On the other hand...!

Must let grammar book and exfac lie on table a little longer! Read Ole's blog and was drawn to the topic of atheism vs. (other) religions. I had the intention of writing about this topic earlier, actually, but never got that far. So to save him some space on his comments page, I'm gonna post my comment here. :-)

(To all of my atheist friends; this is not meant to be insulting to you as individuals. I fully respect your views - though I might not exactly understand it as much... Ergo, take this statement with a pinch of salt! I still care about you guys!!! :-D)

Personally I believe the idea of atheism is at least a belief and not a religion (based on the stereotypical idea of atheism), though there is/are no god(s) involved at all. I don't think of it as an "authentic" religion, though; to me it doesn't seem right. The way I classify religions is that the members of a particular such have to believe in some almighty and creative being. Mind you, this is by no means the definition. If atheism is a religion where none of the self-confessed members believe in anything makes it kind of self-contradictory (or to put it in slightly more literary terms - a paradox). It kinda defeats the purpose. I can't explain it entirely, but this is what I think.

Atheism to me is kind of like taking the easy way out when it comes to philosophizing over our own existence. It's as if they can't be bothered even thinking about a greater force of life. It's almost like saying that what you see around you is basically all that you'll get. Nothing else. I call it whimpy. I would almost go as far as to call it arrogant myself. Declaring to the world that you are an atheist is almost like saying that there is no meaning to life at all. I don't understand that. I don't get how someone can go on with their lives with that kind of attitude to life. It's as if they're simply saying that the situation is hopeless; as if we're the most intelligent beings in the universe (and whatever must be beyond that). That there is no force that has created it all. That the atoms and electrons of the elements (cf. Periodic Table) suddenly combined together during the Big Bang and suddenly created the things we see today after a couple of billion years. Just like that.

It couldn't have been that way. Neither can it be! It just can't!!! Something in my mind and soul just says that that is wrong!!! Maybe it's just because I'm Catholic. I don't know. But it doesn't add up in my mind!

Though I've got a few atheist friends - whom I respect entirely for their views - deep inside I just can't seem to get around that they don't believe in such a force at all. I stand completely bewildered on that point. It just doesn't make sense! Something must have created the world. Something must have created the universe and all of the galaxies. They couldn't just have created themselves!!! Something more powerful and more almighty than us must have triggered this to happen. I personally know who that is. Others might have slightly different ideas, but it all comes down to that same force.

Subjects such as these make me so frustrated. I have tolerance for agnostics and other monotheistic and even polytheistic faiths in the world, but I don't have much left for atheists. Even though I respect them as individuals (which is a completely different thing!), I can't get around the idea that they're thinking that our lives have no meaning at all - simply by proclaiming to the whole world that there is no God. That there is no such thing as a creative force in the universe. It's like saying: "Oh yeah, we're so clever we created ourselves." Statements such as that really pierce straight through my heart. (Poetic and ever-so-slightly corny, but true.) It's almost on the verge of being insulting, even.

It might also be that people declare themselves for being atheists just to provoke and get themselves some attention, even though they don't really believe what they're saying themselves. Perhaps this reason is not as plausible as the others mentioned, but it is possible. Being religious nowadays is "embarrassing", after all. Believing in God/Allah, or even Krishna, Vishnu and the other Hindu gods is simply ridiculous. Why would you bother yourself thinking about this when there's more "important" things to think about? More earthly and materialistic things, for instance?

Why indeed.

I believe people have a subconscious need to turn to this force in one way or another. Man has a need to think outside the box, if you will, and contemplate on this non-physical and "objectless" force. Atheists are in denial of this force's existence and choose to ignore this need in order to live a "simpler" life. The thing is that life isn't simple. It never was, nor will it ever be. It isn't possible to gloss over the more complex aspects of life and pretend you don't see it. We all see it.

May the Force be with you,
Elise

Ps.: Hope no one got offended by this rambling. I know I won't be able to win a discussion on this when faced with such questions... (I never do, as with all other topics... *sigh*) Still, I can't rest until it's been said.