In the Absence of a God
I intend to write this post using something like "stream of consciousness" or "free form". I'm not sure which term is most accurate or whether what I'm about to write really fits the definition. Though I'm happy with much of what I've written in the past in terms of content and clarity, I've always been mildly distressed with how rarely I write and how long it often takes me to put word onto (in this case) a computer. Readers are thankfully ignorant to the degree of effort and amount of time a writer devotes to his work. In this case, I'll do you the disservice of enlightening you: It can take several hours to write a few simple paragraphs that I'm happy with. I tend to reread what I've written over and over again; edit it, rewrite it, scrap it, and so often just stall out and suspend the writing before it goes where I want it to go. Thus, I'll attempt another tactic with this blog post. I'm going to abandon any hope of coherence, concision, connection, eloquence, or even intelligence. Rather than overthink things, I'm going to type what pops into my head. So, with that typically long, overdrawn introduction out of the way, let's dive into it.
I want to explore the subject of what replaces faith when faith is lost. Is there anything that serves the purpose that-or can fill in for-a believer's faith in salvation, the soul, heaven, eternal life with the ones you love, and a loving "father in heaven"?
One of my favorite bands is Modest Mouse. I really connect with a lot of their lyrics because they so often deal in existential elements, including our mortality and the interconnectedness of life on Earth ("who's going to steal your carbon"). One of my favorite songs on their album, No One's First, and Your Next is "The Wale Song." A repeating refrain in the song is "I guess I am a scout so I should find a way out so everyone can find a way out." Obviously this line is open to interpretation and I don't expect mine to reflect the author's intended meaning. But it has a powerful affect on me. When I hear it I think of all of us-all of humanity-being stuck inside something vaguely like a big dark castle (or cage) together, and that castle is representative of life, of mortality, which is often times scary in all that we don't know and don't see. I envision humanity mostly being unaware of living in the dark due to its relative lack of knowledge and intelligence, of living among so many doors and walls representing the great distractions of life, both intellectual and physical distractions that keep it from finding a door to truth, to light, to a greater understanding, to a better life. I think of the fear we all experience at the thought of death or the death of our loved ones. If you wanted, you could imagine these fears as ghosts lurking in the dark castle of my analogy. I know this is all vague/nebulous, but I'll go on. When I hear the lyrics to the song I think of all the suffering associated with life that we all share in some measure or another. Life has its moments, for sure.
Anyway, I'm overdoing it. Basically, I hear the lines of the song and I feel a deep sadness and empathy for humanity and all that we go through, which is accompanied by a kind of angst and feelings of responsibility and motivation to "find a way out" of our existential predicament filled with fear, suffering, constant distraction, confusion, and darkness (relative lack of knowledge/intelligence).
Life can be filled with great things too-health, love, happiness, joy, confidence, inspiration, thrill, pleasure, etc. So why conceptualize our existence in such a dismal way? I guess I'd say its not really a matter of choosing to think of a glass as "half full" or "half empty", but an instance of stating the facts. Fear of death does not inflict everyone with the same severity, but I believe its a common human experience. Emotional and physical suffering is not constant for everyone, but we all go through some form of it. The suffering of just one child (say orphaned, sick, and dying) can bring you to tears. Don't even attempt to imagine the extent of suffering that has before and continues to be felt on this planet. Its not possible. If it were it wouldn't be wise to proceed. My point is that pain is not a matter of conception. Its real, and in a way its eternally begging those with the power to provide it for relief. And so on. I can make the same kind of point for "distraction" "confusion" and "darkness".
Atheists have attacked religion for its lies and absurdity. Religious and superstitious thinking have been, by many accounts, forces of evil which have led to violence, suffering, and lives sacrificed to false causes. I'd also argue that religion is The Great Distraction. For a long litany of the harm religion causes, just read the first post on this blog and keep reading until you've read them all.
But religion is far more than evil. It is also good. Or else without it in so many cases suffering would be far greater. It may be impossible to back up this claim, but I think its less of a claim and based more on observations throughout my life. Belief in an afterlife is massively effective in lessening the severity of emotional distress when someone you love dies. Its even effective in the same way regarding general suffering in life. If you believe that suffering will end and that you'll eventually be somewhere with no suffering, where god and your family will be waiting for you to hold you in their arms, then you surely will be able to handle temporal pain with much more ease and grace. Its impossible to overstate the power of this belief to engender sanity and perhaps civility among a people.
Religion has also been the biggest force (besides natural familial connections) out there to compel individuals and families to come within the protective and nurturing folds of a caring community. I am one of the least social persons I know (meaning I have little inner compulsion to socialize, even if I really enjoy getting together with people I like), yet even I recognize that having an "extended family" like one has in a church is healthy and nurturing and likely a source of great joy for most who attend.
Furthermore, religion (especially Christianity) has been a major force for good in this world by convincing individuals that salvation is possible. In other words, Christianity teaches (I'll use general terms) that if you make a mistake, there is still hope for you. You may be forgiven, you may still be loved. There is reason to better oneself, despite one's weaknesses. This idea of forgiveness/salvation/redemption/whathaveyou helps kill bitterness, anger, depression and fear, and replaces them with "grace" (or happiness/acceptance/appreciation), love/care, happiness, and confidence. It does so on all levels: individual, familial, communal, societal, and global. Again, this is no small accomplishment. One has to wonder if the means to these ends is mere trivia or should be gotten rid of.
