I suspect the God-fearers don’t understand atheists very well.
The God-fearers embrace and spew the typical misleading, soothing stories they repeat like the Lord’s Prayer in order to sate their tremulousness in the face of that breed of man who has no need for deities, morality, or faith. The God-fearer is hesitant to digest such heathen possibilities so they sway themselves with the trite deconstructions they have managed of the atheist mind, and as such, hope to demystify this enigma into a palatable and non-threatening kit of behaviors and motives. The funny thing is, most atheists seem to willingly fit this God-fearer pre-selected archetype in spite of themselves.
I will admit, heartily so, that many atheists are condescending, smug, and intellectually arrogant. They seem to believe that the lack of faith makes them better than, or exceed in the sophistication quotient, their devout brothers and sisters. The collective pat on the back many atheists seem to indulge in when asserting their atheism is a little grueling, even to me. Ultimately, atheists and self-professed heathens, are delusional because they believe Reason and Science are the last word, but they don’t realize that science, despite its predictable and replicable nature, is an article of faith in the respect that it fails to symbolize anything more meaningful than the fact that, say, water boils at 212 degree Fahrenheit.
Believing that an omnipotent being exists in another dimension of our existence is no less unlikely than suggesting that the cold hard facts of science discount such a being.
Nothing is proof of anything.
Atheists are lulled into arguing science with proselytizers who view science as a supreme extension of God’s nature.
They all argue in circles.
I believe many atheists are weak and have a lackluster appreciation of their faith.
And believe me, as an atheist, I have absolutely no problem stating that atheism is in fact grounded in “faith” attended by the same fanciful notions that the major religions of the world share. Faith, meaning that your choice of devotion to an idea has no demonstrable or tangible evidentiary value. To argue about the existence or non-existence of God is to argue about smoke and mirrors.
I simply wish atheists would stop arguing with the so-called might of reason behind them, and instead, argue with the self-assured cold assertion that one must contain in order to be truly atheistic. An atheist must admit to being lonely, bleak and doomed. The only difference between an atheist and a religious person is that the religious person has fooled himself that life means something, a lesson he will never realize is foolish after he dies; and the atheist has fooled himself that life means nothing, a lesson he will likewise never realize is foolish after he dies.
Atheism is solitary business, but it’s also the ultimate form of liberty. It is self-reliance of the most elemental sort. One must depend on no one but himself. If human interlopers intrude in order to lend a helping hand, this is wonderful, and recognized as such, but the atheist doesn’t allow himself to be spoiled and he never believes miracles are a way of life.
Francis Underwood from the fabulous Netflix series, House Of Cards, summed up the monastic sentiment of the unapologetic Atheist Soul.
CAUTION: Spoiler alert
Frank chants the Atheist’s Creed blasphemously while kneeling at the altar of his church which he must attend for cosmetic, political reasons:
There is no solace above, or below
only us,
small
solitary
striving
battling one another.
I pray to myself, for myself
Some of us Christians understand atheists quite well; recognizing there are the few who have faith in nothing, but don’t claim to know anything with absolute certainty, yet also lack the dogmatism of agnosticism that we never can know one way or another anything about the existence or not of God; then there are the atheists who indeed have a creed, about which they have absolute faith, that there is no god, period, and they know that to be 100% true, without a doubt. These are just as much faithful, they’re just too stupid to realize that they’re just like those whom they claim to oppose.
BTW, the Lord’s Prayer is a prayer, not a story. It’s an address to God, praising Him, and asking His blessing. Doesn’t tell a story at all, of x happened, then y happened, or any such thing.
Just so you know. :)
I don’t have much respect for agnostics or agnosticism. Not only do they proudly boast of not knowing, they are subtly telling us they don’t even bother thinking. It’s like saying “this whole conversation is too troubling and excruciating. I’d rather talk about pie.”
I don’t mind the kind who just say “I don’t know” and shrug, but remain open to the possibility; the ones who dogmatically are “I don’t think we can ever know, and I am certain of this”, are just as much faithful as those who say “There is no god, I know this with certainty” or “There is a God; I know this with certainty”. Of those three, only us believers are honest with ourselves that we have faith; the others equally have faiths, they just don’t realize it.
Oh, I didn’t finish the first sentence properly; the second kind of agnostic I mentioned are ones I find irritating. Dogmatic ones.
“An atheist must admit to being lonely, bleak and doomed. ”
And thus it is why an atheist can never, ever be really happy. Evah.
“Atheism is solitary business, but it’s also the ultimate form of liberty. It is self-reliance of the most elemental sort. One must depend on no one but himself. If human interlopers intrude in order to lend a helping hand, this is wonderful, and recognized as such, but the atheist doesn’t allow himself to be spoiled and he never believes miracles are a way of life.”
And because of that, you can never appreciate that there are aspects of life that are unexplainable but can only be attributed to a mirace. And you fail to appreciate true beauty. And you fail to realize that while individualism is an ideal way, it can have moments in which there is a natural need for someone to be a part of your moment, so to speak. And while you accept it, you justify your selfishness on the throne of individualism.
And Will, spot on about the Lord’s Prayer being written dismissivly by the writer. I could have said it better myself :-)!
Thanks. :)
And thus it is why an atheist can never, ever be really happy.
“Happiness” is stupid. Anyone who thinks happiness is a noble goal needs their head examined. As a religious man, you should realize this better than anyone!
But SE, happiness is different for everyone. It is not a goal in and of itself. Contentment is a form of happiness. Do you think that religion is meant to not promote and form of happiness? I totally disagree. Being happy though does mean sharing that with other people. At least to me. At its heart, the athiesm you describe is cold, heartless, unredeeming. And it makes me totally gald to be a beliver.
“Your comment is awaiting moderation.”
Cool, you have developed haters?! I can’t imagine why! LOL!
Sorry, it’s not all about you lol!
I would never shut off comments for that .
My askimet spam filter is on drugs right now.
I did not mean it about me, SE! I meant that you may have a legion of haters, that is all. And as I say, I have no idea why!