Atheism is a Warm, Fuzzy Blanket
Actually, it’s not. I’m being a bit trite. Atheism is pretty harsh, but in the end, it is a far more magnanimous and benevolent way of living than religion creates.
Let’s back up a bit….
In the wake of the VT shootings, there has been a lot of arguing over the place of atheism at such terrible moments as these. Primarily, it’s been a-hole believers trying to relegate atheism to the wastebin of emotional existence. That is, they argue that because atheism lacks any universal beliefs about good and evil, salvation and redemption, or a post-death Paradise, it has no place trying to help mourners find comfort or meaning in the aftermath. In other words, because atheism doesn’t have any cute stories or guys with wings and halos, it can offer nothing in the way of comfort or solace.
(A good article is here)
In fact, quite the contrary is true. It is religion that puts little value in life and which so easily discards it. If there’s a heavenly after party–with better food and a cool post-modern swimming pool–what do we care of this life? It’s a dress rehearsal, so it’s more or less ok that this massacre happened. The killer will get his punishment in hell, and all the dead kids get to hang out with the J-man in the sky. Thanks for playing, see you in the green room.
Atheism, with its queer curiosity of thinking that this is the only chance we get, puts a much higher value on the loss of life. Life is the ONLY thing of value that each of us truly has, so it must be cherished to the absolute utmost. Certainly religion values life, as it is a gift bestowed by god. However, the only reason it has any value is simply because it is bestowed by god. Remove god’s favor, and you have lost the value of existence. Your existence is completely arbitrary and at the whim of a god who is himself entirely arbitrary. A planet here, a tree there, a pinch of genocide, a splash of college massacre, and violia!, you’ve got a goddamn bloody perfect utopia. “Hey, god gave me Leukemia for my 6th birthday! Thanks god!” Or, “boy, wish my newborn had congenital heart disease; that would be the best!”
Under a religious system, you can only state that the triumphs and tragedies of life are at the whim of a heavenly casino worker. He giveth, He taketh away, and all the while you spin away on a cosmic roulette wheel, completely unable to dictate your own fate. Your life, my religious friend, is a random one, beset upon by the rabid claws of a divine wolf pack every day of your miserable life until it at last catches up to you. The fact that the shooting victims still could have been alive if not for the plot twist of a deranged writer makes me far more sad than if I know that no one is screwing with my life somewhere beyond my control.
Sure, I can’t take comfort in thinking that I get to go somewhere nice when I die, but I also don’t have to worry about being snuffed out at any moment on the whim of a bi-polar deity.
Atheism has a simple contract with humanity: your life and intelligence is a gift bestowed upon you by serendipity. Cherish it, and use it to make life rich for your fellow recipients. You will not be rewarded for your good deeds after you die, but you can live knowing that you do good of your own accord and because goodness is good for its own sake.
Religion, on the other hand, has a much more sinister contract: life is a gift bestowed upon you by god, and you now own him a debt of never ending servitude. Do good because he commands it. If you do not do his bidding, you will be thrown to the fires of damnation, to rot for all eternity separated from the creator. Do not live life pleasurably, but instead, deny yourself the pleasures your senses were created to experience. Only then can you experience true bliss in the kingdom of heaven, but possibly only after god lovingly decides to destroy the happiness of your family by letting a madman roam the halls of your campus and murder you in cold blood.
Do I sound pissed off? I sure am. Religion keeps good people from living good lives. It is a shame that it is allowed to permeate the tragedy of this event with its putrid breath. Atheism celebrates the beauty and majesty of life. Religion insults it by worshiping and giving praise to the very madman who “allowed” the tragedy to take place.
hehe.. you said queer.
Comment by handsomedevil — 25 April, 2007 @ 21:45
It’s “voila”.
Here’s the thing that I don’t like: the lack of personal responsibility. And it works both ways. In the wake of tragedy, is it religion that comforts people? Does the Bible get up and talk to you? Does the cross hug you? No, dammit, it’s humans. They may speak about religion, but it’s them doing it. People comfort people; things don’t comfort people. If religion has anything to do with it, it’s that person A holds a certain set of assumptions, and person B knows they can comfort person A by sharing in those assumptions, and reinforcing them. B can do that for A no matter what religion (or lack thereof) they share or don’t share. The commonality is that it’s one human being grieving, and another doing their best to help.
Comment by David Peterson — 7 May, 2007 @ 09:36