Vox’s posts tagged humanism

feedle - Fri Jul 25 09:52:13 2008

nobody@vox.com(feedle) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:52:18 +0000

"We're all here to fart around. Don't let anyone tell you any different!"
-Kurt Vonnegut, from A Man Without a Country

As I am often wont to do, I've been spending a lot of my free time lately evaluating my religion, my spirituality, and my overall take on such matters. Also, as is common in these periods of naval-gazing (and sometimes even nasal gazing) I have emerged on the other side in quite a different place than I started.

This is to notify you, and the rest of the world who cares (which, in reality, is and should be precisely no one), that the being you know as "feedle" now considers himself an atheist and a humanist.

The best argument against God came from an unlikely source. On a whim, I picked up a book called God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, the sort of well-reasoned rant I often read when I'm in one of these moods (that is, looking for a new perspective in which to view the world). You should read it, if for no other reason that to NOT consider his argument is to continue down a path at your own peril: if, after reading it, you continue to be a religious person, you are at least now duly informed of the harm religion can inflict.

Anyway, the one sentence that stood out was him relating the story of Pierre-Simon de Laplace, a French mathematician, astronomer, and quasi-philosopher who had the pleasure of being summoned before Napoleon Bonaparte to explain his latest collection of theories, the Mécanique Céleste (English: Celestial Mechanics). Napoleon inquired how he could write such a substantial volume of work about the way the Universe works without once mentioning God, it's Divine Creator. Laplace simply replied, "Je n'avais pas besoin de cette hypothèse-là," highly paraphrased, "The hypothesis doesn't need one."

And neither do I.

What does belief give me? Absolutely nothing. It does not give me strength, it does not allow me to see the world with any finer detail and relief. To the contrary: it takes it all away from me. When I cry out in pain to a "higher power" to help, I remove from my hands the power to heal myself. When I explain the weather, natural disasters, the diversity of life on this little rock, whatever... I take away from the wonder of it all that science provides us.

In short, instead of having a crutch to fall back on, I now have to take responsibility for my life, and my place in the world. God didn't put me here. Chance didn't put me here. I, and the decisions of my ancestors, put myself here.

All the wonder of the Universe doesn't need God to explain it's wonderous existence. The beautiful roses in my garden, the wonderful company of my pets and friends, the warm glow of a fireplace on a chilly Portland winter evening.. none of these things need God to exist or be pleasurable. Other pleasures, such as the intoxicating aroma of a good gin or absynthe, the power of the modern telecommunications infrastructure, or the cool breeze of the air conditioner in a hot Portland summer afternoon.. none of these things need God to exist. In the latter cases, much to the contrary: they exist because fellow apes made them. One ape a long time ago figured out that yeast makes alcohol. One particular ape named ~~Elisha Gray~~ Alexander Bell created not ony the instrument but the company that made telecommunications possible. And, if not for some horrifically wrong ideas of where malaria came from, apes would not have tried to cool the air using compression of gases that makes most forms of mechanical refrigeration possible.

The same goes for the whole Otherkin belief system. Whether or not I am who I thought I am is irrelevant. I don't need to be, to be who I am. To believe otherwise is to cheapen myself: to take away from what I have accomplished in this life even though I've suffered from hemochromatosis, diabetes, and fibromyalgia. It is to take away from myself that I have, as an only child of a barely middle class family from Los Angeles, managed to bring my standard of living up a notch or two from what my parents knew; and to discount the benefit of them buying a home in Southern California in the late 1960's, when property was cheap and a postal carrier and a warehouseman could afford two modest houses in a Los Angeles suburb.

I got here without God. No divine intervention brought me to this place. Hard work, good decision making, and just plain "right place, right time" got me here. I owe more to my parents, my friends, and my own tears than I owe to some hypothetical God, or to some hypothetical spiritual being inside me.

And you know what? I feel good about this.

For the first time in a while: I feel strong, I feel whole, and I feel one.

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Looking Back

nobody@vox.com(Mark) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 03:06:04 +0000

Read Galatians 1:11-24

Can you look back at a point in your life and see a marked change from who you once were? Or, does your life still reflect much of the same things you did several years ago? Maybe you still use foul language or you’re still doing those things you knew you needed to stop doing years ago! Imagine for a moment what would have happened had the apostle Paul not been radically changed the day he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, Imagine he just became a believer but never really went anywhere once he believed. He likely would have returned home and went to bed, woke up the next day made a few tents and repeated the same thing over and over, day after day, month after month and year after year, maybe popping into the house church on Sunday mornings to shake a few hands and hear the elder say a few words of exhortation. Then, it’s off to the sizzler for lunch and beer and football after dinner. Sounds ridiculous doesn’t it? The Apostle Paul do that! Are you kidding! Why, he’s the guy that started many churches, ordaining elders and yielding himself to God for the writing of all those wonderful spirit filled books of the bible as he went along…. Why, He’s the guy who sustained tremendous persecution just for speaking the name of Jesus Christ.

So my next question is this: if it isn’t ok for the apostle Paul to go home and become a Christian vegetable then why is it ok for us? Paul knew where he came from, he was zealous in the persecution of the church and in his own words he admits he tried to destroy it. After his encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ however, his life was no longer the same, even being able to look back and see the hand of the Lord separating him before he was even born. Friends, our lives should reflect some sort of a radical change for the Lord over time, no! It usually doesn’t happen over night and not everyone will become a Paul or for that matter no one will become a clone of another. God has His own set plan and purposes for each of our lives but he’s not going to force it upon us. God didn’t force Jesus to go to the cross but rather Jesus obeyed the will of the Father and likewise it is a choice for each of us to pick up our cross and follow after Him.

In verse 11 Paul tells the Galatians that the gospel which he preaches is not some made up fairy tail or good story to live by, the gospel isn’t even some attempt by man to reach up to heaven and connect with God, rather, the gospel is the account of our great God bowing down to connect with man and save us from our own depravity and the message which Paul preached was not his own but rather given to him by divine revelation. I love the way this chapter ends with the Christians in Judea praising God as the author and source of what they heard in Paul. At first glance you might think they were praising God because this terrible persecutor of the Christians is now off the streets. But, I believe it is something greater than that, I think they praised God because they knew what a terrible reputation Saul of Tarsus had and for this man to become a Christian could only come from an act of God. So again I end asking the same question I started with, can you look back at a point in your life and see a marked change from who you once were? Can others?

Grace and peace in Christ Jesus,
Mark

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"Murphy's Laws for Parents"

nobody@vox.com(Mark) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 21:01:52 +0000

1. The tennis shoes you must replace today will go on sale next week.

2. Leakproof thermoses will.

3. The chances of a piece of bread falling with the grape jelly side down is directly proportional to the cost of the carpet.

4. The garbage truck will be two doors past your house when the argument over whose day it is to take out the trash ends.

5. The shirt your child must wear today will be the only one that needs to be washed or mended.

6. Gym clothes left at school in lockers mildew at a faster rate than other clothing.

7. The item your child lost, and must have for school within the next ten seconds, will be found in the last place you look.

8. Sick children recover miraculously when the pediatrician enters the treatment room.

9. Refrigerated items, used daily, will gravitate toward the back of the refrigerator.

10. Your chances of being seen by someone you know dramatically increase if you drive your child to school in your robe and curlers.

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