This is my first holiday season since coming out as a not-christian and non-religious person. It probably would have no impact on my impressions of the season if not for the fact that I have new friends and acquaintances online who are very openly atheist (and even anti-theist, as one woman likes to put it). So I find myself puzzling over the question of whether or not the use of the word "christmas" is a big deal.
On the one hand, let's admit it; this country may not be an explicitly christian country in legal wording, but in population and history it often may as well be. This is, in my opinion, rather unfortunate, but unavoidable nonetheless. I personally do not think it should continue to be one, but that isn't the debate I want to focus on right now. The real problem in the question of the use of the word christmas is that in a country that claims to offer its citizens freedom of religion there seems to be a very special preference for the judeo-christian brand of religion. Because obviously the history of christianity in this country is the reason that christmas is a federally recognized holiday.
On the other hand, though, there is no mandated religious expression associated with the celebration of the holiday. For the most part government buildings and institutions are still prohibited from showing a christian preference through nativity scenes or other depictions of Jesus, Mary, Joseph and company. In American christmas mostly means trees and lights, presents and food, family and time off of work (none of which are strictly religious observances; indeed, many of them have roots in paganism). So is it a problem to celebrate christmas? Is that somehow caving to some social pressure, to agree to call our American holiday by a name rooted in religion (Christ-mass; take that protestants!).
Perhaps I'm just too much of a chicken to touch this fight, or perhaps it's because christmas has always been a secularized holiday to me, but I really see no reason to mess with it. I mean, if people really want to be P.C. about the names of everything, we might want to rename the vagina too. After all, the word basically means sheath, which is kind of a degrading name for a woman's genitalia (especially non-hetero females). One could come up with a nearly-endless list of names that ought to be changed because of their history at some point or another. So, perhaps a better solution would be to continue to change the meaning of the words through our practice than to try to force everyone to use different words. At the least, it seems like a good choice in the interim between now and whenever it would be possible to institute a wide-range use of whatever new word one had in mind.
So on that note, merry christmas, happy hanukkah, have a good kwanza, a great new year, happy solstice, merry whatever-holiday-you-celebrate, and just a great happy holiday season.
Showing posts with label atheist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label atheist. Show all posts
Friday, December 30, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
In Preparation (Atheism Pt. 1)
Yes, I anticipate several intense and long conversations in the next week or so (probably longer). While I feel certain that these debates (discussions? conversations?) will maintain an amicable and friendly tone (because I know my Dad and I can tell his passionate/excited voice from his mad/personal voice) I still would like to be prepared for some of the questions we will be discussing. While I have done and intend to continue to do research on the subject of atheism v. theism, I find it helpful to write down (or type out) my thoughts before hand to sort things out into neater categories in my head. So here goes (this may turn into multiple posts, FYI).
First, the question of whether atheism is just another religion. Man, I could probably do a whole blog just on this subject. Well, to begin with, it is very hard--nearly impossible--to sum up the beliefs of a demographic of people who believe widely differently from each other. And I certainly do not claim my opinions to be indicative of the entire group. With that digression aside, we plunge ahead.
Also, sorry if I sound like I'm from another century. I grew up on Dickens, Austen, Bronte, Doyle, etc, and I just can't help myself sometimes.
Ahem. Atheism is really only a belief when viewed through the lenses of those who are not atheists. It's kind of insulting to tell atheists that they just have a different set of beliefs or follow a different cult or religion because to atheists, that simply isn't true. Atheism is about not believing for most atheists. This is really hard for people who believe in any sort of religion to understand, because to them if god is real than not believing in god is an active belief choice. To atheists, this is like saying not believing in santa, the tooth fairy, or the smurfs is an active choice and belief. To atheists, this is simply facing the facts of life; nothing more and nothing less. To an atheist not believing in god is like believing in germs, atoms, canine biology, and the fact that the rent is due next week.
Now, part of the problem with this is that atheists are labeled by what they don't believe. This does present an awkward problem, as it gives the idea that atheists are all about what they don't believe (which, as any of the many christian denominations can tell you, quickly becomes a religious-type belief). And the argument can be made that some atheists--and certainly some of the most visible and vocal of them--do tend to define themselves by their disbelief and make it their mission to "de-convert" as many people as possible. Of course, even this, from an atheist perspective, is not a religious thing, but a saving-the-world-from-the-horrors-of-religion thing. But, to be fair, it can look very much like evangelical atheism. But to get back to the main point, why are atheists labeled by what they don't believe, and is this non-belief a central non-belief for most atheists?
