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May 27, 2006 On its own, atheism is nothing more than the disbelief in the existence of a god. It is devoid of any deep or detailed philosophical definition. It is just denial, and nothing more. Some atheists turn back to religion later in their lives for comfort and meaning after they realize their atheism can not provide these things. Many atheists fail to understand that you can't have meaning, direction, and comfort without a philosophy to justify and drive your actions, and that religion isn't the only thing capable of providing these things.
Everyone has a philosophy, but not everyone's philosophy is complete or justified. Compared to the philosophies of Humanists, Christianity is very intolerant, unrealistic, and sometimes even hateful. But in comparison to Christianity, atheism has nothing to offer to fill in the emotional gaps we all have. If you are just an atheist, you will need to either adhere to a philosophy that will give you comfort and meaning ( Epicureanism, Humanism, Transhumanism ), or create your own philosophy to give you these things. Without comfort you'll fear things that you shouldn't. Without meaning you won't be as motivated.
Liberals also have a similar problem. If all liberals had voted during the last election, John Kerry could have won, and we wouldn't be suffering under a Christian theocracy right now. So why didn't more liberals vote? Many of them didn't see a reason to, and adhere to a more simplified way of thinking based on comical personal insults and complaining. They don't adhere to philosophies that inspire the kind of passion Christianity inspires into Christians, so they just stayed home, ate potato chips, and smoked weed as the Christians went out and took over.
Atheism also does very little to inspire an unconditional love for all humanity. Some atheists live very self-centered and hedonistic lives. Everything they do is done for their own gain or personal pleasure, and very little is done on their part to help humanity as a whole. Some atheists could care less about the trauma being inflicted on to innocent children born into Amish, Islamic, and fundamentalist Christian communities. As long as their practices don't interfere with any of the politics that could affect them personally, they're fine.
Am I implying that atheists should also become more militant against religion? No. I am only saying that atheists shouldn't be afraid to confront religion if they see it causing harm to themselves or to others, just as they shouldn't be afraid to help a blind man if they see him walking toward a busy street.
Religionists attack humanist philosophies because they know if people became less dependent on the mythology and corrupt agendas of their religions they could become more independent, and more grounded on realistic ideas. Some try to say that basing your life on something other than a god is "vain" or "conceited". But what is so conceited about using your own ingenuity to solve your own problems? And is it really wrong to base your life on something other than the intolerant and childish gods of Christianity and other religions? No. |
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