tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480207999294007243.post147483832568515074..comments2024-03-28T04:18:16.323-04:00Comments on The Liberal Pulpit: Atheists, Agnostics, and Unitarian UniversalismRev. Meredith Garmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09600609816550758194noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480207999294007243.post-54817579492888257712014-06-13T12:40:20.586-04:002014-06-13T12:40:20.586-04:00I think perhaps naturalist is a more accurate word...I think perhaps naturalist is a more accurate word than atheist. Atheists believe in a universe that came into existence through natural processes, and that natural, scientifically understandable processes control it. But the word naturalist also applies to ecology, so the word itself may be unclear. <br /><br /><br /><br />I believe in the Mystery of all that is, from quirky quantum mechanics to dark energy, from the magic of DNA and consciousness to the possibility of the multiverse. If I believe in Mystery, does that make me Mysterious?? There really isn't a good word for it. It also is less a matter of "belief" than it is of nodding and acknowledging what is. <br /><br /><br />For all practical purposes, most conventional believers would plunk me into the atheist camp. It is an inadequate descriptor, but unambiguous.Rebecca James Heckingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480207999294007243.post-62213575027518171202014-06-13T11:24:31.854-04:002014-06-13T11:24:31.854-04:00You say: "My complaint is that 'atheism&#...You say: <i>"My complaint is that 'atheism' is not an answer to any question I’m interested in asking."</i> I think that's the most important piece of summary in here. Most of the time when people say "I'm an atheist," they're responding to a specific question, often "Do you believe in God?" If you're getting that response, that's probably how they're hearing your question. You can be an atheist and have other responses to other questions. To get those responses, ask the questions that you <i>do</i> want to hear the answer to -- "What will you do with your one wild a precious life?" I think then you'll get a different answer. If you ask me, "Do you believe in God?" I will tell you I'm agnostic about God. If you probe deeper, you'll find I I believe a whole lot of things about what God could be possible and what God isn't possible. And if you ask me, "What will you do with your one wild and precious life?" you'll hear a passionate response about love and justice and the arc of the universe, about building beloved community and caring for our earth.Cynthia Landrumnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480207999294007243.post-25374038998567040272014-06-13T10:09:09.497-04:002014-06-13T10:09:09.497-04:00What a lot of crucial ideas you pack into a short ...What a lot of crucial ideas you pack into a short piece, Meredith. Thanks.<br /><br />One way to think about agnosticism is as a declaration of something much like what you are saying: "'What can I know for sure?' is not the central question of my religious life, and one reason is that most traditional theological questions don't have answers that can be known for sure." They're the issues the Buddha identified as "questions tending not to edification," such as "what happens after we die?" Agnosticism also reigns in some questions that ARE very important, such as "What is the best thing to do in this moral dilemma facing me right now?" That's a vitally important question, but it also may not have one right answer, and keeping a little agnostic corner in one's mind is a guard against arrogance and rigidity.Amy Zucker Morgensternnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480207999294007243.post-89823003070904061722014-06-13T10:06:08.713-04:002014-06-13T10:06:08.713-04:00Meredith, I think my avowed atheist friends seem t...Meredith, I think my avowed atheist friends seem to get tripped up with nomenclature as much as anything else. Framing the "spiritual virtues" as you have ("inner <br />peace, equanimity, compassion, loving-kindness, joy, intuitive wisdom"), can cause an allergic reaction in them because spiritual-connotes-religious-connotes-oppressive-connotes-fundamentalists, and that's the end of the story for them. Oppressive religion—often from their childhoods—seems to have made it almost impossible to hear any new input, any new frame through which they might view spirituality. So all discussion of such matters is through the filter of their long-held vehemence. It's an unfortunate legacy of bad religion, though on the flip side, I do sometimes hear huge sighs of relief from people stepping into my UU congregation saying, "Oh my, I didn't know religion like this even existed."Andrew Hidashttp://www.andrewhidas.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7480207999294007243.post-84271072927547343692014-06-12T19:36:11.038-04:002014-06-12T19:36:11.038-04:00Found your post after someone complained of it. He...Found your post after someone complained of it. Here was my comment on Facebook.<br /><br />"For someone to identify positively as an atheist has always seemed a little weird to me simply from the standpoint that one shouldn't identify by the things that they aren't. That's the joke which Non-Stamp Collector is using in his YouTube channel.<br /><br />But then I read about Pierre's absence from the cafe (Sartre on existential absence). I'm pretty sure you've read his thoughts on this, but let me know otherwise. The thing is that it makes sense to be an atheist if everyone is expecting some kind of theism from you. While you also do not believe that the universe was created by the Queen of England, there is no expectation for you to believe that, so it makes no sense to identify with that disbelief. Identifying as an atheist is about responding to expectations, and that's certainly worthwhile."<br /><br /><br /><br />If you're not familiar with Sartre's example with Pierre, the idea is this: when you are waiting for your friend Pierre at a cafe, it is true that both Pierre and the Queen of England are not at the cafe, but only one of these facts concerns you. So one might compare this to atheism: atheism is a response to an expectation.Chrishttp://thediscerningchristian.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.com