Hello, blog. It has been a little while. Since I last wrote in you, I've gained a boyfriend, the knowledge of where I'll be moving this fall, and a collection of conversations on religion and unbelief that I've been dying to share with you.
I promise that that will be the end of my personifying this website :)
Thoughts on addition number one: dating someone. I'll admit that I never intended to be involved with someone while I was still figuring out my belief system. I wanted to forge my way alone and not be influenced by anyone. In addition to that "rule," another reason I didn't let myself seriously consider the possibility of dating someone was that I'm leaving my town in Kansas for the summer, working at the same camp in Maine I worked at 5 years ago, actually! Then in September, weeks after returning to Kansas, I'm moving out of the country... More on that when I elaborate on addition number two (which I guess will have to be in the next blog post). With being religiously confused and knowing that I'm on the cusp of a huge geographical change, one would think it would be a bad time for love. But, I decided to, for the first time ever, not over-think dating and just allow myself to enjoy the little time I have with this guy, then evaluate things this fall before I move. My first ever adult relationship (whoa) has been great.
I've actually known him for five years. I had feelings for him within a few months of meeting him at my university's Campus Crusade. We used to hang out quite a bit, talk on the phone relatively often (much more than I talked to any other boys on the phone), and he went to the same church I did. There were times when I thought that he liked me too, but we never acknowledged our feelings toward one another. I eventually figured that he didn't care for me the way I cared for him, plus he started sort of drifting away from my group of friends, so a couple of years ago, I started barely ever seeing him and the feelings died down. He had stopped coming to my church and every once in a while, my friends and I would wonder where he went. He had mysteriously disappeared from our little community. We became concerned for how he was doing spiritually and I assumed that he had tired of carrying his cross, had silently slipped it off, and had slowly, but purposefully, drifted from the fold. Because I didn't think he was much of an active Christian anymore, I definitely wouldn't have been interested in dating him at that point, but still, I would see him once in a blue moon, and wonder how he felt about me.
Well, let's jump ahead a few years to February of 2011. I had made plans with some friends to do the whole First Friday Artwalk, but was running late. I'd gone swimming that afternoon, so I had to come home and shower. Then, I had decided to make flat bread with dinner, which took longer than I had expected. (I promise I'm going somewhere with this!) Basically, I wasn't ready until about 8:30, when many of the galleries were closing. My friends had already artwalked and were headed to someone's house to watch a Bollywood movie. I really felt like getting out, though. So, I did what all of you have done at some point (I presume). I scrolled the contact list in my phone, starting with the A's, and texted hoards of friends, trying to find someone, anyone, with whom I could grab a drink. Eventually, my efforts with the A's-I's proving fruitless, I reached the J's and texted someone who was then a friend I hadn't seen in far too long and is now my boyfriend. He was busy that night, but said "How about next week?" I ended up sitting my dolled up self down in front of my laptop that night and settling for a skype date with Teresa :) but, as you know, the text to Mr. J scored me a meeting with him the next weekend, which led to more hanging out, and eventually, a dating relationship.
I guess the reason I went into my history with Mr. J is because without both of our departures from church, we never would have ended up together. His explanation of his mysterious disappearance from our Christian circle back around 2008 is that he had grown weary of Christian culture, namely, the judgmental nature of many Christians and the expectation, especially in the church we'd been going to, that you needed to be a right-wing conservative. He was also making new friends at the university we attended. Friends who were not religious. Friends he really enjoyed and had many things in common with. He reached a point where he would rather have fun with his new friends on Saturday night than get up early to attend church with friends he still liked, but had to put on a facade for, on Sunday morning. I find his explanation for not asking me out way back in the day quite interesting. Even though he was much more active in church and Campus Crusade at that point, he still worried that if we were dating, he would be a bad influence on my faith. That was even at probably his spiritual peak. Although part of me wanted to date him during that time, part of me was dealing with my doubts and knew that I needed to love God and put him first before I dated someone. I wanted to be sure that I had my relationship with God down before I tried bringing another person into my heart. I think my desire to perfect my belief in God before allowing myself to date is much of why I'm, at the age of 24, just now enjoying my first adult dating relationship! That and it was seriously hard to find a good Christian guy with whom I was compatible.
