What I find interesting about your response, though, is that you use remarkably “religious” language to describe your philosophy of life. In the previous post, you speak of the “spiritual I,” as an example. The very concept of an “I” is a concept that is dependent on the existence of a transcendent being-philosophically, the concept must originate somewhere and it did not originate through natural selection (cause and effect cannot explain the existence of non-causal concepts-independent thought, morality, the “ought”). The very fact that you have a sense that you “ought” to think of a “spiritual” self or that you even “ought” to care where your ashes are set down after you die betrays that you have gaping holes in your secular philosophy. It certainly does not make you Christian by any stretch (or any other religion for that matter), but it makes you a rather inconsistent atheist. You may be able to live with philosophical inconsistency, I cannot.

Blessings,

Win

1. I am many things, not defined by religion and certainly not definable as an answer in a bulleted list.
2. My mom’s hoohaa (yea, kinda weird to think about it that way but that’s the facts)
3. Because, when I was a wee little sperm, I won a race beating out millions of my brothers
4. The spiritual “I” will be in the same place “I” was in the billions of years before the late 1970’s. I don’t recall much back then and I doubt you did either (but really, was there anything worth remembering about the 70’s?) As for the physical “I” – I’m hoping those ashes get scattered on a high grassy knoll overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Or wait, maybe I misunderstood the question. Should I have answered, “God did it”?

This is more of what I mean when talking about the metaphor – that the religious mindset taps into some basic human psychology which can bring about such changes. It doesn’t make any religion true, but it brings to light some basic human patterns that seem to be embedded in all of us in one way or another. Joseph Campbell would be a good resource in understanding this line of thought further.

Blessings,

Win

I have seeked answers to my questions. It’s arrogant to think since I didn’t come to your conclusion that somehow I just haven’t searched openly enough. I didn’t grow up in a christian home and looked for answers my whole life. I’ve even read books by authors on your recommended reading list (Dawkins) and trust me they don’t answer my questions. For one they don’t (and can’t) explain how life began (inorganic to organic). How can you put your faith in something that can’t answer how life began? If you find an answer please share with me, because I would genuinely be interested.

Previously I stated two rock solid laws of science (Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion and the 1st Law of Thermodynamics) that contradict atheistic thought. All motion has a cause (Earth is spinning pretty fast) and that matter cannot be self-creating. This is just the tip of the ice berg on why atheism is a departure of logic and reason. I would challenge you to even start there and see if atheism can give you answers to these dilemmas, if not you’re not be intellectually honest to continue in your non-belief.

Out of curiosity, how would you answer the “big” life questions:

1. Who am I?
2. Where did I come from?
3. Why am I here?
4. Where am I going when I die?

I would argue that the Christian view on sin can be harmful. If people screw up in life, I’d rather they work to fix it rather than thinking they can just be absolved and forget about it. Realizing our faults and taking responsibility for our own actions strengthens character more than the youthful wish of expecting parents to clean up the mess.

There is a plethora of evidence and theories regarding the origins of morality. A quick googling will bring up some very interesting results and studies within social groups of different animals. You call it silliness without even knowing what “it” is. And no, it isn’t a longer strand of DNA that indicates sin, as you have pointed out in your blog. That doesn’t strike you as the least bit silly?

I think it’s a matter of going where the evidence takes you, and it has taken me to a denial of the Christian God hypothesis.

Have you ever (recently) said, “That’s not fair.” Where in your innermost parts did that come from? Can that awareness of right and wrong that comes from your core, can that be something that has spung up out of chance or millions of years of evolution. Of courxe not, that is sillyness. That core, innermost expression of knowing comes from the true One Who made you to worship Him, whether you choose to or not.

I think there is a lot of truth in your statement, but let me explain. My journey most definitely started out in search of the God of the Bible. The more that I searched, the more that I realized the God of the Jews and Christians was just as false as that of the Mormons and Muslims, as well as the Pantheon of ancient gods. I kept searching to find out what gave religions such power.

So, you are right in saying that this search has led me to try and make sense out of all the world philosophies and religions. I didn’t start with such broad intentions, yet that’s where the path led.

I believe that religion survives because there is strength in the Metaphor. Religions have a lot of great stuff. They can also do much harm. They are a personification of the human spirit; an embodiment of life’s journey. I believe there is more truth and helpfulness in the metaphor than in the literal interpretation, and that no book, idea, or entity should be held without scrutiny. There are many mysteries to life, and many people choose to ball up what they think of as good and just into an embodiment called God.

I can appreciate the term God in that sense. But the moment it gets beyond the metaphor into a literal divine being, the metaphor begins to lose its power and dogma takes over.

I don’t believe that this is a god of my own making at all, and it is definitely not something I worship. These types of ideas have been written about for centuries, they just don’t offer the same type of social cohesion that individual religion provides.