Good things can happen … even for the godless
I read something earlier that reminded me of a couple of rough patches I went through in my life. Ive actually had several rough patches of varying circumstances throughout my life, and Ive made it through them and learned from them as well, but the ones I speak of here are directly related to the lifeblood of the independent single parent money.
The economy had tanked and took my particular industry down hard. I was laid off, and where there were once a wide range of job openings to select from, there were now none whatsoever. I became literally penniless, my college degree and license to practicesitting idle and making me overqualified for anything I pursued to keep my head above water, and not qualified for work in other industries. No health insurance, 401k emptied, utilities being shut off, foreclosure looming, depression. I should mention that I was (still am) a lifelong atheist, and that simply wasn't about to change. Forcing myself to pray for a change would have been ridiculously insincere, so I just kept at it, taking my search for a job in my field nationwide.
Eventuallyan offer came from an area of the country not yet impacted by thebanking crisis, in the nick of time, and it literally changed my life. Things turned around dramatically for me over the course of the next year, no prayer required. Without that job, I would definitely have become homeless within weeks, possibly days. It required relocating ten hours away, but the offer came with paid moving expenses and I leaped on it without looking back. It was a jarring adjustment that significantly broke up my family, but it was so vital that any religious person would have labeled it a godsend. In my case, I labeled it a case of good fortune meeting diligence. Other critical things about my life, unrelated to money, had also improved.
At the end of that year, the same poor economy had now infected the area I had relocated to. It was looking dire, and the boss rounded us up and told us there was no more work to support all of us, but he was trying to get a few of us into another branch office that had a lucrative government contract needing bodies - and the competition to get in on it was pretty fierce. Up until then, my entire adult career had been in the private sector, so my experience with the public sector was severely limited, thus limiting my chances of being transferred.
My landlord at the time was a Buddhist, and she suggested a chant for me that she was convinced of for the purposes of making your wishes eventually come true. Nam myoho renge kyo -she suggested that Ifrequently repeat this to myself over and over in my spare time, or while driving, etc. I thought it was hokey, but I found myself doing it anyways. I wouldnt tell anyone about it, I would just quietly chant while driving, or during commercials, etc., sometimes just repeating it in my head instead of audibly, sort of like a meditation. I didnt have any real faith in it, but I had experienced devastating poverty once, and I did not want to experience it again. What could it hurt?
Thankfully, the job transfer happened, and has been my career for the last five years. Outside of work, my life also improved more than words can describe by meeting the love of my life and buying a new home. Understand that I do not attribute this to the chanting, I only correlate it with the chanting. I am an atheist at heart my conscience will not allow itself to be subject to mysticism thats just how I am built. The chanting was not keeping me from doing anything more productive, and actually served to strengthen my atheism, as it illustrated that prayers made to the god of Abraham are completely unrelated to good fortune. Good fortune can happen in the presence of competing philosophies, or in a void of all varieties of mysticism.
I suppose I could have become more like the woman who suggested that I chant, and inferred causation between the chanting and the good fortune - but either way the point of this story is that no matter what any Christian tells you, there is no existential benefit to prayer. Christians are just as likely to experience random good fortune as anyone else. The difference is that their faith allows their mind to force causation between good fortune and prayer, regardless of whether it only works at the same rate as random chance. When it doesnt work, they fall back on god works in mysterious ways. If prayer makes you personally feel less anxious about an event, thats one thing, but dont expect any answer to your prayers to be anything more than the random chance that it would have been without prayer. Before you know it, you will be suckered into sending money to televangelists, who make incredibly lucrative careers around your misinformed state of mind.
My atheism is not something I keep private. It is something I bring up frequently and openly, and certainly any god would have recognized that by now. Sometimes crappy things happen to me, and sometimes good things happen to me, but its quite clear that I am not being punished or rewarded by anything beyond the secular world around me. Thinking otherwise is delusional, but extremely popular thanks to the invention of religion. When Christopher Hitchens was in the process of dying, he had many opponents claiming that god was punishing him by giving him cancer of the throat for voicing his atheism. He responded by noting that he had done an even larger amount of voicing his atheism with his hands by publishing the enormous library of material he had created over his life. He amusingly pointed out that god chose an illness for him that also happened to be hereditary (his father died of the same cancer), and that was unremarkable for someone who is such a fan of smoking and drinking, and yet left his hands perfectly free to go on blaspheming. If god were as perfect as he is attributed to be, surely he would have put that cancer in his brain, thereby knocking out two birds with one stone. He then noted the swiftness of painful death that is experienced by an innocent child with leukemia. RIP Hitch.