One of the many triggers of my spiral into deep doubt was the thought "It's not fair that if I meet a guy who is perfect for me in every way, but he's not a Christian, I can't be with him." A couple of years ago, I went on a date with someone kind of like that (not really perfect for me, but compatible in many ways). I knew when I accepted his offer that it could only be one date because he didn't share my faith, but I didn't think that by the end of the date, I'd be wishing there could be more. That I'd be seeing my faith in God as a problem, something preventing me from what could be a blissful relationship.
Now, I'm seeing Christianity in a completely different way than I was a year ago. I'm seeing it as more of a religion, less as the only true religion. Just one more factor that divides us humans, like race, political affiliation, and class. I'm glad that both J and I have kind of removed the faiths we were donning when we first met and are finally getting to enjoy one another as more than friends, unencumbered by any concerns about idolatry or whether or not we're remaining pure enough. I did not separate myself from Christianity so that I'd be able to date whomever I wanted, but since making that decision, I have noticed how nice it is to just see people as people. To not feel the need to sort them into the categories "believers" or "nonbelievers". With boys, there was the constant sorting, putting them into a "Yes, that would be allowed" or the "Nope, off limits" categories. And there is nothing wrong with that. If you are in love with Jesus and you see him as the most important thing about you, of course you wouldn't want to love someone who didn't believe in him. I just think it's nice now to be on the side of the guys I was always more attracted to, those in the "Nope, off limits" compartment. Not like I'm rebellious and into the archetypal bad boy- not at all. I just always found the freethinkers, scholars, and skeptics more interesting. Now, I get to have one for my very own :) If I were still forcing myself to adhere to the theology and rules of Christianity, not a chance we'd be together today. We both just had to leave that behind first. Funny, under different circumstances, I'd call our serendipitous reunion and long-awaited romantic involvement a God thing...
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Guy P Harrison's 50 reasons people give for believing in a god, part II
50 reasons continued:
26. I want eternal life.
27. Without my god, we would have no sense of right or wrong. As strange as it may sound, the big fall from faith before this one (it lasted for a mere week one year before I started this blog) was triggered in part by my reading up on Peace Corps. I was interested in volunteering with PC, but I thought I'd rather work with a Christian volunteer organization. Problem was, many of the religious groups did not have the benefits of loan deferment like PC and usually cost money to work for. Anyway, I was under the belief that God was the source of all goodness and all true love. That, without him, every human act, even the ones that seemed to be good, contained some trace of a vice. Pride, desire to impress others, manipulation leverage, thinking about the benefits you'll receive, etc. Something about looking into a non-religious volunteer program and reading blogs written by non-religious, seemingly selfless people made me wonder how anyone not accepting God could do such good things. Then I started reading about humanism and questioning the doctrine of inherent sinfulness. It was a wild spiral into doubt that days later, was hastily "fixed," but left my belief in human depravity beyond repair. Now, my thinking is that while religion can give humans moral guidance, you don't need religion or gods to figure out what's right and wrong. All you need is empathy and logic. It's not hard to pick up on the benefits that come from good behavior and the consequences you suffer when you're a jerk. Being good feels good because there are rewards in showing kindness, being responsible, giving back and because of empathy, you know that treating others well blesses them. Those secular PC volunteers were serving because they, like I, saw a world in need of justice. They knew that it wouldn't feel very good to be born into poverty and die at an early age or live a semi-long life marred by disease, lack of opportunities, or malnutrition and were doing what they could while on earth to try and make things better. You don't have to be moved by the Holy Spirit to understand duty to your world or kindness to your neighbor. A lot of Christians can see that, but many would say that without God, we wouldn't have consciences implemented into us. A friend of mine told me that's one of the biggest reasons she believes: that there had to be someone who guides us in the differences between darkness and light, both a rule-maker and a judge. But I stand by my claim that, over time, humans have developed moral universals because they have been easy to figure out, they are vital to our survival as a species, and because laws have been put in place that uphold basic morality.
28. My god makes me feel like I'm a part of something bigger than myself.
29. My religion makes more sense than all the others. Harrison, rightfully, often uses the argument that religious people are skilled at thinking critically about every religion but their own. That they put this safety bubble around the religion of their youth, being sure to never step outside of it and question it. The following video, which Barry at Atheos Godless posted back in October, was one I kept thinking back on while reading 50 reasons. If any believers who are reading this can get past the choice of the word "delusional" :-/ it is a thought-provoking video. One that reminds everyone that critical thinking is always a good thing. Nothing should earn an automatic exemption.
