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misterdanielSo this has been bubbling around in my head for a while - before things got a little 'busy' in point of fact - but I've not really had chance to put it down in writing until now.
I've been reading The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins and whilst his style is unashamedly confrontational, I'd be lying if I said I didn't find the core theme to be internally consistent and well-argued. As "evangelical atheism" goes, its does a strong job, even acknowledging that "statistically probable atheism" is the most intellectually honest position.
Being honest myself, I'm not sure what to think. I'm quite the product of the information deluged 21st century with its attendent problem of signal-to-noise interference. I got a lot out of my Anglicanised youth including a definite measure of certainty and reassurance. Not least that, whatever else would happen in life, God will make it alright in the end. If there is one thing the community of faith offers, its certainty[1] (with some disagreements about precisely what to be certain of).
Curiously, the thing that bothers me most about Dawkins' position is not his primary target. Whilst his crosshairs are very definitely centred on religion (esp. any God linked to Abraham), I knew that when I started reading it[2]. However, caught and gunned down in the field of fire seems to be pretty much any and all forms of spirituality or supernaturalism. I'm not sure if these are innocent bystanders or acceptable collateral damage in the world of atheism, but I guess I had not taken that fully on board for it left me a little sad.
Even if I were to accept that there is no God (at least in a direct interventionist sense) - a possibility I am more open to considering in my 30s than in any other decade of my life to date - part of me still wants there to be more to existence than the material world.
I want to believe there is more to Love than a combination of biology+psychology.
I want there to be more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in Horatio's philosophies.[3]
Now I know I have some atheist friends that read my LJ, and given a chance I'll talk to you directly, but I thought I'd float my questions on my blog. Am I correctly understanding atheism? If so, what does atheism mean to you?[4]
NB: This is not me 'atheist-baiting' or the like, but genuinely considering what it means as (for lack of a better immediate word) a philosophy.
[1] Hebrews 11:1
[2] The clue was in the title
[3] Hamlet Act 1 Scene 5
[4] Aside from inocculation against the certitude of others and the reassurance of being 'probably right'.
I've been reading The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins and whilst his style is unashamedly confrontational, I'd be lying if I said I didn't find the core theme to be internally consistent and well-argued. As "evangelical atheism" goes, its does a strong job, even acknowledging that "statistically probable atheism" is the most intellectually honest position.
Being honest myself, I'm not sure what to think. I'm quite the product of the information deluged 21st century with its attendent problem of signal-to-noise interference. I got a lot out of my Anglicanised youth including a definite measure of certainty and reassurance. Not least that, whatever else would happen in life, God will make it alright in the end. If there is one thing the community of faith offers, its certainty[1] (with some disagreements about precisely what to be certain of).
Curiously, the thing that bothers me most about Dawkins' position is not his primary target. Whilst his crosshairs are very definitely centred on religion (esp. any God linked to Abraham), I knew that when I started reading it[2]. However, caught and gunned down in the field of fire seems to be pretty much any and all forms of spirituality or supernaturalism. I'm not sure if these are innocent bystanders or acceptable collateral damage in the world of atheism, but I guess I had not taken that fully on board for it left me a little sad.
Even if I were to accept that there is no God (at least in a direct interventionist sense) - a possibility I am more open to considering in my 30s than in any other decade of my life to date - part of me still wants there to be more to existence than the material world.
I want to believe there is more to Love than a combination of biology+psychology.
I want there to be more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in Horatio's philosophies.[3]
Now I know I have some atheist friends that read my LJ, and given a chance I'll talk to you directly, but I thought I'd float my questions on my blog. Am I correctly understanding atheism? If so, what does atheism mean to you?[4]
NB: This is not me 'atheist-baiting' or the like, but genuinely considering what it means as (for lack of a better immediate word) a philosophy.
[1] Hebrews 11:1
[2] The clue was in the title
[3] Hamlet Act 1 Scene 5
[4] Aside from inocculation against the certitude of others and the reassurance of being 'probably right'.
