centre of the universe - the dreaming

So here's the deal.

One of my best friends and I got into a little tussle on another friend's Facebook page. (Like, how rude is THAT. OHMAHGAAAAWD!!!) It is a tussle regarding Theism versus Atheism. Or rather, and to be (I think) more precise: Superstition versus Science.

I've had this discussion many, many times with many, many people.

My friend (it was R:tAG) said that he takes offense when people tell him he 'should' or 'must' or 'ought to' believe in something. Whatever that something is. And I agree with him. He *should* be offended when people do that. I hate that too, and it offends me as well.

One of my points was that I also find it offensive when someone tells me what I must *not* believe in, or when it is assumed that I am less intelligent, less able to think critically, or less able to think logically simply because I choose to believe in something utterly superstitious. Maybe it's God. Maybe it's ghosts. Maybe it's something mysterious that happens when the moon is full.

I am not a lazy thinker. I hesitate to say I am not irrational, because I know myself *fairly* well, and I do tend to act on emotion rather than logic most of the time. I am not stupid for thinking the things I do.

And my friend R:tAG is not stupid for thinking the things *he* does.

I deeply honour and respect his opinion, and I deeply honour and respect his, in his own words, 'militant atheism'. I think it's *wonderful*, to be honest, that he chooses to believe in things that are directly observable, provable, real, and tangible. I deeply honour and respect the fact that he finds most organised religion distasteful, if not utterly damaging, belittling, and, most likely, wrong. (Most? R:tAG, help me out, is there some organised religion you don't find distasteful?)

I have many friends who are atheists. Militant and otherwise. I do not try to change their minds or proselytise (sp?) because not only is it futile, it's terribly inconsiderate and offensive. I respect their opinions and the logic and sensible...um...ness of the way they have come to know the truth of things.** And I certainly don't expect them to understand or want to try to understand why I believe in ghosts and God and the weirdness that comes with the full moon.

I believe in mysteries. I don't need to know the answers. I always look for clues, and I know I will never know the answers. And I'm okay with that.

And on the other hand, I have a deep respect for (and slight romantic interest in) scientific process and theorems and proofs and observable phenomena and hypothesis and provable (or disprovable, for that matter) theses. In fact, in my previous life, I did relatively well in the sciences (with the exception of Chemistry. STupid math.) in University. I think I had one of the highest marks in my class in physics and genetics.

I'm not the kind of person who wants to believe in fantastic explanations for mundane things. I prefer to observe the known facts (Sherlock Holmes-style), apply the knowledge I have, acquire greater knowledge if possible, put my theories to the test, and find out how things work.

So I think what upset me in that conversation on the Facebook wasn't that R:tAG is a militant atheist. I'm pleased that he is. And I support his decision and I even agree with much of what he says. What upset me was the suggestion, and he certainly didn't make it a direct accusation, that simply because I choose to believe in ghosts, God, or how the phases of the moon might affect things, that I am less capable of rational thought. That I have to be one way or the other. That I make judgements about my friends, and indeed about people I've never met, based on whether or not they believe in the same things I do.

It wasn't what R:tAG *said* that upset me. It was the implications in what was left unsaid, I think. I accept that some of the things I believe in make me sound like a fruitcake. I'm okay with that. But does that mean I'm not as capable, intellectually or in my reasoning, as someone who does not have fruitcake tendencies?

Anyway, I've been thinking about this lately.

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**Just as a point of reference, in my superstitious beliefs, I tend to think that some things are Very Old stories and parables. And that is important. And just because some guy in a pointy hat says that if you don't believe in Jesus, you're going to hell, doesn't mean I concur. I don't even know if I believe in hell. Regardless. This is part of the mystery I believe in - I haven't got a *clue* what happens when we die, and I don't even know that it matters. Maybe we just stop. That makes me feel hollow and empty, and so I choose to believe something else, with certain kinds of evidence. GAH. I'm getting side-tracked. The point *is*; IF something happens to us after we die, I certainly don't believe that atheists or agnostics or different-kinds-of-superstitious people go to "Hell". In fact, I don't think it really matters *what* I believe on that front. Really, if anything happens after we die, I sincerely hope it is one of those things where you get a lot of answers, and get to hang out with all your dearest friends and family concurrently with them hanging out with/existing with all of *their* dearest friends and family, without having to worry about things like temporal travel.