30. My god changes lives. Enter: the power of testimonies. The problem is that, often, the power is more in the moral guidelines that can be found in a religion and the motivation a belief system provides someone to change his or her life. Also, accountability and new friendships can keep a faith going strong. There are many factors in someone's story of how God changed his/her life.
31. Intelligent design proves my god is real.
32. Millions of people can't be wrong about my religion. No matter which religion the person using this argument is referring to, more people don't believe in it than do believe it. So, they are the minority, meaning their logic that knowledge is proven in numbers is working against them.
33. Miracles prove my god is real.
34. Religion is beautiful. Yes, some parts of religion are wonderful. Community. Attention to the poor and lowly. The belief that all are loved. The emphasis on reflection and constantly working on improving yourself. You can't deny that some religious organizations make incredible differences in our world and that religion has inspired magnificent artwork, literature, music, and architecture. But... at certain points in time, it has been used to justify wars, acts of terrorism, slavery, bigotry, oppression, and it divides our already fragmented world. If it's not true, it has slowed humanity down academically and socially (ie, people not opening up to the proof of evolution and people continuing to try and pass discriminatory legislation). I should add that it has benefited our collection of human knowledge: it did much to advance education and preserve historical documents during the middle ages (in monasteries). Back to the drawbacks: religious belief demands much from its believers. There is some goodness to be found in just about every religion, but I have to wonder how much more united we would be as a species without it.
35. Some very smart people believe in my god.
36. Ancient prophecies prove my god exists.
37. No one has ever disproved the existence of my god. I used to have a friend who vehemently defended her belief in fairies. "You can't prove that fairies don't come out when they're sure that no one's around!" She was right. You really can't prove or disprove any supernatural beliefs that are faith-based. But that doesn't mean that they're true.
38. People have gone to heaven and returned.
39. Religion brings people together.
40. My god inspires people.
41. Science can't explain everything.
42. Society would fall apart without religion.
43. My religion is so old, it must have been true. I used to take pride in the fact that my religion was so old. A creation story seems to ring much more true if it surfaces closer to the time of the origin of humanity, right? Well, actually, Hinduism is much older than Christianity (historians conservatively estimate it originating around 3,000 BC), plus most cultures had their own creation stories and set of belief systems. And, really, being old just means it's more likely to be antiquated. It means it was written by people living in a completely different world, one where science had much less of a bearing on what was viewed as real, one that was much more patriarchal, one where little was known about cultures across the globe. Would I consult a 2,000 year old medical text if I wanted to know how to treat a fever, or historic examples on how to raise kids dating that far back? Why trust a book written around that time when trying to live my life well and find truth for today?
44. Someone I trust told me that my god is real. This is why it's so painful to try and leave the religion of your youth. You are indirectly telling your parents, your friends, and your spiritual mentors that you think they're wrong. I'm sure that this is the reasons religions that make little sense are still around today. They've survived because parents have brought up their children to believe the things that their parents taught them, that their parents were taught by their parents, and on and on.
45. Atheism is a negative and empty philosophy.
46. Believing in a god doesn't hurt anyone. Actually, belief costs a lot!! Time, financial contributions, intellectual concessions, agreement to abide by the rules of that religion...
47. The earth is perfectly tuned to support life. Of course it is. Everything around today has been custom-tailored to function and thrive on this planet. When species haven't worked out, they've been weeded out. We're way, way on the right (present) side of a 4.5 billion year time-line which has the title "Evolution of Planet Earth." From the very beginning, the rule has been: what can survive and thrive here will win. So, here we are and we look around and think, "Gosh, this place fits us animals like a glove! Amazing!" Yep, it is. But isn't it just that all those parts of us, and parts of the world that didn't work well here were done away with, traded in for more efficient, fitting qualities? We're at the end of this evolutionary process amazed that it's done its job in creating species that can live and thrive on this planet. Can you tell I'm academically in over my head? :) I just mean that the fact that our world works pretty harmoniously does not mean there had to be a creator. Evolution explains it rather well.
