In life we make a lot of assumptions. I’m not keen on that old management training axiom that assume makes an ass out of u and me. It’s an oversimplification and it denies the very many benefits that making assumptions can have in life. I assume that I’m not going to fall down a well on my way to work and that allows me to leave the climbing gear at home, I assume I’ll need a computer as I work in IT so I take my laptop with me even though some days I don’t switch it on, I assume the trains will be running so I walk to the train station rather than get a bus or drive to work. Sometimes my assumptions are proven wrong (particularly about the trains, but never so far about the well) and this can be enlightening and life enhancing as well as embarrassing and annoying. Some assumptions about Christians and atheists show this to good effect.
The Christian church began life within the Roman Empire. Early Christians enjoyed many freedoms in religion as a result of Roman rule but also some issues of conformity. The state demanded certain core moral values but the early Christians suffered from three widespread stereotypes: Christians practiced atheism; Christians practiced cannibalism; and Christians practiced incest. How’s that for making assumptions?
I always had my suspicions about Christians you know. ;)
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I wondered whether to write about the 7th July London bombings or not. Today marks the third anniversary of those events and for many still far too recent. I’m guessing that for Americans the London bombings echo too closely the attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon or for the Spanish the train bombings in Madrid. 7/7 killed 52 commuters, 4 suicide killers and injured over 700 people. They were horrific attacks against unarmed and uninformed civilians.
Why did these events occur? is a question that I’ve asked myself many times. I thought to blame religion, after all al-Qaeda officially took responsibility for the attacks. Al-Qaeda is a fundamentalist Sunni Islamic terrorist organisation. Except that it isn’t really an organisation at all, it’s more an approach, a way of living. Al-Qaeda cells generally seek an end to foreign influence in Muslim countries and the creation of a new Islamic caliphate. As such they hold a philosophy that is fundamentally religious.
I’ve come to understand that the Islamic faith believes in the same deity as that of the Jews and the Christians albeit in different forms. Muslims attacking Christians or Jews and Christians attacking Muslims to me, the atheist, it seems no different from Protestant attacking Catholic and vise versa. A pointless and futile attempt to prove who is right about their holy book. I’m generalising, of course, not every Muslim is a crazed jihadist just as not every Christian is a bigoted fundamentalist. In fact these represent a tiny, unpleasant minority in the faiths.
I’ve never believed in God but I became an atheist following the attacks in New York in 2001. I starting to speak out against religion after the attacks in London in 2005. It’s been a little over a year since I came to realise that attacking religion is just another “pointless and futile attempt to prove who is right”. I think I’m right, you think you’re right. As long as we fight about it none of us are ever going to win.
I hope that we can put aside our differences and try to remember that before religion or race, before creed or colour we are human beings and citizens of the same world. I’m learning things all the time about Christians and atheists by contributing to this site and to several others. Whenever I learn something I win a little or at least I don’t lose. Whenever someone learns something from me there are two winners. Nobody loses.
Posted in Atheist/Christian Dialog, Jason | 11 Comments »On Thursday Mike wrote about the S.H.A.P.E workshop and heart\passion and gave a list of questions to try out to help us to extend out understanding of our own passions. The last question raised some difficulties for me.
Write down the ten most wonderful things God could do with you, for you, through you, and in you, for the rest of your life? The dreams or desires that you have always wanted to pursue. Don’t limit your list by any obstacle or circumstance such as education, finances, location, gender, or age.
Not only do I not believe in God or gods on any kind but should a humble and loving Christian really be asking for things from God? Even if the things he or she asks for are to benefit others. Isn’t it part of the Christian ideal to accept with grace the trials and tribulations of life? Doesn’t asking for something imply that the divine plan is somehow flawed and in need of correction?
If I did believe in God, the god of the New Testament transformed and reinvented from the Old Testament, then I think I’d have to accept that God had already done everything for me. I say everything because God the Creator is responsible for everything, quite literally. If I believed that then asking for more, anything more, would feel disrespectful somehow. It is as if I were saying, “Look at this wonderful world we have, food enough for everyone, more knowledge than any one person could hope to learn, shelter and warmth for all, companionship and love in abundance. Truly it is an awe inspiring wonder. Now, can I just have a little more money.” I don’t know, maybe Christians accept that and believe that God sees their pleas in a positive light.
Now, as an atheist, I do not believe that there is a god who made the world. I don’t believe that our wishes, thoughts or prayers can change anything in the world. It is only action that changes things. If I want to transform my life in some way or pursue a dream then I must follow that path. Asking that someone or something else take those steps for me means, to me, that I am not actually doing anything myself. Transforming some part of my life requires effort on my part. If I want to pass an exam I need to learn the subject, if I want to get rich then I need to work to earn money and spend what I have wisely.
I hope I haven’t just insulted every Christian who believes that their prayers are answered but I don’t think that they are. More than that, I don’t think that they deserve to be. Not while the world has such injustice and inequality in it. When we, the human race, make the world a better place for everyone on it then maybe we can indulge ourselves.
Posted in A Cacophony of Posts, Atheist/Christian Dialog, Jason | 13 Comments »