these people may see going to church as a way to socialise and build community in a way no other organisation or event can. The social aspect of religion is something that probably does not get much discussion or analysis.
Personally, I see no point in believing in fairy tales or making a fool of myself by singing silly hymns and talking to an imaginary friend just for the sake of socialising with other people. Heck, why would I want to socialise with deluded people anyway?
His opening paragraphs summarise nicely what many theists fail to understand about the definition of atheism.
His concluding paragraphs indicate that secular philosophies need to provide something for the community to participate in, some sort of inspiration that people may often find in religious organisations in order for religion to start fading away.
While he may or may not have a valid point, my opinion is that people shouldn't need "incentives" in order to be rational and see how nonsense their beliefs really sound. A good enough incentive should be to realise that a Sky Daddy is not looking at everything you do, constantly threatening you with the fear of hell.
Thoughts?
A very interesting article by Tim Dean. He raises some interesting points about the social aspect of attending a church or religious congregation and how that may be one of the biggest incentives for religious people to stick with their beliefs and rituals. Some of these people may see going to church as a way to socialise and build community in a way no other organisation or event can. The social aspect of religion is something that probably does not get much discussion or analysis.
Personally, I see no point in believing in fairy tales or making a fool of myself by singing silly hymns and talking to an imaginary friend just for the sake of socialising with other people. Heck, why would I want to socialise with deluded people anyway?
His opening paragraphs summarise nicely what many theists fail to understand about the definition of atheism.
Quote:Because atheism is ultimately only a negative thesis: it simply states that there exists no god or gods. As such, to say I’m an atheist tells you something about what I don’t believe in, but it tells you almost nothing about what I do believe in.
It’s the positive beliefs that really matter – beliefs in values and morality; in how the world is, and how it ought to be; about what constitutes a good life; in how society ought to be run.
His concluding paragraphs indicate that secular philosophies need to provide something for the community to participate in, some sort of inspiration that people may often find in religious organisations in order for religion to start fading away.
While he may or may not have a valid point, my opinion is that people shouldn't need "incentives" in order to be rational and see how nonsense their beliefs really sound. A good enough incentive should be to realise that a Sky Daddy is not looking at everything you do, constantly threatening you with the fear of hell.
Quote:In order for any secular worldview to truly provide an alternative to religion, it has to be more than something we can believe in. It has to be something we can participate in.
Secular philosophies need to evolve beyond their negative statements and dry rational principles to become secular cultures.
They need to reach out and engage the community, bring people together, educate us, lift us when we’re down, inspire us and give us a place in the world.
And if they do so, perhaps much of the argument over atheism might fade away.
Many who are reluctant to turn their backs on religion may not be entirely unsympathetic with the atheist argument, but they may be unwilling to unshackle themselves from an institution that provides them with so much.
When secular philosophies can offer the same or better, and when secularism moves beyond simply stating that God doesn’t exist, then we might truly see an end to religion.
Thoughts?
Christianity: The belief that a cosmic Jewish Zombie who was his own father can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree...