According to Wikipedia's page on atheism (I know, I know, wiki-haters are bashing their keyboards right now) the word originated as a pejorative term (read, insult) to those who did not worship the gods every one else did. In fact (still according to Wikipedia) no one really referred to themselves as atheists until the 18th century (1700s, for those who get confused). And, it isn't hard to believe that back in history when everyone believed in and worshipped some kind of god, that atheism would be used as an insult (think godless, godlessness, paganism, heathenism; all insults at one time or another). And, if one continues to read the etymology section on atheism at Wikipedia, one will discover that some atheists feel that the word atheism isn't even necessary. So, arguably, the only reason we need the word or use it (for now) is because people who do not believe in the existence of god or gods are so rare and many or most religious followers feel a need to classify them somehow into an other.
The idea that atheism doesn't need a name makes perfect sense from an atheistic perspective. After all, to an atheist, we are born with no notion of god, and it is only as we are raised in a religious environment that we begin to have some concept of a divine being existing. Arguably, though, from an atheistic perspective, this adoption of religion is a disturbance of the natural state of non-belief. It's a bit like not believing in the existence of the evil overlord Fwim and his minions of urglems that rule the moon and are planning on taking over our planet in the year 2309 (and I apologize if I've accidentally referenced some scientology or new-age belief; I was trying to make something up). One simply isn't born believing or disbelieving in something that does not exist, so it makes more sense to make a name for those who believe in imaginary things than for those who don't believe in imaginary things.
Now, naturally in a world mostly populated by people who are religious or spiritual to some degree, it is impossible that this lack of faith or belief could go unnamed. Impossible. And this can put atheists in an awkward spot. To call one's self an atheist is to bow down to the ruling ideology that not-believing is "weird" "different" and often inferior in morals, attitudes, behaviors, and of course numbers. It is admitting to being a minority in a world and a country where minorities do not receive the warmest of welcomes. But, on the other hand, in a world and especially a country that values individuality, the self, beliefs, and values (yes, even the religious tend to value these things to one degree or another) it feels false not to stand up and identify as not being mainstream.
In other words, the point of identifying as atheist isn't to say that the most important thing in the world is that god continues not to exist. The point is to refuse pressure to conform, to fit in, or even just to stay silent. The point is to speak one's opinion on a subject where individual non-conformist opinions are not very welcome. The point is to say, "that may be the most important thing in the world to you, but that doesn't mean I have to agree." The point is freedom to live however one wants to live as whomever one wants to live as. And, for many, the point is to live as one's self in an authentic way that can hopefully lead to finally finding community that understands (rather than having to live one's entire life in a community where all one has to offer is dumb silence and dull nods).
So, while I'm sure many--if not most--atheists would be up for a re-branding (or un-branding) for now I think that the term is heavily affixed in our culture and the best thing we can do is remember that no matter what a person believes, that person is still first and foremost a fellow human being. Have a marvelous day, fellow persons!
P.S. Thank you to http://en.wikipedia.org for being an excellent source of quick knowledge any time I need you. BFFs! ;)
First, the question of whether atheism is just another religion. Man, I could probably do a whole blog just on this subject. Well, to begin with, it is very hard--nearly impossible--to sum up the beliefs of a demographic of people who believe widely differently from each other. And I certainly do not claim my opinions to be indicative of the entire group. With that digression aside, we plunge ahead.
Also, sorry if I sound like I'm from another century. I grew up on Dickens, Austen, Bronte, Doyle, etc, and I just can't help myself sometimes.
Ahem. Atheism is really only a belief when viewed through the lenses of those who are not atheists. It's kind of insulting to tell atheists that they just have a different set of beliefs or follow a different cult or religion because to atheists, that simply isn't true. Atheism is about not believing for most atheists. This is really hard for people who believe in any sort of religion to understand, because to them if god is real than not believing in god is an active belief choice. To atheists, this is like saying not believing in santa, the tooth fairy, or the smurfs is an active choice and belief. To atheists, this is simply facing the facts of life; nothing more and nothing less. To an atheist not believing in god is like believing in germs, atoms, canine biology, and the fact that the rent is due next week.
