RE: Atheists life motive
May 3, 2014 at 12:45 am
(This post was last modified: May 3, 2014 at 12:49 am by Whateverist.)
Though you make a lot of stereotypical assumptions about atheism at least you check them out by asking and stick around to hear the answers. That is a point in your favor.
I don't think there are any gods 'out there' but I'm sure plenty of people carry on a relationship with one or another 'inside'. I believe the nature of the mind/self is such as to accommodate a wide range of perspectives and beliefs. I have no objection with people who like that relationship and carry it on their whole life. I don't believe it is inherently better to 'kill your god' as you put it. But I can't imagine doing that myself - carrying on a relationship with god that is. It just wouldn't work. When you see through something, that's it. Like it or lump it, it's gone. God didn't cry when I moved on. The psychic energy invested in running that relationship just returned to ground. Nothing created or destroyed.
I also believe it is possible to achieve a great deal of insight and an intelligent grasp of the world around you even if you do maintain that relationship. The trick is not to ground the relationship in an authoritative dogma such as the bible. So long as the relationship nourishes curiosity, reflection and humility there is no handicap. Perhaps it is even advantageous for some individuals.
As an atheist I don't think I have all the answers. Nor do I think science is on its way to getting them all for me. When it comes to the mind and the nature of the self, there really is a lot to wonder at. I find the same sense of adventure in going out to discover what I think and feel, as I ever did as a xtian. Finding equilibrium as either a theist or atheist isn't easy, but either will do if you maintain balance.
I don't think there are any gods 'out there' but I'm sure plenty of people carry on a relationship with one or another 'inside'. I believe the nature of the mind/self is such as to accommodate a wide range of perspectives and beliefs. I have no objection with people who like that relationship and carry it on their whole life. I don't believe it is inherently better to 'kill your god' as you put it. But I can't imagine doing that myself - carrying on a relationship with god that is. It just wouldn't work. When you see through something, that's it. Like it or lump it, it's gone. God didn't cry when I moved on. The psychic energy invested in running that relationship just returned to ground. Nothing created or destroyed.
I also believe it is possible to achieve a great deal of insight and an intelligent grasp of the world around you even if you do maintain that relationship. The trick is not to ground the relationship in an authoritative dogma such as the bible. So long as the relationship nourishes curiosity, reflection and humility there is no handicap. Perhaps it is even advantageous for some individuals.
As an atheist I don't think I have all the answers. Nor do I think science is on its way to getting them all for me. When it comes to the mind and the nature of the self, there really is a lot to wonder at. I find the same sense of adventure in going out to discover what I think and feel, as I ever did as a xtian. Finding equilibrium as either a theist or atheist isn't easy, but either will do if you maintain balance.
