Atheism and spirituality — are they incompatible? I say no. I say they are not at odds with each other in the least. Atheists reject the ridiculous concept of deities, and they reject also the codification of metaphysics into a static dogma which becomes impervious to science or which presumes to replace science. But atheists dont reject metaphysics itself. Atheists recognize there is much which science does not yet know or understand. And they recognize that science is not the only tool whereby to increase human knowledge. Logic, philosophy, intuition, and art are other tools we use to understand and interpret our world. For my part, I self-define as an agnostic-humanist. As such, I reject all god beliefs. I reject all religion. But what I dont reject is a humility in the face of the unknown. Indeed, it is not the atheist who presumes to have all the answers but rather the theist who does so. For whenever the theist encounters a mystery, he has an all-purpose answer ever at the ready — God. The atheist, in contrast, has no presumption of knowing everything and in fact celebrates science precisely for its willingness to shine a light on its own limits and on its errors in an effort to correct them. Can an atheist have a spiritual experience? Of course. Indeed, the spirituality of the atheist is invariably more credible because he has no preconception or expectation of such nor any agenda to retrofit a prepackaged religious doctrine on it. When you free yourself of the foolish belief in all-powerful deities, and when you set aside your holy books and their fossilized and primitive explanations of truth, you can then open your eyes for the first time to new ways of understanding. And you will be in for a most exciting ride.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 13:11:17 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015