My Way of Thinking:
A Statement of Fact
and a Necessary Release
Joe
From: "Joe"
To: "Positive Atheism" <editor@positiveatheism.org>
Sent: December 11, 2003 11:31 PM
Subject: WebMaster:_Positive_Atheism_Index
Religion can't be taken seriously except for the reason of how it begins to affect your life and the relationships for the people in your life. My personal belief is that the Christian faith speaks of arrogance. Next to Muslim, it's possible the most arrogant of all belief systems on this measly planet. If my statement is a tad insulting, well gee what more sarcasm do you need to make that clear? It isn't from anger or malice from which this observation comes, it is from the facts as they are laid out in real life. Here I will explain why this is so in my personal opinion, not to mention the facts that are so apparent in our lives.
First of all, anyone who has asked me about my religion hasn't spent as much time muddling through the disciplines of philosophy, psychology, and theism as I have spent much more time in that study than most priests. Every year I do more reading on the subject and expand my knowledge on the texts from authors of various faiths as well as those that simply have no faith.
My life values are quite simple. Be honest, have integrity, and live a full life. With honesty I will say which person is less arrogant? The one who believes we come from single cell life, or the one who believe we were "created" from God? Well that one is easy, anyone that needs to believe that a God thinks we are somehow significant is the seed of arrogance.
The point of this letter was to keep it short and sweet, tell people what the hell I believe and get out. And look at them funny when they think differently. Just recently my valued friend Oscar said he noticed I was not close to God or Christianity. Well, ding! ding! ding! ding! ding! I am only a humble servant. I don't think myself as God, nor would I believe that Oscar has any real certainty of faith. Simply because there is too much evidence to the contrary if you look for it. But most people enjoy "witnessing" because it makes them feel better about themselves somehow. That is how it is with most my relatives. If you take religion like art, then it is okay by me. But if you take it seriously, then either you: (1) are not disciplined in critical thinking; (2) have been convinced that there really is a God and are too lazy to form your own opinion; (3) have feasted on the material and fell in love with the possibilities that faith brings, so the delusion is worth the price for that feeling, or (4) were never taught anything different. Notice I didn't say because there really is a God. Hmmm, maybe I prefer to be honest.
Being a non-theist has given me perceptive powers that extend beyond that of your normal theist. And being a freethinker, gives me a lot more freedom than Christianity ever gave me. Christianity really gave me nothing but strife. Nothing I wanted in eternity, nor in the current life. I decided years ago, that I couldn't set foot in a church without laughing inside about the lies the minister preaches every sermon, every teaching, every feeble attempt at convincing you and reaffirming your faith. I was 23 when I learned that faith was fraud, it went against every fiber of reason that existed and one (faith or reason) had to leave my mind. Reason or faith, I picked reason. Well reason is the only choice I could have made and remained kept my sanity. It couldn't be both because I don't have the ability to lie like most people do to themselves. Again, this note is intended only to inform you the questioner of my status for the last 19 years of my life (I am 37). This belief system of reason isn't likely to change anytime soon. Why would I change something as immutable as reason?
Now that I have written my piece, it is time to give you some (peace). However, if you wish to challenge my belief system, I would first suggest you read four books and the website's FAQ that I list below.
The Jesus Mysteries: Was the "Original Jesus" a Pagan God? by Timothy Freke,
Atheism: The Case Against God by George H Smith,
Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge by Edward Wilson
Sleeping with Extra-Terrestrials: The Rise of Irrationalism and Perils of Piety by Wendy Kaminer (still reading this one).