Give Me that Old Time Atheist Religion
Recently, I've noticed that some of my friends have become concerned about me because I'm an atheist. This is odd, because I've never made any secret of that fact, although I don't go around preaching it to anyone who will listen. Ever since I realized that I no longer agreed with any of the religious viewpoints which I was brought up with, I have explained my opinions, as clearly as I can, to those who were interested, curious, or who challenged by beliefs.
Two months ago, I went and visited a friend of mine who lives in another town. She introduced me to some of her best friends, and we began to discuss our viewpoints on different issues. We discussed abortion, politics, and the death penalty. Eventually, the subject turned--as it always seems to, with me--to religion. They quizzed me for two hours while I responded as well as I could. They asked me if I've ever been a Christian (I have), whether I had an ethical system (I do), how I came to my conclusions (through reason and observation), and what my arguments against Christianity and the existence of gods in general are (too numerous and involved to list here).
One thing that surprised me, however, is that none of her friends asked me whether I have a religion of my own. After all, just because I'm an atheist doesn't mean that I don't believe in or worship anything. The word "atheist" comes from the ancient Greek language. The prefix "a-" means "without", or "not." The root "-theo-" means "god." And the suffix "-ist" means "an adherent or advocate of a specified doctrine, theory, or school of thought" or "one that is characterized by a specified trait or quality." (Those definitions were from the American Heritage Dictiona...
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...ght walks on the beach. It's the religion of feeling the wind blow through my hair in a car speeding down the highway. It's the religion of luxuriating in the feel of flannel sheets on a cold morning. It's the religion of listening to a truly great song and feeling exalted by the guitar solo.
My ethical system is my own, based on the love of my own life and the need to actualize its potential, with a respect for the rights of others to do the same. I have meaning in my life, which comes from giving life to those tangible and intangible creations of my mind that no one else can envision. I feel joy, worship, love, and other, similar emotions for those parts of my life which make my mental visions possible and for those who share my visions. And my religion is the religion of the amazing totality and potentiality of my existence and of the existences of others.
Nancy Ammerman writes Sacred Stories, Spiritual Tribes: Finding Religion in Everyday Life to convey her findings of studying spirituality and religion in the ordinary life of her sample population. The inspiration for this book came from previous data about Christians and the “Golden Rule,” the concept of treating everyone how you would like to be treated (3). In order to understand this concept better, Ammerman decided to study religion and spirituality in everyday life. Her population included 95 people from the Boston and Atlanta areas. These participants came from “Catholic, liberal Protestant, conservative Protestant, African American Protestant, Jewish”, Mormon, Wicca and Neopaganism as well as an internet chat group (11). Unaffiliated participants were also
My personal code of ethics outlines the values and principles, which I believe in and rely on in life; the code determines the decisions I make concerning my daily activities and my association with family, colleagues, and the society. The values and principles also act as my main point of reference when I am faced with a dilemma and need to make a sound dec...
First, religion has often played an important role in people’s lives, however its significance continues to decrease in recent decades. Parents do not pass on faith or beliefs onto their children, because most parents do not have faith or beliefs. These parents believe it would be hypocritical to teach their children about being spiritual, when they are not spiritual themselves. Children often go to their parents with questions regarding matters such as death, life, and God, but "Western culture is so secularized that parents can evade or dismiss 'religious' questions without feeling that they’re merely getting themselves off the hook" (Brandt 193). In contrast wit...
Throughout this tragedy Brutus exhibits many character flaws. He starts off by attempting to be too honorable for the adoring people of Rome. He tries to protect him from what Caesar could potentially become, a tyrant. “Wolf but that he sees the Romans as but sheep, he were no lion, were not the Romans hinds”(903). At this point Caesar has not shown any tyrannical ambition. He has been shown to be all for the people without the venture of self gain. “Thrice did I present a kingly crown and thrice did he refuse” (951). He was slightly ambitious, but what human is not? Another flaw we discover in Brutus is that he is an easily swayed man. The truculent and virulent Cassius is able to alter his perception on life especially about his people and the ambitious Caesar. Every move this confused man makes is justified by some flawed logic. This is augmented in his idiotic choice to underestimate Antony and allow him to live. “For Antony is but a limb of Caesar let us be sacrificers not butchers Caiu...
Brutus was a man of noble birth. He had multiple servants and was often referred to as “Lord”, which indicates a certain level of respect for him. He was a very highly thought of person in Rome. At no point did he ever betray anyone, although he did kill Caesar, he did it to better Rome, not to mislead him. Everything he did was for the advantage of someone else. Even after Brutus dies, Marc Antony says “This was the noblest roman of them all; all the conspirators, save only he, did that they did in the envy of Caesar; he only in a general honest thought and common good to all...” This shows that regardless of brutus killing Caesar, he is still considered noble because he had good intentions. Brutus was also the best friend of Julius Caesar, the most powerful man in Rome. Had he been a commoner, Caesar most likely would not have associated with him or trusted him as a friend.
