What good is atheism without faith?

There are some billboards around sponsored by one of the local medical centers. They say "What good is medicine without faith?" Really? Pretty damn handy, I'd say. Much more effective than faith in improving quality and length of life. If I have the misfortune to wind up at one of those hospitals, please tell them I'll take the medicine, anyway!

It got me to thinking again about how Christians seem to include God in everything, and I mused about how they could include God in atheism. That kind of ironic or impossible humor is my style. Then I recall how I've seen Christians argue against atheists as if they accept the existence of God but choose to reject him. Perhaps that really is what is happening in their heads? Are they so stuck with God-is-in-everything that they can't comprehend that someone else simply doesn't believe in invisible omnipotent people that refuse to prove they exist? (But they love us!) Do they morph the idea into atheism being a rebellion against an acknowledged God? That would explain some of the attitude.

Another billboard I've seen a lot says "Nothing is too hard for God." Well then he must be one lazy bastard, eh? Or a dick. People give him credit for saving people from disasters. Doesn't he know that preventing the disaster in the first place would save a lot more people? What an asshole! Given the timing of these billboards I presume they are a response to the bad economy. (I guess I could go to the website advertised on them and check...nah.) Again, instead of helping people through the bad economy, why not just prevent it from going bad, mr. invisible love-us guy?

Santa Claus. Tooth fairy. Easter bunny. They love us, give us presents and want us to be good and happy. As we get older we are told that they don't really exist. I keep thinking parents used to tell their kids that God is also a tale and doesn't exist, but somewhere along the way somebody couldn't let go of the last comfy blanket, and now we're stuck with an imaginary friend that will only do good things for us if we obey him. And then only if he feels like it.

What good is faith without a rational approach to the world?

Article for the Day: Big Poopy Atheists

Is Atheism Only a Bundle of Sentiments?

At the end of his review he thanked Dinesh for exposing atheism “more as a bundle of sentiments than a coherent doctrine.” My recent failed efforts to encourage campus debate with atheists have led me to believe that Snow might be on to something.

You say that like it's a bad thing. I'm being serious here...why do you HAVE to have an actual doctrine? I'm of the opinion that it's better to assume you DON'T know everything, and there's more to learn. A parallel: There are lots of good parents that agree on certain core things - love your kids, don't beat them (in short, Be Excellent Unto Them), but we couldn't be said to have a doctrine. And yet, we parent. And we're good.

But back to the article:

Because of my concern that Sociology of Religion could become a course in Sociology of Atheism I decided to set up a more balanced forum addressing the issue of faith and atheism. Specifically, I wanted to deal with the following question: “Which worldview requires more faith; a) Christianity or b) Atheism?”

Are you kidding me? OK, in the context of the full article, the guy IS trying to open a dialogue on religion/atheism with a colleague, so kudos to him. I'm all for talking. But again, it appears to me that we're making assumptions here that we shouldn't. Faith = good. Atheists have less faith than religious folk, therefore atheists are bad, religious folk are good. You, sir, are rigging the damn game.

And by the way, the point he's trying to address is that the professor in question (backed by the university) is unfairly promoting and teaching atheism at the expense of religion. To which I might answer, well sir, we're fighting millennia of favoritism and fanaticism toward the god/God side. It's about time to start the pendulum swinging the other way.

Or to put it another way, you don't get to pound god and damnation into people for thousands of years, and then cry foul when we want to change the subject.

I know that atheists are often very angry at the God they claim does not exist.

I suppose that's true for some people, absolutely. But then, to be a "real" atheist, you've gotta be pretty sure that such a being doesn't exist. I'm not mad at God in the least. I'm not mad at Satan. Nor the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Ceiling Cat, Ra, Santa and the Easter Bunny. It's kind of a non-issue.

What's got me pissed is the PEOPLE. The guy that wrote this article is a former atheist; I'm a former Christian. I WAS one of those assholes who used to tell you you'd better let Christ into your heart, your life was bad because you were rejecting your Heavenly Father (oh I had the rap down PAT, man), and the world was going to hell in a handbasket. (Why a handbasket, cousin? Because it would hurt more, you twit.)

Those are the people who piss me off now, now that I recognize how completely insufferable that kind of talk is. I don't like the arrogance, the ignorance, the narcissism. If the worst you can say about atheists in general - and I know it's not, fundies - is that they lack faith and are angry at God, well...I think we win.

I also understand why atheist professors would be unwilling to debate their reasons for rejecting religions like Christianity. Back in my days as an atheist, speaking truthfully on a panel would have required a public admission that I rejected Christianity largely because it would not have allowed me to continue getting drunk and high every night while splitting time between four girlfriends.

Well, aren't we shallow. We're implying, then, that atheists are only atheists for immorally selfish reasons. God forbid (ha!) we imply the inverse, that Christians are only Christians for selfish reasons. Hey, you get to socialize weekly, you get a group who's willing to help you in all kinds of difficulty, you get free babysitting, and you get to tap into the idea that the shit that happens isn't your fault, and indeed, couldn't be prevented no matter what effort...it's foreordained. And you get to put a two thousand year old stamp of approval on any random thought you have or action you take, by finding scripture that at least APPEARS, out of context and several translations later, to support you.

But back to the point; again, I'm sure some atheists are just Christians straining to burst free from their immoral ways. And some of us just think all that crap is bullshit, is hypocrisy, is control of the masses, is politics, is superstition. Even the good people today - and I do believe there are many who are actually good - who believe in God the Father et al are just making good on a system with a horrible history and purpose. I respect their beliefs, not because I agree, but because they live their lives happily and use what makes sense to THEM as tools for furthering their own way.

It's like Santa Clause. It's not true that there's a guy at the top of the world watching all the kids and making toys. But it's a neat IDEA, and it puts a face on the celebrating, the gift giving, and the morality we want our kids to be a part of. In my mind, a good Christian uses God as a mascot for what they already believe is right, not as a weapon to force others to live as they want them to.