In Which Our Hero Has a(n ir)Religious Evening
Last night was weird. I felt happy for no reason and it had some weird religious feel to it. But not in the 'the world is wonderful because God loves me' sense. It was very much 'the world is wonderful because there is no god' type of foundation. But I think the feeling was the same. This was probably the type of feeling that people get when they are born again, that makes them hand out pamphlets on why passersby are going to hell and what can be done about it. However, being an atheist, I don't think I'll start doing that.
Now that I'm doing something that's not so much light extemporania and has entered the realm of subjects not spoken about in polite society (Iunno why not), and because I've been itching to bring others over to the 'dark' side as well as talking about my worldview, I suppose now is a good time to do such a thing.
As much of you know, I are a science nerd, as well as an art nerd. I've always been good at mathemagics and reason. However, I grew up in a very liberal but very catholic family. My aunt was provincial superior of the Sisters of the Holy Cross, my uncle is a Vincentian priest and award winning homilist, and my parents cojourn with their local order of Franciscans, and I think my brother relied on God, as well as us and the hospice nurses, in his last few months. While my family has always supported my math and science skills as well as my academics in general, they also raised me to be Catholic.
This began to be a problem when I was going through confirmation things. My pretty awesome public school system had exposed me to other religions, as had other venues. This was a first complication, if there are so many ways to God and they all proclaimed to be the right one, and oft the only one, how could I trust any of them?
Secondly, the shit in the Bible didn't match up to the shit that people who closely examine the workings of the universe said happened, and any unbiased examination at the evidence from either side will clearly show which is most likely to be true. There are two differing creation stories in the Bible. The Bible has also a history of translation issues, Jews with horns?
Finally, other Christians put me off. They proclaimed to be extensions of God's love and all that other stuff, but still did terrible things to their fellow man. This was the argument I brought up to the person my parents sent me to when I began questioning my faith.
However, I was too ineloquent at that time to argue coherently. I decided at that time to get confirmed, more for the sake of my family, than for that of my faith, something already gone. It was also probably then, when I could be first considered an 'atheist' though I didn't call myself that at the time. (Irony of ironies, that was also the time I adopted that awesome cross that I wore)
For the next few years godliness and godlessness never really entered my thoughts. I was done with catechism, and public schools don't teach soddy christian religious stuff except as literature, along which they also generally teach other religions. When creationism came up, I took reason's side, because guh, it's the right one. When I started reading Pharyngula I realised how much I agreed with what a militant atheist said, and then I read The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, and it became official, I'm a card carrying member of the atheist conspiracy.
Now, having said that, I won't begrudge my peers their faiths, for the most part. Whatever gets you through shit gets you through shit. And as long as it doesn't conflict with reality, then it's fine. However, that reality thing is a big requisite. If you start thinking that reality isn't what it is because of some book says or that if it is this way there's no meaning, prepare to meet the mighty diplomat of reason.
Okay, that's about all I have to say now.
This could, should be better written.
Now that I'm doing something that's not so much light extemporania and has entered the realm of subjects not spoken about in polite society (Iunno why not), and because I've been itching to bring others over to the 'dark' side as well as talking about my worldview, I suppose now is a good time to do such a thing.
As much of you know, I are a science nerd, as well as an art nerd. I've always been good at mathemagics and reason. However, I grew up in a very liberal but very catholic family. My aunt was provincial superior of the Sisters of the Holy Cross, my uncle is a Vincentian priest and award winning homilist, and my parents cojourn with their local order of Franciscans, and I think my brother relied on God, as well as us and the hospice nurses, in his last few months. While my family has always supported my math and science skills as well as my academics in general, they also raised me to be Catholic.
This began to be a problem when I was going through confirmation things. My pretty awesome public school system had exposed me to other religions, as had other venues. This was a first complication, if there are so many ways to God and they all proclaimed to be the right one, and oft the only one, how could I trust any of them?
Secondly, the shit in the Bible didn't match up to the shit that people who closely examine the workings of the universe said happened, and any unbiased examination at the evidence from either side will clearly show which is most likely to be true. There are two differing creation stories in the Bible. The Bible has also a history of translation issues, Jews with horns?
Finally, other Christians put me off. They proclaimed to be extensions of God's love and all that other stuff, but still did terrible things to their fellow man. This was the argument I brought up to the person my parents sent me to when I began questioning my faith.
However, I was too ineloquent at that time to argue coherently. I decided at that time to get confirmed, more for the sake of my family, than for that of my faith, something already gone. It was also probably then, when I could be first considered an 'atheist' though I didn't call myself that at the time. (Irony of ironies, that was also the time I adopted that awesome cross that I wore)
For the next few years godliness and godlessness never really entered my thoughts. I was done with catechism, and public schools don't teach soddy christian religious stuff except as literature, along which they also generally teach other religions. When creationism came up, I took reason's side, because guh, it's the right one. When I started reading Pharyngula I realised how much I agreed with what a militant atheist said, and then I read The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, and it became official, I'm a card carrying member of the atheist conspiracy.
Now, having said that, I won't begrudge my peers their faiths, for the most part. Whatever gets you through shit gets you through shit. And as long as it doesn't conflict with reality, then it's fine. However, that reality thing is a big requisite. If you start thinking that reality isn't what it is because of some book says or that if it is this way there's no meaning, prepare to meet the mighty diplomat of reason.
Okay, that's about all I have to say now.
This could, should be better written.