I always assumed most atheists are people who simply say they are one just because they don't believe in any otherworldly entities/deities overseeing everything.
You know, the old man sporting a white beard sitting on a throne up in the sky surrounded by cherubim and harp-playing angels with a propensity for singing in high octaves; and a predilection for belting "Amazing Grace" on cue and in varying harmonics whenever someone who just died walks in through the pearly gates.That is of course the popular Christian cliche that people from this religion form in their heads whenever the subject of religion comes in. As a born Catholic I can say that that is definitely the first collage of images that comes to mind whenever anything remotely connected to my own religion is brought up. Even if I do not subscribe to that kind of perception about the afterlife, anymore. It is corny and overtly simplistic generalizing the concept of GOD like that and ignorant at times, specially when information about theology is readily available to most people these days; you'd assume that people would have a little more sophistication in understanding the dynamics of the human behavior and historical errors of the faith they chose to follow. But like I always believed, to each his own.
There is no doubt that as far as providing naysayers ammunition to debunk religion, Catholicism is at the forefront. And it is also the most controversial and one of the most obviously flawed among the bunch. From the inquisitions to banning innocuous works of fiction like Dan Brown's books, to opposing the reproductive health bill, the list goes on. I have a lot of complaints about it myself but I won't deviate from it. Because it is the only way I know how to acknowledge whatever it is out there that I still believe to be the prime mover and architect of our very existence. Just because science and reason debunked the existence of anything utilizing human methods does not make it a universal truth. That is one conceit of the human race I truly do not trust. As if humans are the only authority in intellectual prowess in all of creation. As one major alien character from an Arthur C. Clarke novel
said, "You'd be like an ant trying to count every single grain of sand in the world." That statement just about sums it up for me. Clarke, ironically, is an atheist. The video below presents controversial feminist/atheist/writer Camille Paglia on a very refreshing and informative discussion about religion, art, and atheistic sentiments.
You know, the old man sporting a white beard sitting on a throne up in the sky surrounded by cherubim and harp-playing angels with a propensity for singing in high octaves; and a predilection for belting "Amazing Grace" on cue and in varying harmonics whenever someone who just died walks in through the pearly gates.That is of course the popular Christian cliche that people from this religion form in their heads whenever the subject of religion comes in. As a born Catholic I can say that that is definitely the first collage of images that comes to mind whenever anything remotely connected to my own religion is brought up. Even if I do not subscribe to that kind of perception about the afterlife, anymore. It is corny and overtly simplistic generalizing the concept of GOD like that and ignorant at times, specially when information about theology is readily available to most people these days; you'd assume that people would have a little more sophistication in understanding the dynamics of the human behavior and historical errors of the faith they chose to follow. But like I always believed, to each his own.
There is no doubt that as far as providing naysayers ammunition to debunk religion, Catholicism is at the forefront. And it is also the most controversial and one of the most obviously flawed among the bunch. From the inquisitions to banning innocuous works of fiction like Dan Brown's books, to opposing the reproductive health bill, the list goes on. I have a lot of complaints about it myself but I won't deviate from it. Because it is the only way I know how to acknowledge whatever it is out there that I still believe to be the prime mover and architect of our very existence. Just because science and reason debunked the existence of anything utilizing human methods does not make it a universal truth. That is one conceit of the human race I truly do not trust. As if humans are the only authority in intellectual prowess in all of creation. As one major alien character from an Arthur C. Clarke novel
said, "You'd be like an ant trying to count every single grain of sand in the world." That statement just about sums it up for me. Clarke, ironically, is an atheist. The video below presents controversial feminist/atheist/writer Camille Paglia on a very refreshing and informative discussion about religion, art, and atheistic sentiments.And this thing about atheists---the garden-variety that is: These people share the same deluded self-importance with amateurs who proudly proclaim themselves 'artists' just because they wrote several lines of crappy poetry (if you can call it that) or doodled images in a canvass that would make every "Last Supper" portrait in every dining hall in the country seem like priceless Vermeers in comparison. I personally have no problem with anyone, whatever school of thought or religion they belong to as long as they keep their unsolicited opinions or beliefs to themselves. But what I have noticed is that people with very limited understanding of what they proudly espouse to others are the least knowledgeable about it---be it the endlessly annoying fundamentalists who think they have a one way ticket to heaven and are God's gift to mankind or the snide, so-called atheists who think they are paragons of common sense and higher thinking.
Everyone wants to sound smart.
Everyone wants to sound smart.
I wonder what's for dinner?