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This is not a rant meant to incite theists into a frenzy, it is merely a peek into the mind of the atheist. If religion is your vice, then by all means embrace it. However, your rights to exploiting it end where the rights of nonfollowers begin. Whatever it is that you think your god objects to, just don't do it - but don't expect anyone else to fall in line with you unless it is an issue that happens toalign itselfwith established democratic secular law. Do your religious teaching in your tax free places of worship, or your parochial schools, or in your private residences, but let go of any feelings of entitlement to spread your agenda into the public space.
Hi Hal,
You seem like a pretty smart guy. Educated, obviously you write well. Allow me to offer you a perspective that you have perhapsnot considered.
There are many folks like me. Like you, we are educated, and write reasonably well. I practice my religion faithfully, but I'm not what you'd call a "fundamentalist" or an "extremist". What faith teaches to the "sound of mind" is that religion is a tool that, like proper diet and exercise, can keep you from doing things you shouldn't do when you're having a bad day. Like eating a Bloomin' Onion all by yourself. Or going into a post office with an AK-47 and spraying up the place. Genuine faith teachesus that G-d answers all our prayers. And those of us who are not of the "extreme" understand that the answer is no always "yes". It's "no", it's "not yet", and also "not ever". There are all kinds of things that can get us through the day. Pills, caffeine, chocolate are just a few. Prayer has no calories, and can leave you feeling pretty good for a couple hours. And that's what you needed when you were down and out. Nothing was going to stop you from losing your job. I know how shitty that feels. And the shittiness doesn't go away for a long time, even after you're employed again. The prayer and devotion just give you enough time during the day to be distracted from what's eating away at your liver. And that can extend your days, just like exercise and proper diet. Or maybe not. But it feels good, and it lasts a couple of hours. And unlike crack cocaine, it won't kill you.
So that's my $.02.
I'm glad you're gainfully emploed again. Much peace to you.
I was raised with the concept of god in my life.... but I would call myself an agnostic. I just don't know. What I personally feel, is that if there is a god out there, he is beyond needing praise, prayer, or thanking. Those are humanfrailties. A being that is ever present and ever knowing is also without an ego that needs to be stroked.
As for why bad things happen to good people... which was also a great book to read, I chose to believe that if there is a god, he puts us here and life just plays out. Free choice and life just happens. How we respond to them might be the name of the game, but who knows? It just might be about the journey traveled.
Good article!
Dennis Rader never got that memo. Faith/Religion, or the lack thereof, isn't a determining factor of how good a person is. Being an athiest myself, I've neverfelt like -
or anything of similar purpose or intent.
Peace to you as well JP
Most people, whether believers or not, do not have the inclination to murder a handful of strangers at one time. That's a fortunate fact for mankind. But I'm pretty sure that those of faith find prayer and devotion to be a calming factor in their lives.
Of course, music, fresh air and warm weather can have the same effect. Or whatever it is that non-believers choose. I'm a believer, but my easy chair and two fingers of Dalmore 15 go a long way to that peace as well.
It's just another arrow in the quiver. For most of us who walk the middle, it's a good addition.
I like your response. We obviously are cut from different cloth, but your approach seems adaptable to simple deism, or Unitarian philosophy, or maybe even patheism - none of which I have ever taken an issue with. It's the mainstreamorganized ones that I object to -the ones that claim to have answers that they could not possibly have, the ones who use their influence to fuel their hypocrisy, and thatpromote indoctrination of the young like cattle branding. I grew up experiencing church every single week, I graduated from a Jesuit highschool, and my kids attended 8 years of parochial school,so I know a little about what I'm talking about.