We talked about high-schools, stress, funny puns, and the latest technologies, like Virtual Reality. As her feet splashed against the water from wet concrete, arbitrarily, my friend, Andy, asked me a peculiar question. She said, “What are your opinions on religion and God?” of course, I had wondered about this before, but not as deeply as I did this day. I told her I strongly believe in a God because I am Muslim. She started talking about how the existence of God actually can’t be proven. I agreed with her, but I also said not everything has to be scientifically proven to be true. We talked some more about how religion has caused a lot of wars. We wondered about how the world would be without religion. The fear of God, whether it be Jesus, Allah, Yahweh, etc, has kept many from doing wrong, or what is thought to be
It's remarkable how many of my friends insist I am not an atheist. It seems pretty obvious to me that I don't believe any god exists, and that pretty much makes me an atheist. Nevertheless, here these people are, so insistent that I cannot possibly be an atheist. "You're too nice," they say, or "you really believe, you just don't know it" (how's that again?). Sometimes I hear something like "You believe in something, and that is really god" or "you are still looking, but you'll find Him" (he's invited to stop by my house at any time). When I have the time to converse with these people, however, it usually comes down to this: I'm really an agnostic, they say, because I am willing to admit that I don't know there isn't any god. It is apparently so important for people to believe that I'm "really just an agnostic" that I find this to be a haunting sign of the hold religion has on people. It is tragic that the mere thought of a good friend or relative being an actual, avowed atheist is so horrible that it must be denied.
Eddie Carbone in A View From the Bridge During the final scene preceding the end of act 1, Arthur Miller
There are two elements in my system that needs to be understood. One is “love” and the other is “self”. Men instinctually know what “love” and “self” mean. While all of us love ourselves and also others, yet we find strife and hatred in the world. The reason is a man loves himself first before others. My ethical system challenges an individual to love others first before himself. When this is done and achieved as indeed it has been achieved by many men and women, there occurs a paradigm shift in the system of human interaction that leads to a better understanding among human beings.
If then that friend demands why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer: not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more." (3.2.19-24). His concentration on honor and nobility ends up being used against him by Cassius, who instigates him to kill his best friend. Cassius knows how naive and how moral Brutus is and he uses this information into making him help kill Caesar. Being naive and over trusting causes his first mistake and helps with his downfall when he refuses to listen to Cassius, who wants Antony to be also killed because he knows that he will seek revenge for Caesar. However, Brutus code of honor won 't let him approve the killing of Antony "Our plan will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius. We cut off the head and then hack the limbs, seem to kill Caesar in anger and then vent malice on his friends, for Antony is only a branch of Caesar."(2.1.169-172), he doesn 't want to be seen by the Roman people as a killer, but someone who 's doing what 's right for the people of
Greed, ambition, and the possibility of self-gain are always constant in their efforts to influence people’s actions. In Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus, a venerable politician, becomes a victim of the perpetual conflict between power-hungry politicians and ignorant commoners. He is a man of honor and good intentions who sacrifices his own happiness for the benefit of others. Unfortunately, his honor is strung into a fine balance between oblivion and belief and it is ultimately the cause of his downfall. His apparent obliviousness leads him to his grave as his merciful sparing of Mark Antony’s life, much like Julius Caesar’s ghost, comes back to haunt him. Overall, Brutus is an honest, sincere man who holds the lives of others in high regard while he himself acts as a servant to Rome.
... power. It allows for people to have meaning in their life and have an over all picture of the world as a whole. Ethics is a branch in philosophy that asks the questions as follows: What actions are right or wrong? What events are good or bad? What agents are virtuous or vicious (Bruno)? I do believe that religion and ethics over lap in many ways. In most religion there is a set of rules, or guidance, that relates to ethics. Most people would say that as humans, we should lead a good life. As to why is a bit controversial. Some people believe that we should do what God desires and what God does because God is good. Though I do believe that people who accept religion have a better understanding of ethics, others who do not really accept religion in their life believe that is it possible to live a good life without religion, and many religious people recognize that.
Let’s start off by explaining what atheism is, it’s when you don’t believe in any form of an “Intelligent Creator” or God, as usually referred to as. The word atheism comes from the root word “theism”, which is when you believe in a God, or numerous Gods depending on the religion, and the prefix “a”, which means “not”. There are no set practices of atheism, or a set list of beliefs. To be an atheist you must believe what you would like and simply live your life without constraints based on what you believe is good or bad, not what you are told is good or bad. There is a constant debate against atheism from the theist side, because both sides’ arguments are polar opposites and each believes their side of the argument is 100% valid. I will state my view on some arguments, and clarify some common atheist stereotypes.
In an article “Are Religious People Happier Than Non-religious People?”, it states “As studies show that religion gives people a sense of purpose and order and serves as a resource for coping with negative life experiences and existential fears.” It then states “Though people, especially in individualistic nations like the United States, talk about religion as an internal or personal belief system, religion is rarely done in solitude. Religion is typically a social activity and research indicates that social ties are one of the most important contributors to happiness.” (Routledge) Thus it’s not religion itself that creates happiness, but the social aspect of a shared bond. This differs from atheists who find happiness in making their own decisions. To continue, in the article, “Religious People Have Higher Self-Esteem But Only In Some Countries, Study Shows”, it states “Studies have shown that God-fearing folks tend to have higher self-esteem than nonbelievers”. (Searles) A claim such as this, challenges the assertion that atheists have higher self-esteem. The article continues and explains that “religious belief is linked to high self-esteem only in countries that emphasize religious belief.” (Searles) Religion poses a threat to the claim that atheism creates higher confidence, but it occurs only in those cases where religion is a fundamental instillment in one’s
When my sister once asked me why I never went to church with her, it only led to an intense conversation. A heated discussion erupted when we talked about the existence of a higher power. She persisted on the assurance that one existed, while my mind reflected otherwise. Being as stubborn as we are, we were not going to change our minds. However, she gave me reasons as to why she believed that a god existed. For example, one time she needed money to travel out of town on a trip, and the following day at work she received a $100 tip. Another time, she said that once while driving home from work, a horrible storm blew in and she could only see inches in front of her car. Once she pulled over and the storm passed, the realization that a few feet ahead lay a