Spring Break
Atheism trusts in humanity's potential
Matt Schirano
Issue date: 12/7/07 Section: Ed-Op
And when you realize that no one is looking out for you, they never were, and that there is no outside influence, you understand that all the power you assumed God had was actually in you all along.
This is an important point; God's power is actually your power. It means you have the ultimate control of your life. That might seem obvious to some, but many people assume the bad things that happen in their lives are a test of God.
How can you improve yourself when you believe your problems are imperative to your eventual acceptance into heaven?
If anything, that mentality is a hindrance, not a support.
Sure, it makes you feel good thinking God is testing you because he wants you to go to heaven, but if you disregard God's existence (imagination time, believers) it just means you refuse to help yourself make your only time alive decent.
I think there's also a misconception that atheists don't believe in anything.
It's not true, we just don't believe in a middleman. When you say, "God did this," we say, "people did this."
When you say, "God loves you," we say, "people love you."
To atheists, God is just an extension of the human mind. It's the way people express feelings they don't want immediately connected to them.
Think about it. "I don't hate gay people; it's just that God says it's wrong." Take God away and that says: "I don't like gay people." Is that logic flawed? I guarantee you 99 out of 100 devout Catholics who think homosexuality is wrong based on the Bible don't like homosexuals anyway. People join clubs and organizations that share similar interests and views, how is religion any different?
That sort of logic breeds external problems as well. The blame shifting that "God" utilizes in claiming that your problems are your own fault not his, is used by his followers when they say that problems in society are inherent and have nothing to do with them.
You can't solve political corruption or class inequality because that's just the way reality is designed.
This is an important point; God's power is actually your power. It means you have the ultimate control of your life. That might seem obvious to some, but many people assume the bad things that happen in their lives are a test of God.
How can you improve yourself when you believe your problems are imperative to your eventual acceptance into heaven?
If anything, that mentality is a hindrance, not a support.
Sure, it makes you feel good thinking God is testing you because he wants you to go to heaven, but if you disregard God's existence (imagination time, believers) it just means you refuse to help yourself make your only time alive decent.
I think there's also a misconception that atheists don't believe in anything.
It's not true, we just don't believe in a middleman. When you say, "God did this," we say, "people did this."
When you say, "God loves you," we say, "people love you."
To atheists, God is just an extension of the human mind. It's the way people express feelings they don't want immediately connected to them.
Think about it. "I don't hate gay people; it's just that God says it's wrong." Take God away and that says: "I don't like gay people." Is that logic flawed? I guarantee you 99 out of 100 devout Catholics who think homosexuality is wrong based on the Bible don't like homosexuals anyway. People join clubs and organizations that share similar interests and views, how is religion any different?
That sort of logic breeds external problems as well. The blame shifting that "God" utilizes in claiming that your problems are your own fault not his, is used by his followers when they say that problems in society are inherent and have nothing to do with them.
You can't solve political corruption or class inequality because that's just the way reality is designed.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
LochRaven
posted 12/07/07 @ 6:33 PM EST
A voice of reason and logic. That theists misunderstand and misstate the atheist position is a given. The only drawback to articles like this is that, sadly, they more often than not end up preaching to the choir. (Continued…)
Allen Knowshisgun
posted 12/09/07 @ 3:42 AM EST
Many Europeans have only had two ways of looking at the world and it's either Bible or Science. If you look at both they do indeed conflict. However, I am American Indian from the Crow poeple, and we beleive very differently, you see it's an understanding of Spirituality and Science together which makes sense. (Continued…)
Post a Comment