I'll admit, my intitial reaction to "genuine faith teachesus that G-d answers all our prayers" was pretty distasteful. However, youredeemed yourselfquite nicely by explaining how sometimes that answer is a denial of what was sought. Atheists likely wouldsee that as meditation with a different cover. Introspection is a good thing, and the manner which you engage it is totally up to you. However, it's fartoo much of a challenge for me to consider that there is an answer as to why this child suffered the miserable death he experienced. He probably prayed for food, water, love .... how can the answer have been no, not yet, or not ever?
Thanks Perrie. I was raised with religion as well, it just never took, not even a little bit. I've said this often - I think that the capacity for accepting religious faith is somehow a function of a switch somewhere in the dna, much like an individual's sexuality. More than likely itresembles a dimmer switch. Our ability to accept faith depends on how far the dial was turned when we were being formed. In my case, the switch wasn't even on. In yours, it sounds like it might have been somewhere in the lower half. In Michelle Bachman, it was jammed at full capacity, with sparks flying out of it.
There is so much that cannot be answered in the world by faith. As far as the photograph you posted goes, I have a far simpler question:
What the fuck is the photographer doing taking PICTURES instead of giving the kid a little water and rice, and maybe a hug?!!? My question is as difficult to answer as ANY of the mysteries that faith creates.
Faith, boiled down to its most useful and valuable attribute, teaches us that life is a gift; so do things to enjoy it for as long as possible. Faith, without the extreme, encourages us to live and let live, stay calm, eat your veggies, chew your food twenty times before swallowing, and leave enough room between the car in front of you. There's not much more after that.
Atheism is only as robust as it is because of the proliferation of extremist groups across all the major faiths. It's the reaction to their extreme actions that causes people to completely abandon faith, and that's a shame because religion sans extremism is a very positive model for living. Unfortunately, it seems like the wackos are prevailing, and that makes it tough for us regular folk. We have to keep explaining what mainstream religion is all about, without getting lumped in. I'm not here on a mission; I'm only here to explain why it works for me.
Peace still.
That photographer ended up committing suicide, in case you were not aware. Consider yourself in his shoes -he is on location in a culture where this is commonplace, because there is no clean water, food or medicine. There is no way for a single man to help, and any attempt to do so would likely end in your own starvation. The best thing he could do is take a picture that never gets taken, and show it to the rest of the world - showit to those who haveno idea what it truly means to suffer. I once read an article about similar circumstances occuring in the Sudan. Packs of families would walk for weeks on end searching for water and food. When the little children became too weak to continue, the pack would have no choice but to leave them by the side of the road and continue on. Those children were eventually eaten by wildlife. If a parent is forced to make that kind of horrific decision, then what the hellcould a photographer be expected to do?
I'm not comprehending why you think that faith is required to encourage people to do all the virtuous things that I manage to do without even giving it much thought at all. That is a fallacy. I imagine that a lifetime of faith has conditioned you to think that. I am living proof that this is not true .... so is Bishop Eddie Long for that matter.
It's not just the extemists. Hypocritical actions on behalf of the faithful take place at every level of the game. When I was young, and forced to attend a Presbyterian Church, the church went through twoministers in five years. Both of them had been caught cheating on their wives with members of the congregation. Their replacement was a good man - not into politics, treated everyone in the congregation with the same degree of kindness and respect. My parents loved him, but those who donated the most money to the church were sharplyturned off by not being catered to like the previous ministers had done. They informed Presytery of their intention to reduce their donations unless he was removed, and he was promptly relocated from the suburbs to an all black inner city church. My parents and a few others quit and followed him to this church. All of them but my parents went back to suberbia before long, as the culture shock was too much for them. My parents remain there to this day as the only white congregants, for over 20 years now and with some deep and dear friendships that would have otherwise been very unlikely. That minister ended up marrying my exwife and I,and a few years later he divorced his wife tomarry his mistress, and went away to continue life elsewhere.
It's not the extremists that are controlling the decline of religion. The abject hypocrisy that exists at every level of the game is what is opening peoples' eyes. I know Catholics who gave their kids one option in dealing with their unplanned pregnancy - abortion. I have two girls who found themselves in the same predicament. I let it be their choice how they handled it. They both chose to have and raise their kids, and they are doing an awesome job at it.