48. Believing is natural, so my god must be real.
49. The end is near! My uncle's argument!
50. I am afraid of not believing. It can be scary to face and begin the process of critically questioning your reasons for believing. What if you find that they're not as sound as you had hoped? You may have a crisis of faith, and goodness, that would change everything! But truth is always worth pursuing. You should feel confident in whatever it is you're saying you believe and you should come to terms with your questions and doubts, even if that is a scary thing, so that you can work towards certainty. No matter what philosophy it is that your reason and research leads you to, you will have the invaluable assurance that it makes sense. That you can fully embrace it. That will be worth the trauma you may endure if you decide to leave your belief system. I'm sure of it.
26. I want eternal life.
27. Without my god, we would have no sense of right or wrong. As strange as it may sound, the big fall from faith before this one (it lasted for a mere week one year before I started this blog) was triggered in part by my reading up on Peace Corps. I was interested in volunteering with PC, but I thought I'd rather work with a Christian volunteer organization. Problem was, many of the religious groups did not have the benefits of loan deferment like PC and usually cost money to work for. Anyway, I was under the belief that God was the source of all goodness and all true love. That, without him, every human act, even the ones that seemed to be good, contained some trace of a vice. Pride, desire to impress others, manipulation leverage, thinking about the benefits you'll receive, etc. Something about looking into a non-religious volunteer program and reading blogs written by non-religious, seemingly selfless people made me wonder how anyone not accepting God could do such good things. Then I started reading about humanism and questioning the doctrine of inherent sinfulness. It was a wild spiral into doubt that days later, was hastily "fixed," but left my belief in human depravity beyond repair. Now, my thinking is that while religion can give humans moral guidance, you don't need religion or gods to figure out what's right and wrong. All you need is empathy and logic. It's not hard to pick up on the benefits that come from good behavior and the consequences you suffer when you're a jerk. Being good feels good because there are rewards in showing kindness, being responsible, giving back and because of empathy, you know that treating others well blesses them. Those secular PC volunteers were serving because they, like I, saw a world in need of justice. They knew that it wouldn't feel very good to be born into poverty and die at an early age or live a semi-long life marred by disease, lack of opportunities, or malnutrition and were doing what they could while on earth to try and make things better. You don't have to be moved by the Holy Spirit to understand duty to your world or kindness to your neighbor. A lot of Christians can see that, but many would say that without God, we wouldn't have consciences implemented into us. A friend of mine told me that's one of the biggest reasons she believes: that there had to be someone who guides us in the differences between darkness and light, both a rule-maker and a judge. But I stand by my claim that, over time, humans have developed moral universals because they have been easy to figure out, they are vital to our survival as a species, and because laws have been put in place that uphold basic morality.
28. My god makes me feel like I'm a part of something bigger than myself.
29. My religion makes more sense than all the others. Harrison, rightfully, often uses the argument that religious people are skilled at thinking critically about every religion but their own. That they put this safety bubble around the religion of their youth, being sure to never step outside of it and question it. The following video, which Barry at Atheos Godless posted back in October, was one I kept thinking back on while reading 50 reasons. If any believers who are reading this can get past the choice of the word "delusional" :-/ it is a thought-provoking video. One that reminds everyone that critical thinking is always a good thing. Nothing should earn an automatic exemption.
30. My god changes lives. Enter: the power of testimonies. The problem is that, often, the power is more in the moral guidelines that can be found in a religion and the motivation a belief system provides someone to change his or her life. Also, accountability and new friendships can keep a faith going strong. There are many factors in someone's story of how God changed his/her life.
31. Intelligent design proves my god is real.
32. Millions of people can't be wrong about my religion. No matter which religion the person using this argument is referring to, more people don't believe in it than do believe it. So, they are the minority, meaning their logic that knowledge is proven in numbers is working against them.
33. Miracles prove my god is real.
34. Religion is beautiful. Yes, some parts of religion are wonderful. Community. Attention to the poor and lowly. The belief that all are loved. The emphasis on reflection and constantly working on improving yourself. You can't deny that some religious organizations make incredible differences in our world and that religion has inspired magnificent artwork, literature, music, and architecture. But... at certain points in time, it has been used to justify wars, acts of terrorism, slavery, bigotry, oppression, and it divides our already fragmented world. If it's not true, it has slowed humanity down academically and socially (ie, people not opening up to the proof of evolution and people continuing to try and pass discriminatory legislation). I should add that it has benefited our collection of human knowledge: it did much to advance education and preserve historical documents during the middle ages (in monasteries). Back to the drawbacks: religious belief demands much from its believers. There is some goodness to be found in just about every religion, but I have to wonder how much more united we would be as a species without it.