Now, part of the problem with this is that atheists are labeled by what they don't believe. This does present an awkward problem, as it gives the idea that atheists are all about what they don't believe (which, as any of the many christian denominations can tell you, quickly becomes a religious-type belief). And the argument can be made that some atheists--and certainly some of the most visible and vocal of them--do tend to define themselves by their disbelief and make it their mission to "de-convert" as many people as possible. Of course, even this, from an atheist perspective, is not a religious thing, but a saving-the-world-from-the-horrors-of-religion thing. But, to be fair, it can look very much like evangelical atheism. But to get back to the main point, why are atheists labeled by what they don't believe, and is this non-belief a central non-belief for most atheists?
According to Wikipedia's page on atheism (I know, I know, wiki-haters are bashing their keyboards right now) the word originated as a pejorative term (read, insult) to those who did not worship the gods every one else did. In fact (still according to Wikipedia) no one really referred to themselves as atheists until the 18th century (1700s, for those who get confused). And, it isn't hard to believe that back in history when everyone believed in and worshipped some kind of god, that atheism would be used as an insult (think godless, godlessness, paganism, heathenism; all insults at one time or another). And, if one continues to read the etymology section on atheism at Wikipedia, one will discover that some atheists feel that the word atheism isn't even necessary. So, arguably, the only reason we need the word or use it (for now) is because people who do not believe in the existence of god or gods are so rare and many or most religious followers feel a need to classify them somehow into an other.
The idea that atheism doesn't need a name makes perfect sense from an atheistic perspective. After all, to an atheist, we are born with no notion of god, and it is only as we are raised in a religious environment that we begin to have some concept of a divine being existing. Arguably, though, from an atheistic perspective, this adoption of religion is a disturbance of the natural state of non-belief. It's a bit like not believing in the existence of the evil overlord Fwim and his minions of urglems that rule the moon and are planning on taking over our planet in the year 2309 (and I apologize if I've accidentally referenced some scientology or new-age belief; I was trying to make something up). One simply isn't born believing or disbelieving in something that does not exist, so it makes more sense to make a name for those who believe in imaginary things than for those who don't believe in imaginary things.
Now, naturally in a world mostly populated by people who are religious or spiritual to some degree, it is impossible that this lack of faith or belief could go unnamed. Impossible. And this can put atheists in an awkward spot. To call one's self an atheist is to bow down to the ruling ideology that not-believing is "weird" "different" and often inferior in morals, attitudes, behaviors, and of course numbers. It is admitting to being a minority in a world and a country where minorities do not receive the warmest of welcomes. But, on the other hand, in a world and especially a country that values individuality, the self, beliefs, and values (yes, even the religious tend to value these things to one degree or another) it feels false not to stand up and identify as not being mainstream.
In other words, the point of identifying as atheist isn't to say that the most important thing in the world is that god continues not to exist. The point is to refuse pressure to conform, to fit in, or even just to stay silent. The point is to speak one's opinion on a subject where individual non-conformist opinions are not very welcome. The point is to say, "that may be the most important thing in the world to you, but that doesn't mean I have to agree." The point is freedom to live however one wants to live as whomever one wants to live as. And, for many, the point is to live as one's self in an authentic way that can hopefully lead to finally finding community that understands (rather than having to live one's entire life in a community where all one has to offer is dumb silence and dull nods).
So, while I'm sure many--if not most--atheists would be up for a re-branding (or un-branding) for now I think that the term is heavily affixed in our culture and the best thing we can do is remember that no matter what a person believes, that person is still first and foremost a fellow human being. Have a marvelous day, fellow persons!
P.S. Thank you to http://en.wikipedia.org for being an excellent source of quick knowledge any time I need you. BFFs! ;)
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
What's Wrong With the Christian Religion
I would like to just some up, partially for myself, the major flaws within the christian religion. I will be specifically relating to the ways that religion creates dysfunction in its members. So, here goes.
1. Sexual dysfunction. This is largely reinforced by the "virgin worship" that protestants like to accuse catholics of, but really are just as guilty of themselves. No, really, I don't even know how much I need to argue about this one, because we all know how christians feel about those little whores with their birth control, abortions, and live-in boyfriends. The real problem, though, is that this leads to an idea that all sex is bad, and even though marital sex is obviously encouraged for reproduction, it can lead to less enjoyment (and yes, I do know plenty of christians for whom this is true, if you would like some sort of citation here). While I, myself, managed to escape feeling this way about my sex life, per se, that was only because I was prettty much outside of christianity by the time I married. Yes, I did wait until I got married. But I certainly felt a lot of shame and guilt for my pre-marital sexual desires and self-exploration/pleasuring. (Now might be a good time to mention to the sexually-prudish that they may want to stop reading my blog entirely; no, seriously). And let's not even get started on homophobia. Seriously, people.