Some Christian Faiths teach life is a trial; a burden to be endured and persevere, until one is judged worthy ofeternalHeavenly rewards.
Recently, in a discussion with an agnostic physics student about the "Grand Unification Theory" and the Christian biblical version of Genesis, we agreed that "In the beginning, there was nothing." The key word here is NOTHING.
When I mean NOTHING, I mean no time/space, gravity, weak/strong force, matter.....nothing...the absence of anything. Try to conceptualize NOTHING, you cannot. It is something so sublimely imponderable, it defeats any logical or mathematical description and yet, such a "state" of omniversal uniformity can be postulated.
Our human intellect is limited, that having been said, anything is possible.
Very salient point. I do, however, have a problem with envisioning that the most important component to the beginning of everything was what we are being led to believe it is by organized religions. I'm fine with pantheistic interpretations, I'm fine with Einstein's version of god, I'm even fine withgeneric deism, but I simply cannot accept that god happens to be something that could best be described as the thing we would expect itmost to be, or in other words an entity that would fit the bill the best for the purposesus humans. Despite being eternally invisible and noncommunicative, it is described as something with distinctly human attributes, like language, empathy, love, judgement, etc.The Christian versionhad a son, and depending on what area of the world you are in, that son might be depicted as white, black, asian or otherwise. Here in the US, that son of god who was born of a virgin in the middle east is somehow a white guy with flowing brown hair and blue eyes. I recently saw an LDS pamphlet (I think LDS anyways)that showed him as having neatly trimmed short hair, and looking like he could be your kid's soccer coach. Everything about this religion, like other religions, is entirely contrived by humans for humans. When you factor in what a major role religion plays in politics, money and influence, it is astounding to me that atheism is not dominating human culture right now, but instead it is being vilified. Sometimes it makes me embarassed to be a human.
JR,
I believe you missed the atheist/scientist equivalent of "something from nothing".
That would be the "Big Bang Theory", no?
That is what the photographer said after he had taken the photo and was at home. Why hadn't he helped that child. The guilt took him over and he killed himself as Hal mentions below. I cried when I originally saw the picture and cried some more when I read how hard the photographer took it. Though I like to think I would of picked up that child but who knows what the situation was like in that country and if it there would of been enough aid around to help that child and the many that suffer there.
I think it's a mortal trap that people assign a beginning (or define a state with "nothing"). There is no beginning to energy/matter... it just is. It exists in many forms and changes a lot, but it always is and always has been.
Likewise, there is no end... just change.
Maybe Billy Preston has the answer:
Hal,
Thank you for your article. I enjoy reading others' interpretations of religious faith and the supernatural, though, I don't generally engage in any type of debate or attempts at convincing others what is or isn't. Generally, I agree with a narrative that I once read describing Faith at two levels:
1) lateral -- which is merely fellowship as a club, group prayer (although, I think it is contrived by some members, as a social function to serve other personal needs) to experience the communal sentience that the experience offers, which can be a 'high' for some when in a group-think environment (and a way for the church to make money); and 2) vertical -- which is actual 'Faith' experienced on a personal level, and is a transcendental, spiritual relationship with whom they feel a connection.
I have never experienced that, and I would have to agree with your article conclusion that it seems "delusional" to assume any type of Supreme Being is dictating each and every one of our lives. (I don't know what label to give myself, so I will just say that I don't believe in a God in the same way that mainstream religion does; I don't follow any particular Faiths or organizations.) However, I do think, as you also imply, that a good deal of mind control 'could be' involved, AND as you also imply - genetics !
It's very possible that religion, cultural values and many other things are not environmental influence, as much as they are quite possibly a 'predisposition,' and even with levels as you also considered! I might call it an 'antenna' of sorts.
...But that is significant in my mind, in that, it just 'might' mean that some of us are capable of connecting with an entity that others of us aren't ?!! To that end, is the reason why I don't too seriously criticize those that say they have connected with their "God." They might have connected with something, and if they want to label it as a God, I'll accept it.