Religions have been educational institutions. Perhaps not now-at a time when the knowledge religions deal in is so obviously flawed-but in the past, religious organizations took learning seriously. Not all were democratic in their education. Nevertheless, religion institutionalized and heightened learning.
Finally, religions have possessed, protected, and spread philosophies and rules which today many people define as "good". I've taken issue with religions' various commands and philosophies and I still do. But if humans are capable of believing any nonsense and committing any crime (and we know we are), one could say that we all benefit from the protection of genuinely good ideas from an onslaught of philosophical/moral anarchy. I'm not sure I'd commit to this statement, but I get it. Inasmuch as religions have brought order and civility to nations, it has been a force of good on this planet. (order and civility ((within limits)) being preconditions to health and happiness).
Do these admissions (or recognition of facts) mean that I'm doubting my disbelief? No not at all-there's no logical connection between saying something like, "hey, this person who does bad things also does good things, so now I believe the nonsense he's telling me." This post really isn't about religion, which I still dismiss on an intellectual/moral level because its defined by totalitarianism, lies, and irrationality. This post is about the things that, to me, represent in large measure "finding a way out" of our existential cage-many of these things just happen to be the things that religions do well:
1) giving comfort to those who lost loved ones,
2) lessening the psychic trauma and fear that the thought of death causes (both allowing people to live more joyfully)
3) giving people a reason to be good, to continue to do good, and to treat others with respect (salvation/redemption/heaven/etc)
4) giving people a reason to come together and treat each other like family (which satisfies base human emotional needs)
5) identifying what is good, protecting it, and promoting it
6) education
7) identifying what is bad and fighting it
Each one of these strategies for escaping the darkness and misery of life can be integrated into our lives without believing fairy tales, without accepting the authority of an invisible dictator or father figure, and without identifying oneself as the member of a particular cult (religion). Number six, for example, is pretty straight forward. We already have a system of secular education in this country. It could be improved, for sure, but "escaping the darkness" involves, simply, better and more education. I'm not implying that ending ignorance is not complicated, just that the answer, "education" is clear. And I think its up to each of us to continue educating ourselves throughout our lives.
What I'm most interested in is in "winning" back from religion all of these other strategies/roles. For many reasons, religion should not define what is good and bad. We shouldn't have to ally ourselves with a cult in order to be a part of and enjoy a church-like community. We shouldn't need to fool ourselves into believing in a heaven or god in order to find a reason to be good, to love ourselves and others, to forgive, and to be forgiven. And I believe we shouldn't have to lie to ourselves to stay sane and happy in the face of our mortality. This last one poses the greatest challenge, as made evident by my choice of words ("I believe..." usually harbors a spore of uncertainty and hopefulness).
I want to explore the subject of what replaces faith when faith is lost. Is there anything that serves the purpose that-or can fill in for-a believer's faith in salvation, the soul, heaven, eternal life with the ones you love, and a loving "father in heaven"?
One of my favorite bands is Modest Mouse. I really connect with a lot of their lyrics because they so often deal in existential elements, including our mortality and the interconnectedness of life on Earth ("who's going to steal your carbon"). One of my favorite songs on their album, No One's First, and Your Next is "The Wale Song." A repeating refrain in the song is "I guess I am a scout so I should find a way out so everyone can find a way out." Obviously this line is open to interpretation and I don't expect mine to reflect the author's intended meaning. But it has a powerful affect on me. When I hear it I think of all of us-all of humanity-being stuck inside something vaguely like a big dark castle (or cage) together, and that castle is representative of life, of mortality, which is often times scary in all that we don't know and don't see. I envision humanity mostly being unaware of living in the dark due to its relative lack of knowledge and intelligence, of living among so many doors and walls representing the great distractions of life, both intellectual and physical distractions that keep it from finding a door to truth, to light, to a greater understanding, to a better life. I think of the fear we all experience at the thought of death or the death of our loved ones. If you wanted, you could imagine these fears as ghosts lurking in the dark castle of my analogy. I know this is all vague/nebulous, but I'll go on. When I hear the lyrics to the song I think of all the suffering associated with life that we all share in some measure or another. Life has its moments, for sure.
Anyway, I'm overdoing it. Basically, I hear the lines of the song and I feel a deep sadness and empathy for humanity and all that we go through, which is accompanied by a kind of angst and feelings of responsibility and motivation to "find a way out" of our existential predicament filled with fear, suffering, constant distraction, confusion, and darkness (relative lack of knowledge/intelligence).