35. Some very smart people believe in my god.
36. Ancient prophecies prove my god exists.
37. No one has ever disproved the existence of my god. I used to have a friend who vehemently defended her belief in fairies. "You can't prove that fairies don't come out when they're sure that no one's around!" She was right. You really can't prove or disprove any supernatural beliefs that are faith-based. But that doesn't mean that they're true.
38. People have gone to heaven and returned.
39. Religion brings people together.
40. My god inspires people.
41. Science can't explain everything.
42. Society would fall apart without religion.
43. My religion is so old, it must have been true. I used to take pride in the fact that my religion was so old. A creation story seems to ring much more true if it surfaces closer to the time of the origin of humanity, right? Well, actually, Hinduism is much older than Christianity (historians conservatively estimate it originating around 3,000 BC), plus most cultures had their own creation stories and set of belief systems. And, really, being old just means it's more likely to be antiquated. It means it was written by people living in a completely different world, one where science had much less of a bearing on what was viewed as real, one that was much more patriarchal, one where little was known about cultures across the globe. Would I consult a 2,000 year old medical text if I wanted to know how to treat a fever, or historic examples on how to raise kids dating that far back? Why trust a book written around that time when trying to live my life well and find truth for today?
44. Someone I trust told me that my god is real. This is why it's so painful to try and leave the religion of your youth. You are indirectly telling your parents, your friends, and your spiritual mentors that you think they're wrong. I'm sure that this is the reasons religions that make little sense are still around today. They've survived because parents have brought up their children to believe the things that their parents taught them, that their parents were taught by their parents, and on and on.
45. Atheism is a negative and empty philosophy.
46. Believing in a god doesn't hurt anyone. Actually, belief costs a lot!! Time, financial contributions, intellectual concessions, agreement to abide by the rules of that religion...
47. The earth is perfectly tuned to support life. Of course it is. Everything around today has been custom-tailored to function and thrive on this planet. When species haven't worked out, they've been weeded out. We're way, way on the right (present) side of a 4.5 billion year time-line which has the title "Evolution of Planet Earth." From the very beginning, the rule has been: what can survive and thrive here will win. So, here we are and we look around and think, "Gosh, this place fits us animals like a glove! Amazing!" Yep, it is. But isn't it just that all those parts of us, and parts of the world that didn't work well here were done away with, traded in for more efficient, fitting qualities? We're at the end of this evolutionary process amazed that it's done its job in creating species that can live and thrive on this planet. Can you tell I'm academically in over my head? :) I just mean that the fact that our world works pretty harmoniously does not mean there had to be a creator. Evolution explains it rather well.
48. Believing is natural, so my god must be real.
49. The end is near! My uncle's argument!
50. I am afraid of not believing. It can be scary to face and begin the process of critically questioning your reasons for believing. What if you find that they're not as sound as you had hoped? You may have a crisis of faith, and goodness, that would change everything! But truth is always worth pursuing. You should feel confident in whatever it is you're saying you believe and you should come to terms with your questions and doubts, even if that is a scary thing, so that you can work towards certainty. No matter what philosophy it is that your reason and research leads you to, you will have the invaluable assurance that it makes sense. That you can fully embrace it. That will be worth the trauma you may endure if you decide to leave your belief system. I'm sure of it.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Guy P Harrison's 50 reasons people give for believing in a god, part I
This was the book I began "the quest" with. Sure, at first, I went to my (wonderful) local library, checked out some Bertrand Russel, CS Lewis, anything having to do with reasons for belief and non-belief. But after seeing someone's recommendation of this book somewhere out in the blogosphere and looking into it on amazon, I returned my overwhelming heap of books and traded it in for this one. I thought it would be a great way to tour the defenses people make for belief in their god, and Harrison's commentary on why these rationalizations fall short. I usually read one or two reasons each morning. In fact, it became my replacement for the morning "quiet time," which is kind of ironic. I do recommend the book, for both believers and nonbelievers. Harrison is, like so many other people, a friendly atheist. He's not out to attack any religious people. I heard him say in an interview that his intention in writing this was to make believers think through their belief, evaluate it, and question it. As an atheist, his belief is that religion is harmful and his hope is that more people become free from religion, but he's not disrespectful toward religious people, nor is he forceful in trying to persuade readers. His academic background is in history and anthropology and he has traveled extensively asking people why they believe in the god(s) they believe in. In this book, he presents the top 50 answers he received, then politely uses data and logic to point out the weaknesses in many people's arguments for belief in their god.
