'Religion' commonly implies a belief system regarding the order / meaning / control of the universe. 'Atheism' commonly implies a belief system regarding the lack of order / meaning / control of the universe.
I think people can be just as 'dogmatic' about atheism as they can about religion, but the prime tenets are so opposite as to make the comparison meaningless.
Religion: (1) a particular system of faith and worship (2) a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance
Atheism: the theory or belief that God does not exist.
No one has proof that God does or does not exist. Knowledge of the absence of god is faith (see definition 1). One can ascribe one's interest in extolling the virtues of atheism as of supreme importance (see definition 2).
The distaste of religion that you and I share is of the dogma (a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true) and the use of that dogma for control. We do the same in medicine all the time. I think atheism is very dogmatic mainly as a defense mechanism (we/they catch a lot of flack).
The philosophy behind many religions is fascinating. Consider the action yoga in Hinduism: the action is all that you control, not the outcome; absolve yourself of outcomes and focus on what you have control over. Taoism (your favorite) states you have control over the arrow only when it is in your bow. The basis for Christianity is identical to the devotion yoga which is essentially devote yourself to something outside yourself, rid yourself of self-consciousness, and thus find freedom. All are sound pieces of advice (not sound truths). None have anything to do with the quasi-religious political dogma we commonly see.
Your atheism is shared by many who I consider the greatest modern minds. But you know who Nietzsche and Sartre borrowed significantly from? The Bible. Schopenhauer? Buddhism.
Atheism can be as dogmatic as religion, as can science, medicine, art, sex, bullshit, everything. I think the truth lies in never taking yourself seriously and realizing that none of us know shit ever.
I always figured I was an agnostic. I thought of atheism as equivalent to a religion. That is, a certainty that there is no god. A = against. Theos = deity (or, god). But upon further inspection, that is incorrect. The prefix "a" most accurately means "without." In the same way, asymmetry means without symmetry, and avascular means without vessels. Aseptic means without bacteria (roughly). Right?
So, to be atheist is to be "without god," and atheism is "without belief in god." So, maybe I am an atheist.
'Religion' commonly implies a belief system regarding the order / meaning / control of the universe.
ReplyDelete'Atheism' commonly implies a belief system regarding the lack of order / meaning / control of the universe.
I think people can be just as 'dogmatic' about atheism as they can about religion, but the prime tenets are so opposite as to make the comparison meaningless.
Religion: (1) a particular system of faith and worship (2) a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance
ReplyDeleteAtheism: the theory or belief that God does not exist.
No one has proof that God does or does not exist. Knowledge of the absence of god is faith (see definition 1). One can ascribe one's interest in extolling the virtues of atheism as of supreme importance (see definition 2).
The distaste of religion that you and I share is of the dogma (a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true) and the use of that dogma for control. We do the same in medicine all the time. I think atheism is very dogmatic mainly as a defense mechanism (we/they catch a lot of flack).
The philosophy behind many religions is fascinating. Consider the action yoga in Hinduism: the action is all that you control, not the outcome; absolve yourself of outcomes and focus on what you have control over. Taoism (your favorite) states you have control over the arrow only when it is in your bow. The basis for Christianity is identical to the devotion yoga which is essentially devote yourself to something outside yourself, rid yourself of self-consciousness, and thus find freedom. All are sound pieces of advice (not sound truths). None have anything to do with the quasi-religious political dogma we commonly see.
Your atheism is shared by many who I consider the greatest modern minds. But you know who Nietzsche and Sartre borrowed significantly from? The Bible. Schopenhauer? Buddhism.
Atheism can be as dogmatic as religion, as can science, medicine, art, sex, bullshit, everything. I think the truth lies in never taking yourself seriously and realizing that none of us know shit ever.
I always figured I was an agnostic. I thought of atheism as equivalent to a religion. That is, a certainty that there is no god. A = against. Theos = deity (or, god). But upon further inspection, that is incorrect. The prefix "a" most accurately means "without." In the same way, asymmetry means without symmetry, and avascular means without vessels. Aseptic means without bacteria (roughly). Right?
ReplyDeleteSo, to be atheist is to be "without god," and atheism is "without belief in god." So, maybe I am an atheist.
Tell those agnostics to shit or get off the pot.
Fuck all y'all.