Labels: atheism

Okay, I've missed something.

Today on the talk radio station, there was some ...uh... talk of "what would you say if Atheists bought advertising on billboards?"

I can only assume this has something to do with the now fairly-old news story about Atheists purchasing advertising space on city buses in the UK. Of course, Christians (and, I would suppose, Jews and Muslims and Hindus and any other religious group that believes in the existence of imaginary super-beings) got up in arms about the thing. Christians are always the most vociferous about this sort of thing in Western countries. And, unfortunately, if a Muslim says anything about anything in this environment, s/he is immediately branded as a terrorist or a hate-mongerer or worse. So let's just deal with the Christians.

As could be expected, the Roman Catholic church is pretty peevish about the idea that adverts on public transit might make people question their own Faith and belief systems; their own value systems, perhaps...maybe even so far as the bases for their understanding of morality. The Roman Catholic church and other Christian organisations have, of course, banded together to try to get these adverts removed. The point I want to make now is that the Commandment is "Thou shalt have no other Gods before Me", and not "Thou shalt not not have any God at all". Semantics are important.

IT's becoming an issue in Canada, I guess, because there are Central Canadians who are Very Concerned now that the campaign has come to Toronto. Folks in Ottawa are trying to have the adverts banned before they even get there. I should say off the bat that "Freedom OF Religion" is a Constitutionally-protected right. Freedom FROM Religion is not. That's an extremely important teeny little pronoun preposition. And it's a pronoun that needs to be included in our Constitution. Canadians should have the constitutionally-protected right to worship in whatever way they see fit, provided their worship does more good than harm. Canadians should also have the constitutionally-protected right to choose not to worship anything at all. Currently, we do not have that right.

Now, I also want to say something else.

Where are the Roman Catholic and other denominational protestors when there are adverts on buses that show women in various (degrading and/or offensive) stages of undress, promoting fornication and covetousness of neighbours' asses all over the place? Where are the Christians asking that all images of Jesus (and Mary, and anybody else with a fricken' halo-head) be removed from all billboards, bus ads, leaflets, greeting cards, dashboard buddies, lawn ornaments, keychains, shirts, bumper stickers, underpants, crucifixes, lunch boxes, running shoes, etc., etc., etc.,? Where are all the Christians refusing to go shopping on the Sabbath? Refusing to work and refusing to eat at restaurants? Any takers on that one? And let's just see how many Christians are willing to stand up and say "no, please don't show any advertising at all, not on my television, not on my buses, not in my newspaper, and certainly not on my radio, because advertising promotes covetousness. It makes you want those things you do not have. And if we only take as much as we need; if we only take *enough*, then there is more than enough for everyone in the world three times over." Where are those Christians?

You should be *pleased* that there are challenges to the way you worship and what you choose to believe. Because when people make *informed* choices, they tend to make life-long choices. Brainwashing Inundating children with your own particular brand of crazy only lasts as long as your children continue to use you as their primary and only source of information (and believe you me, the thought of my children being old enough to not ask me first kind of scares the shit out of me). If you teach them *why* you believe what you do, and let them make their own choices, you might be disappointed in the end, but you also might be pleasantly surprised. Regardless, if someone changes their opinion on their Faith based on an advert they see on a bus, chances are *really* good they weren't all that serious about it in the first place.

So lay off. Go and promote your (or our, for that matter) religious beliefs somewhere else. You have every right to kneel wherever you want (except in government buildings, unless you have special access privileges), whenever you want, and offer your supplications to whatever deity(/ies) you wish. That is your right. And while it is not yet a constitutionally-enshrined right for you or for your neighbour to choose not to bend a knee, you should, if you expect them to respect your Faith and your belief system, at least accept that they believe something different.

Your atheism isn't going to change my knowledge that God exists, and your disbelief (and, in some cases, open mockery) of my religious belief isn't going to change the way(s) in which I worship. Likewise, my belief in an invisible super-power isn't going to change your knowledge that there is no God. I'm okay with that. Spend all the money you want on bus ads. If my kids come to me and say "Mum, I saw on a bus today that God doesn't exist; WTF?", I will tell them, "Some people believe different things. I *know* God exists, and I know it is the truth. You have to find your own way to the truth. I'll help you if you'd like, and I'll try to help you without influencing your decision. But it has to be your decision."

Labels: atheism, bus ads, religion