2. Family dysfunction. Okay, I know everyone has dysfunctional families to some degree, but let's be honest; a system that encourages that one person in a group have all of the power and leaves the rest disenfranchised generally does not work well. On a larger scale we call it dictatorship (and I don't know why we don't call it that on a smaller scale to). Even in the most benevolent christian families (and yes, I know some) it just leads to buildups of resentment in the hearts of the ruled because no one can stand up to the dictator. And if the dictator is human (which I'm pretty sure most fathers are) they are bound to mess up sooner or later. Probably with some regularity. And when no one can tell them that they have, several things happen: 1, the wrong never gets corrected; 2, the leader never learns from his or her mistakes; and 3, anger and resentment tends to build up and also never get dealt with. I mean, come on people! Women and children are people too!
3. Intellectual dysfunction. I can't even tell you how many debates I have had that seem to fizzle out right about the time certain phrases or quotes are introduced into the debate. They include some of the following; "god's ways aren't our ways," "god wants us to have faith," "our minds are too small to understand god," "god doesn't want us to know/we're not meant to understand." I mean, really, if god didn't want me to know/understand/demand intellectual integrity in my beliefs then why the hell do I have such burning curiosity and intelligence that demand answers? Why would god create a universe with questions and creativity if god didn't like them or had no intention of answering them? The only way that I ever managed to have faith and intelligence simultaneously was by keeping the two of them far apart. Otherwise they would start fighting and my intelligence would get the upper hand and then I would have to put her in time-out for a while until she calmed down and my faith had time to heal her bruises from the quarrel. In other words? It didn't work out too well.
4. Emotional dysfunction. Oy. There are so many illustrations of this, including the aforementioned sexual dysfunction. Feelings of shame, guilt, fear, and lonliness are so fucking pervasive. Wanna hear something really special? When I was a kid I used to feel guilty for not feeling guilty enough about my sins. True story. I never felt as much need to repent, to pray to god for my sins and apologize, and I used to feel guilty thinking that that made me extra prideful or something. Bear in mind, I was a really fucking well-behaved kid. Oldest of six, got nearly all A's through school, almost never fought with my siblings (except when they were breaking the rules), I helped around the house, babysat, and I was the most religious of all my siblings. In many ways I was the standard my siblings were held up to (which I, and I think my parents, regret). Then of course there was the worry, because everything that happened was somehow part of god's plan and we had to figure out what god wanted us to learn or do in that situation. Outside on a beautiful day? Time to contemplate god's beauty. Driving through the rain? Time to pray for god's providence and learn to trust god. Late for work? God wants you to learn patience (ha ha). Friend betray you? Probably means god wants you to trust that god will always be there for you and protect you, or maybe god's convicting you of betraying the christian cause and not being enough of a "Jesus freak." This obsession/compulsion to always attribute god to everything that happened in life made it impossible to actually enjoy most moments because I always needed to know exactly what I was supposed to be enjoying, or I should be enjoying it as much as humanly possible because it's god's gift to me. After all, if I don't enjoy this sunset enough then I'm not grateful enough to god so I'm going to spend the next thirty minutes trying to work myself up to enjoying it as much as possible! And now that I've worked myself up to an emotional frenzy...the sun is already down. You see what I mean? Then there's all the worry about the afterlife, what it's going to be like, what if my friends and family don't make it in, etc.
Have to go to work now, but I hope this gives you a general idea of why I was so fucking happy to officially declare on facebook that I am not christian!!!
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Coming Out (of the Proverbial Closet)
Yes. It happened today. I know it's a pretty small step, considering the relatively minuscule e-footprint that I have, but I needed to do it anyway. For me. So I took a deep breath, clicked the keys, and hit enter.
I am not a Christian.
I think my twitter peeps already know (how could they not?) but then I have always been very selective about how I follow (and consequently allow to find me) on twitter. I don't want to be known by my facebook friends on twitter. They're all Christian. I don't want to have to defend every other tweet I send out into the twit-o-sphere.
But I digress. I tweeted it, and as of this writing I've had one 'like' and one kindly worded message inquiring further into my brief status update. I really want to have the conversation, to get it all out there with many of my Christian friends and relatives, but it seems like the more and more I try to put myself out there the less people pay attention to me. Perhaps the worst thing that can happen after coming out of the a-religious closet is not confrontation, but abandonment.
I'll update more if I do get any more conversation from this status update (well, if it's interesting anyway).
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