Many of the reasons fall into the following categories: a. the earth is so complex and beautiful that there has to be a creator, b. My faith is a good thing and it gives me great joy, c. My religious text, stories of miracles, and believers' testimonies proves that my god is real, d. I'm afraid of what would happen to me if I didn't believe (rejection among family and friends, sadness, and also the fear that if God is real I will go to hell for leaving him). What's funny about all of the reasons people across the globe list in defense of their god(s) is that they vary little. Hindus claim that it's obvious that their gods exist. Muslims say their texts are sacred and prove the existence of Allah. Christians say the comfort they feel when they pray proves the existence of their God. The reasons believers give are pretty universal, yet the arguments are being made for completely conflicting deities, which makes it hard to believe any of the believers.
I'm just posting the first 25 reasons Harrison heard most often for now, then in a few days I'll put up the second 25. I've bold-faced the ones that resonated with me the most when I was definitely a believer and added any thoughts of my own in italics. Which ones do you think are valid? Which ones do you think are flimsy?
1. My god is obvious.
2. Almost everybody on earth is religious.
3. Faith is a good thing. I wanted very badly to believe this, but I had read about all the wars, all of the corrupt missionaries who invaded countries generations ago more greedy and power-hungry than caring about the fate of souls.
4. Archaeological discoveries prove that my god exists. They may prove that religions existed, but god? No.
5. Only my god can make me feel significant. My mom has asked me what I find purpose and significance in now and I've reassured her that with or without belief in a deity, there is much right here on earth to take pleasure in. Also much work to be done, if you're needing a sense of purpose.
6. Atheism is just another religion.
7. Evolution is bad.
8. Our world is too beautiful to be an accident. I still have much to learn about evolution, but I have opened my mind up to it more over the last several months and I now see how beautiful it is. It is the dynamic conclusion that generations of people committing their lives to uncovering cosmological and biological truths have very carefully reached. In truth, there is beauty. I really like this Carl Sagan quote on our use of Science:
There is no other species on the Earth that does science. It is, so far, entirely a human invention, evolved by natural selection in the cerebral cortex for one simple reason: it works. It is not perfect. It can be misused. It is only a tool. But it is by far the best tool we have, self-correcting, ongoing, applicable to everything. It has two rules. First: there are no sacred truths; all assumptions must be critically examined; arguments from authority are worthless. Second: whatever is inconsistent with the facts must be discarded or revised. We must understand the Cosmos as it is and not confuse how it is with how we wish it to be.
It's hard to open your heart to cosmological truths when you aren't allowed to accept certain findings.
9. My god created the universe.
10. Believing in my god makes me happy. I loved being a Christian. I loved going to church. I loved (and still love) my Christian friends. I loved singing the songs. I liked the way I felt after reading my Bible. The peace I felt when praying. But none of those statements indicate that any of it's true.
11. Better safe than sorry.
12. A sacred book proves my god is real.
13. Divine justice proves my god is real.
14. My god answers prayers. The more I look back on this one, I theorize that by praying, we make ourselves conscious of what we need to change in our personal lives, then are more likely driven to help God help ourselves, resulting in results that appear to be from God, but are really just us. Those bigger, completely out of control prayers we lift up with all of the desperation in the world, they appear to be a roll of the dice. The funny thing is that the Biblical God cannot be manipulated. It's his will that is to be done; not ours. Because of that caveat, when even the most selfless of prayers go unanswered, you are not allowed to blame God. You have to trust that his ways are best. But from an outside perspective, it seems that prayer, though it may comfort you and make you feel a little bit in control, is ineffective.
15. I would rather worship my god than the devil.
16. My god heals sick people.
17. Anything is better than being an atheist.
18. My god made the human body.
19. My god sacrificed his only son for me.
20. Atheists are jerks who think they know everything.
21. I don't lose anything by believing in my god.
22. I didn't come from a monkey.
23. I don't want to go to hell.
24. I feel my god when I pray. I always had a hard time feeling the presence of God. I may go into detail sometime on when I was sure I did, but looking back on some of those experiences, I think it had much more to do with my environment and my fervent desire to feel his presence.
