I have come, after much thought, to the realization that there is (for me at least) a fundamental flaw in the atheist-theist debates that rage on Wondercafe and elsewhere. The problem, as I see it, is that both positions, especially in the extreme forms that tend to start and get involved in these debates, are based on an old-fashioned notion that one's faith is binary: one either believes in God or doesn't. In computer interface terms, it's a checkbox labelled "God" that you click or you don't.
I had hope that I would, somehow, deepen a faith I was raised in and nurtured myself for many years. After a period of searching other faith traditions, a deep disillusionment with Christianity, I returned again about 8 or 9 years ago, this time with a different openness and far less literalist interpretation of the traditional teachings. I was never a literalist or a fundamentalist (except as a child raised in the Roman Catholic Church). Over the past 8 or 9 years, I struggled mightily to find a way to believe.
I'd like to talk about aethiesm and spirituality and life after death.
Right now, today, I feel a bit lost. I tried to connect to athiests in my area, but they didn't have the same values as me. I still believe in respecting my elders, helping the less fortunate, etc. I just don't believe that I owe this service to a higher being. It would be a lot easier if I did believe. I wish I could. Maybe you can help me?
I have found myself wondering if there is any point in actually trying to discuss faith and religion with atheists and anti-theists. I'm not talking about trying to convert them or convince them to believe - I am an Agnostic, not a believer myself. I'm talking about actually having a conversation with an atheist about their ideas about religion which they share here.
"I don't believe in Santa Claus," she said in a voice loud enough for every child within 15 feet to hear. "My parents put the presents in the stocking."
I found this article in Psychology Today magazine, and it resonated with me on a very visceral level, as I was in training for the ministry in back when I decided to leave Christianity behind me.
[quote]
An Atheist in the Pulpit
Public identity and private belief are never more at odds than when a preacher loses his faith.