My growing-up years were similar to yours, and the internal dimmer switch vacillated, but I think that had something to do with the ritualism of the Catholic Church at the time. The whole weekly experience made a powerful impact with all of the parts combined, such that I literally felt different when I left. And, the feeling 'left' after a couple of hours.
I agree Miss_Demeanor! I say that often - energy -- it just is, and it is transitional ! Yep, energy is eternal - nothing is temporary.
I've always reasoned it with logic - The principle of causality, we know that one thing always leads to or affects another. We witness that everyday. (what is up, is down)
Being causes being. Nothing does not exist. Nothing can only lead to nothing. We aren't nothing. We exist. And only 'something' can lead to existence.
I think that environment has a definite influence on religiosity, but each of us has a limit to how far that influence will go (what I referred to as a dimmer switch). I can honestly say that my weekly experience with church attendance was something I loathed. Thinking about all the things I could have been doing in my limited weekend window, buthaving to reserve time tosit in a pew and listen to something that I had zero interest or agreementin, then having to spend another hour in a classroom intended to indoctrinate me with impossible bible stories that curiously did not include any of the biblical tales involving rape, slavery, murder, infantcide, genocide, etc., then waiting around for mom and dad to get out of coffee hour - which I felt was the real reason they went to social club church anyways. I was even forced to sing in the choir, so I had to reserve time during the week for that practice. Having to devote a week or two in the summer for youth group stuff. Pardon my french, but I fucking hated it. Then I had to go to a Jesuit highschool and wear a tie with my collar buttoned all day, while most of my friends went off to public school in their street clothes, and with girls! After high school graduation, I could not wait to go away to college.
This is the natural reaction when you are born with your dimmer switchin the off position. I don't think I would have had many issues with any of this stuff, if the religious perspective had been removed from it all. People are capable of fellowship and performing works of charitywithout having to force it under the umbrella of religion. I wish that would have been an option for me. Instead, it felt like I was beingforced to march in a parade that had nothing to do with me.
Good things happen to all of us-- every day that we're on this side of the grass, is a good day... I don't think one's belief in a god or not causes it.
I enjoyed reading your reply, Hal, and again my thoughts are much the same as yours re: everything we were put through in those years.
I do tend to defend Catholicism, tho, not for the Scriptures or Bible, or the ways of the Church, but for the virtues and positive character trait (that can't be taught due to 'nature', but can attempt to influence), as well as the discipline that was taught...why Catholic schools were often revered.
(On the 'vine, I often supported the religious articles for those values, as well as viewing the public school system, Dept. of Ed., as also "indoctrination." I think it's important to have a balanced view and know that some of the textbooks are just as slanted - leaving things out - as religious text. I feel very fortunate to have attended both, having an opportunity to compare notes.)
As far as god being the one who is taking care of me, why can't it just take care of people who need it? I clearly don't need it, but the children dying of malnutrition, dehydration, exposure, ethnic cleansing, etc. - they are no doubt praying their little hearts out trying to get it's attention. It sure seems strange that a god I care nothing about would be focusing on making sure I don't suffer like they are.
We all find our own way via our own means.
There is no right or wrong way, only the path you choose to get you there. In the end we all find our way to the same place.
I wish everyone felt that way. Instead, we live in a place where this kind of admission will most likely make you unelectable. Religion is a tool in politics, and the electorate expects to be catered to in return for political pandering.
"Raised with religion" is asanitizedeuphemism for indoctrination to fairy tales is an effort to more easily teach morality.
If I based my parenting philosophy on the loving father that is god, I would leave my children alone when they were infants so none of them had ever seen me face to face. Provided each one with a book that stated I loved that child the most and their siblings were heretics if they did not believe the book provided.Each book would contain lots of contradictions like "turn the other cheek" and "an eye for an eye" but would assert that every single word was true, informing that child that I would return for them someday and take them (but not their heathen siblings) to a much nicer place but only if they followed all these rules.
Of course, the books would have to be simple enough for a five year old to read,omittinganything about science and simplify complex things like cosmology, astronomy, evolution to neat little stories about making the universe in 6 days.
Leaving lots of knives lying around for their "smiting" needs and then I'd walk out the door and never come back. Oh, and I'd give them a phone number to call me, but I'd never answer.