Life can be filled with great things too-health, love, happiness, joy, confidence, inspiration, thrill, pleasure, etc. So why conceptualize our existence in such a dismal way? I guess I'd say its not really a matter of choosing to think of a glass as "half full" or "half empty", but an instance of stating the facts. Fear of death does not inflict everyone with the same severity, but I believe its a common human experience. Emotional and physical suffering is not constant for everyone, but we all go through some form of it. The suffering of just one child (say orphaned, sick, and dying) can bring you to tears. Don't even attempt to imagine the extent of suffering that has before and continues to be felt on this planet. Its not possible. If it were it wouldn't be wise to proceed. My point is that pain is not a matter of conception. Its real, and in a way its eternally begging those with the power to provide it for relief. And so on. I can make the same kind of point for "distraction" "confusion" and "darkness".
Atheists have attacked religion for its lies and absurdity. Religious and superstitious thinking have been, by many accounts, forces of evil which have led to violence, suffering, and lives sacrificed to false causes. I'd also argue that religion is The Great Distraction. For a long litany of the harm religion causes, just read the first post on this blog and keep reading until you've read them all.
But religion is far more than evil. It is also good. Or else without it in so many cases suffering would be far greater. It may be impossible to back up this claim, but I think its less of a claim and based more on observations throughout my life. Belief in an afterlife is massively effective in lessening the severity of emotional distress when someone you love dies. Its even effective in the same way regarding general suffering in life. If you believe that suffering will end and that you'll eventually be somewhere with no suffering, where god and your family will be waiting for you to hold you in their arms, then you surely will be able to handle temporal pain with much more ease and grace. Its impossible to overstate the power of this belief to engender sanity and perhaps civility among a people.
Religion has also been the biggest force (besides natural familial connections) out there to compel individuals and families to come within the protective and nurturing folds of a caring community. I am one of the least social persons I know (meaning I have little inner compulsion to socialize, even if I really enjoy getting together with people I like), yet even I recognize that having an "extended family" like one has in a church is healthy and nurturing and likely a source of great joy for most who attend.
Furthermore, religion (especially Christianity) has been a major force for good in this world by convincing individuals that salvation is possible. In other words, Christianity teaches (I'll use general terms) that if you make a mistake, there is still hope for you. You may be forgiven, you may still be loved. There is reason to better oneself, despite one's weaknesses. This idea of forgiveness/salvation/redemption/whathaveyou helps kill bitterness, anger, depression and fear, and replaces them with "grace" (or happiness/acceptance/appreciation), love/care, happiness, and confidence. It does so on all levels: individual, familial, communal, societal, and global. Again, this is no small accomplishment. One has to wonder if the means to these ends is mere trivia or should be gotten rid of.
Religions have been educational institutions. Perhaps not now-at a time when the knowledge religions deal in is so obviously flawed-but in the past, religious organizations took learning seriously. Not all were democratic in their education. Nevertheless, religion institutionalized and heightened learning.
Finally, religions have possessed, protected, and spread philosophies and rules which today many people define as "good". I've taken issue with religions' various commands and philosophies and I still do. But if humans are capable of believing any nonsense and committing any crime (and we know we are), one could say that we all benefit from the protection of genuinely good ideas from an onslaught of philosophical/moral anarchy. I'm not sure I'd commit to this statement, but I get it. Inasmuch as religions have brought order and civility to nations, it has been a force of good on this planet. (order and civility ((within limits)) being preconditions to health and happiness).
Do these admissions (or recognition of facts) mean that I'm doubting my disbelief? No not at all-there's no logical connection between saying something like, "hey, this person who does bad things also does good things, so now I believe the nonsense he's telling me." This post really isn't about religion, which I still dismiss on an intellectual/moral level because its defined by totalitarianism, lies, and irrationality. This post is about the things that, to me, represent in large measure "finding a way out" of our existential cage-many of these things just happen to be the things that religions do well:
1) giving comfort to those who lost loved ones,
2) lessening the psychic trauma and fear that the thought of death causes (both allowing people to live more joyfully)
3) giving people a reason to be good, to continue to do good, and to treat others with respect (salvation/redemption/heaven/etc)
4) giving people a reason to come together and treat each other like family (which satisfies base human emotional needs)
5) identifying what is good, protecting it, and promoting it
6) education
7) identifying what is bad and fighting it
Each one of these strategies for escaping the darkness and misery of life can be integrated into our lives without believing fairy tales, without accepting the authority of an invisible dictator or father figure, and without identifying oneself as the member of a particular cult (religion). Number six, for example, is pretty straight forward. We already have a system of secular education in this country. It could be improved, for sure, but "escaping the darkness" involves, simply, better and more education. I'm not implying that ending ignorance is not complicated, just that the answer, "education" is clear. And I think its up to each of us to continue educating ourselves throughout our lives.
What I'm most interested in is in "winning" back from religion all of these other strategies/roles. For many reasons, religion should not define what is good and bad. We shouldn't have to ally ourselves with a cult in order to be a part of and enjoy a church-like community. We shouldn't need to fool ourselves into believing in a heaven or god in order to find a reason to be good, to love ourselves and others, to forgive, and to be forgiven. And I believe we shouldn't have to lie to ourselves to stay sane and happy in the face of our mortality. This last one poses the greatest challenge, as made evident by my choice of words ("I believe..." usually harbors a spore of uncertainty and hopefulness).
posted by Josh at
12:18 PM
0 Comments
