Me and God
John was kind enough to give me his copy of "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins when he was visiting a few months ago. I was just able to get started on it last week after finishing "The Golden Compass". I have to say, I'm enjoying the read. It's a slow go with me as I'm really trying to take the time to focus in on the material. It's been so long since I've read nonfiction - my brain is a bit rusty for it.
Why am I reading it? Well, in recent years (heck, throughout my life) I've questioned my own religious beliefs, the need for organized religion of any form, and the impact religion has on our world. I'm lucky because I was raised Methodist (Dad was a minister) so I was able to see examples of all the positive effects religion can have on people and on a community. But as a citizen of the world and someone with a basic education I know that religion has also been used in the name of causes that brought about more bloodshed, hatred, prejudice, and injustice than can be measured.
I don't think I've ever believed in the mythological aspects of it all (Noah's ark, adam and eve, Person X begetting persons Y, Z etc over 100s of years of living)... I don't believe that Jesus died and then was raised from death. I don't believe that Mary had immaculate conception. So what I've tried to focus in on is what I really do believe in - that being, God itself. Am I an Atheist? A Theist? An Agnostic? And as I read (and I have a long way to go in the book) I find myself currently under the flag of the Agnostic. That is, I don't believe in religion and all the logic within leads me to doubt in the existence of, but I'm not completely sure, there isn't a God of any kind. Ha, that sentence right there is plain enough to show you that I'm still pondering it all.
I have to say, I really like some of the points Dawkins has already made. How religion is the ultimate wild card when it comes to getting people to let you do stuff that would be illegal, immoral, or at least more heavily scrutinized otherwise. And that we all get so hush hush when it comes to respecting people's religions. Now, that's not to say people should be treated poorly because they are religious. No, but they shouldn't be treated with any more (or less) respect than someone who is without religion. The current theocratic nation we are living in is frightening to me. I mean, Huckabee? The gal who put together the "Jesus Camps" saying without hesitation that a Constitution that doesn't represent God's words is a Constitution she can't stand behind until it's rewritten. And that is also where I appreciate Dawkins' work. He is quick to point out that many of the founding fathers of America were also agnostics if not atheists in their own right. Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin among others.
Lastly, Dawkins in looking over the God Hypothesis takes a moment to create categories of belief... a spectrum (which he readily admits to creating one end which will heavily outweigh the other as most atheists don't tend to fall into a staunch, blind place of faith as those who believe without question in the existence of God). I thought I'd share it here and I'm doing so in the form of a poll.
Poll The Spectrum of BeliefI was going to make this Friends Only but then I thought - Hell, that just adds to what I see as already being part of the problem. So yeah, I know that religion is something we tend to keep to ourselves or it's something we don't always openly discuss. So no big deal if you'd prefer not to take part. This is out of my own curiosity and part of my own growth and exploration. And me? Well, I'm in that lower than 50% end... Technically an agnostic.
[Note] Sorry, the poll is Friends Only and the darn LJ editor will not let me change that... it's buggin' on me for some reason.
Why am I reading it? Well, in recent years (heck, throughout my life) I've questioned my own religious beliefs, the need for organized religion of any form, and the impact religion has on our world. I'm lucky because I was raised Methodist (Dad was a minister) so I was able to see examples of all the positive effects religion can have on people and on a community. But as a citizen of the world and someone with a basic education I know that religion has also been used in the name of causes that brought about more bloodshed, hatred, prejudice, and injustice than can be measured.
I don't think I've ever believed in the mythological aspects of it all (Noah's ark, adam and eve, Person X begetting persons Y, Z etc over 100s of years of living)... I don't believe that Jesus died and then was raised from death. I don't believe that Mary had immaculate conception. So what I've tried to focus in on is what I really do believe in - that being, God itself. Am I an Atheist? A Theist? An Agnostic? And as I read (and I have a long way to go in the book) I find myself currently under the flag of the Agnostic. That is, I don't believe in religion and all the logic within leads me to doubt in the existence of, but I'm not completely sure, there isn't a God of any kind. Ha, that sentence right there is plain enough to show you that I'm still pondering it all.
I have to say, I really like some of the points Dawkins has already made. How religion is the ultimate wild card when it comes to getting people to let you do stuff that would be illegal, immoral, or at least more heavily scrutinized otherwise. And that we all get so hush hush when it comes to respecting people's religions. Now, that's not to say people should be treated poorly because they are religious. No, but they shouldn't be treated with any more (or less) respect than someone who is without religion. The current theocratic nation we are living in is frightening to me. I mean, Huckabee? The gal who put together the "Jesus Camps" saying without hesitation that a Constitution that doesn't represent God's words is a Constitution she can't stand behind until it's rewritten. And that is also where I appreciate Dawkins' work. He is quick to point out that many of the founding fathers of America were also agnostics if not atheists in their own right. Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin among others.
Lastly, Dawkins in looking over the God Hypothesis takes a moment to create categories of belief... a spectrum (which he readily admits to creating one end which will heavily outweigh the other as most atheists don't tend to fall into a staunch, blind place of faith as those who believe without question in the existence of God). I thought I'd share it here and I'm doing so in the form of a poll.
Poll The Spectrum of BeliefI was going to make this Friends Only but then I thought - Hell, that just adds to what I see as already being part of the problem. So yeah, I know that religion is something we tend to keep to ourselves or it's something we don't always openly discuss. So no big deal if you'd prefer not to take part. This is out of my own curiosity and part of my own growth and exploration. And me? Well, I'm in that lower than 50% end... Technically an agnostic.
[Note] Sorry, the poll is Friends Only and the darn LJ editor will not let me change that... it's buggin' on me for some reason.