25. I need my god to protect me.
Many of the reasons fall into the following categories: a. the earth is so complex and beautiful that there has to be a creator, b. My faith is a good thing and it gives me great joy, c. My religious text, stories of miracles, and believers' testimonies proves that my god is real, d. I'm afraid of what would happen to me if I didn't believe (rejection among family and friends, sadness, and also the fear that if God is real I will go to hell for leaving him). What's funny about all of the reasons people across the globe list in defense of their god(s) is that they vary little. Hindus claim that it's obvious that their gods exist. Muslims say their texts are sacred and prove the existence of Allah. Christians say the comfort they feel when they pray proves the existence of their God. The reasons believers give are pretty universal, yet the arguments are being made for completely conflicting deities, which makes it hard to believe any of the believers.
I'm just posting the first 25 reasons Harrison heard most often for now, then in a few days I'll put up the second 25. I've bold-faced the ones that resonated with me the most when I was definitely a believer and added any thoughts of my own in italics. Which ones do you think are valid? Which ones do you think are flimsy?
2. Almost everybody on earth is religious.
3. Faith is a good thing. I wanted very badly to believe this, but I had read about all the wars, all of the corrupt missionaries who invaded countries generations ago more greedy and power-hungry than caring about the fate of souls.
4. Archaeological discoveries prove that my god exists. They may prove that religions existed, but god? No.
5. Only my god can make me feel significant. My mom has asked me what I find purpose and significance in now and I've reassured her that with or without belief in a deity, there is much right here on earth to take pleasure in. Also much work to be done, if you're needing a sense of purpose.
6. Atheism is just another religion.
7. Evolution is bad.
8. Our world is too beautiful to be an accident. I still have much to learn about evolution, but I have opened my mind up to it more over the last several months and I now see how beautiful it is. It is the dynamic conclusion that generations of people committing their lives to uncovering cosmological and biological truths have very carefully reached. In truth, there is beauty. I really like this Carl Sagan quote on our use of Science:
There is no other species on the Earth that does science. It is, so far, entirely a human invention, evolved by natural selection in the cerebral cortex for one simple reason: it works. It is not perfect. It can be misused. It is only a tool. But it is by far the best tool we have, self-correcting, ongoing, applicable to everything. It has two rules. First: there are no sacred truths; all assumptions must be critically examined; arguments from authority are worthless. Second: whatever is inconsistent with the facts must be discarded or revised. We must understand the Cosmos as it is and not confuse how it is with how we wish it to be.
It's hard to open your heart to cosmological truths when you aren't allowed to accept certain findings.
9. My god created the universe.
10. Believing in my god makes me happy. I loved being a Christian. I loved going to church. I loved (and still love) my Christian friends. I loved singing the songs. I liked the way I felt after reading my Bible. The peace I felt when praying. But none of those statements indicate that any of it's true.
11. Better safe than sorry.
12. A sacred book proves my god is real.
13. Divine justice proves my god is real.
14. My god answers prayers. The more I look back on this one, I theorize that by praying, we make ourselves conscious of what we need to change in our personal lives, then are more likely driven to help God help ourselves, resulting in results that appear to be from God, but are really just us. Those bigger, completely out of control prayers we lift up with all of the desperation in the world, they appear to be a roll of the dice. The funny thing is that the Biblical God cannot be manipulated. It's his will that is to be done; not ours. Because of that caveat, when even the most selfless of prayers go unanswered, you are not allowed to blame God. You have to trust that his ways are best. But from an outside perspective, it seems that prayer, though it may comfort you and make you feel a little bit in control, is ineffective.
15. I would rather worship my god than the devil.
16. My god heals sick people.
17. Anything is better than being an atheist.
18. My god made the human body.
19. My god sacrificed his only son for me.
20. Atheists are jerks who think they know everything.
21. I don't lose anything by believing in my god.
22. I didn't come from a monkey.
23. I don't want to go to hell.
24. I feel my god when I pray. I always had a hard time feeling the presence of God. I may go into detail sometime on when I was sure I did, but looking back on some of those experiences, I think it had much more to do with my environment and my fervent desire to feel his presence.
25. I need my god to protect me.
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