RE: Spiritual Atheist here!
February 29, 2012 at 5:31 am
(This post was last modified: February 29, 2012 at 5:32 am by Child of Stardust.)
Thanks for the welcome! 
Re: the use of the word "God", yes, I suspect most atheists on the site will feel the same way. The word both helps and gets in the way. For most, I suspect (especially on this board) it will only get in the way, due to unfortunate associations/irrelevance/superfluity/inadequacy. I merely use a word I personally am comfortable with, and by no means think it does the concept justice.
Actually, the feelings I spoke of have less to do with being in wonder at the vast and beautiful universe - though I feel that too of course - but transformative moments in my life where I feel harmony coming back to a broken life and world...where there is redemption, healing, renewal...a new dawn. When there is hope where there seemed to be none before, and love where there seemed to be emptiness...wherever there are these things, "God" is present for me.
Or whatever you want to call it...like I said, it is hard to think up a word that really does the concept justice. Using the world God to refer to what I am talking about would probably make people think of watered down, Pollyannaish, insipid liberal Christian interpretations of the concept...like the 40-something women's church book club kind of "God". (I think that's the way I sound now, unfortunately...)
Hehe, now you have me thinking about what to call it.
It's sort of hard to describe...it feels like it's more than a feeling (though still ultimately subjective), and deserves more than the mere name of a "common" feeling. The Universe isn't subjective enough. God is cosmic enough, but fails in several other ways, and in most people is associated with a mythological persona, not a feeling.
God fails, but so do all the other words. Maybe that's the point. The Tao that can be named...
Re: the use of the word "God", yes, I suspect most atheists on the site will feel the same way. The word both helps and gets in the way. For most, I suspect (especially on this board) it will only get in the way, due to unfortunate associations/irrelevance/superfluity/inadequacy. I merely use a word I personally am comfortable with, and by no means think it does the concept justice.
Actually, the feelings I spoke of have less to do with being in wonder at the vast and beautiful universe - though I feel that too of course - but transformative moments in my life where I feel harmony coming back to a broken life and world...where there is redemption, healing, renewal...a new dawn. When there is hope where there seemed to be none before, and love where there seemed to be emptiness...wherever there are these things, "God" is present for me.
Or whatever you want to call it...like I said, it is hard to think up a word that really does the concept justice. Using the world God to refer to what I am talking about would probably make people think of watered down, Pollyannaish, insipid liberal Christian interpretations of the concept...like the 40-something women's church book club kind of "God". (I think that's the way I sound now, unfortunately...)
Hehe, now you have me thinking about what to call it.
It's sort of hard to describe...it feels like it's more than a feeling (though still ultimately subjective), and deserves more than the mere name of a "common" feeling. The Universe isn't subjective enough. God is cosmic enough, but fails in several other ways, and in most people is associated with a mythological persona, not a feeling. God fails, but so do all the other words. Maybe that's the point. The Tao that can be named...
