I am a confirmed and happy atheist; I make no secret of this. For all my thirty-ahem-nine and a bit years, I have never felt the presence of a deity within or without me. Logic tells me that the existence of any sort of higher being is simply not possible - my take on life tells me that such a supernatural caretaker is unnecessary.
While I accept that personal faith is often beneficial for believers, I have a strong dislike of organised religion and how it is used for subjugation, how it used to find excuses to turn people against one another, to be downright fucking nasty. Conversely, many people with faith take great comfort from their beliefs, they use their scriptures for guidance on how to behave in a way that makes them living examples of their gospel.
Good behaviour, citizenship, morals, ethics, philanthropy are not the exclusive realm of the religious though and humanists take the world view that all are treated equally and with respect, irrespective of belief. They believe in the good stewardship of the planet, based on rational thought and reason, and that.
So, if you take a humanist like me (I guess, if you're really bothered with labels) and a Christian like my girlfriend, you might expect there to be potential for conflict. I guess I'm lucky, I've got one of the good ones who has a pragmatic relationship with the scriptures, one who has the intellectual ability to see past her preacher's sometime literal interpretations of the bible. She lives her life according to Christian deeds, rather than words. And hallelujah for that. We don't talk about the things we know to be contentious (evolution is out of the question, well, creationism is) and we get along with it. I have absolute respect for her and her faith, she has respect for my lack of any and would never try to pressure me into believing.
We were having a discussion the other week and asked her if she'd prefer it if I was a Christian and she answered, "I only wish you could feel what I feel when I worship."
"But how do you know I don't feel that anyway? There are times when I'm out and about, or I read something, or see something, or hear some music, and it fills me with wonder and I get a great deal of energy from it. Honking geese, for example!"
"Yes, I know that, but this is something that completely fills you, something tremendous."
"What, like the first time I heard you tell me you loved me?"
"No, like the first time you thought you heard me to tell you I love you."
Power to the people
We have a new government with a Mega Prime Minister, it's exciting. The country is in a mess and the next few years are going to be rubbish no matter who is in charge, but a coalition of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats might be just what we need. I'd describe myself as a liberal Conservative, so I'm actually quite delighted with what's happened. If the Conservatives manage to get rid of a load of right winged fruitcake bigots, then this could be the best thing that's happened for generations.
I'm definitely one for doing everything possible to help the vulnerable, to providing opportunities for those less well-off, for building real aspirations to allow folk to move out of poverty, but when it comes to certain things, certain people, I have no patience. Lazy slobs who for generations have lived on welfare need a good kick up the arse, no excuses: you're offered a job, take it or lose your benefits. I don't think I'm alone in this either. Out for a meal with my other half and a couple of her friends, the topic came up for discussion, along with a number of things relating to what the new government might do. We were also talking about environmental issues, how many people cycling it takes to power an average home in the UK, that sort of thing. In combination with a cocktail and a few glasses of red wine, my beautiful, benevolent, caring, Christian girlfriend made this statement: "They should be made to get off their lazy, fat arses and take what ever job's offered to them. I'd make a load of new power stations with lots of bikes in and get the bastards to cycle to produce energy - this carries so many benefits. And if they refuse to do this, we should fuckin' burn them!".
No matter where you go
...Asda is horrible. Up there with Asda Hume in terms of taking the prize for supermarket scum is Asda Bolton, which I discovered today. In fact, I've discovered that every supermarket in Bolton is patronised by the most hideous people, even the Sainsbury's there leaves me feeling dirty.
I'm off to write to our new Energy Secretary with my idea to build a Super reactor in the heart of Bolton.
3 comments:
Why would there be conflict just because one person is a Humanist and the other a Christian? Surely they should balance/complement each other?
As I see it, one has beliefs from within - a view of life, the past and the future based on what we have, have nourished and project. The other surely shares those very same beliefs with a little added reassurance from some kind of deity? The complications occur, as you say, when 'organisation' becomes involved- whereby it's those beliefs are used in ways probably not conducive to the general good, or at least the good of those that don't follow the same 'belief'.
I have friends of all beliefs - Christian, Muslim, Jehovah - and they have all been wonderful. Religion CAN be a wonderful thing - for those that choose to need some kind of backup from somewhere. The problems only occur when it's twisted by those with a desire not for good but for control. Unsurprisingly, it's waaaay too easy to brainwash those with a 'need/faith'.
Me? I love and accept everyone, whatever our differences. The crucial difference is that I acknowledge and accept whether I understand or not.
I'm also a humanist. I used to think I was just agnostic, but as I've matured (shocking thought), I've come to realise that I do indeed have a humanist outlook on life.
On one of your other points... I've a good feeling about the Con/Lib coalition.
This post was sponsored by The British Humanist Association and Red Sky Anglesey Sea Salt and Cider Vinegar crisps.
Why is my dog barking?
It's a shame that religions tend to attract people who are less able to discern that their leaders are sometimes peddling their own agenda, rather than helping followers interpret the scriptures in ways that are useful to them. This traps the poor and uneducated; as was seen in the Christian world before the enlightenment - it's still seen in many parts of the developing world (Bolton, for example) where people are poorly educated.
I have a good feeling about the coalition too. I think the only people who are being negative about it are the political tribalists on all sides and the press - because failure, or signs of cracks, sells newspapers. It's just a shame that they've inherited the country after Labour's scorched earth policy. It's going to be really tricky and I'd like to see what could be achieved if the economy was in a fit state to allow proper investment and long-term planning. as it is, all they're going to be able to do is try to start turning things round.
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