Blasphemy Challenge / I Believe

I Believe

I believe in one natural reality, unmarred by supernatural randomness.

I believe that we are fully at home in this universe and not just passing through on our way to a better place.

I believe that there is so much wonder in the universe that expecting more is the basest ingratitude.

I believe that "meaning" is local.

I believe that we are fully caused beings with each choice we make being entirely determined by the person we are at that moment in time.

I believe that our thoughts are free, with no supernatural spy monitoring our minds for naughty urges.

I believe virtue comes from overcoming our baser impulses, not by failing to have those impulses in the first place.

I believe that without fear it is impossible to be brave.

I believe that even the most heinous criminal deserves our compassion, for given the same genetics and environment I surely would have made the same vile choices.

I believe that I never made a conscious choice to love my wife. Our individual genetics and all of the prior moments of our lives led inevitably to that outcome.

Likewise, I believe that my friend Marc had no choice but to love the man he eventually married.

I believe that understanding each other is more important than loving each other. Love without understanding can lead to hate but understanding will usually lead to compassion.

I believe that Man has naturally evolved to discern an Us/Them dichotomy but that we must learn to include all people in our "Us" group if we are to attain worldwide prosperity.

I believe that one of our greatest talents as a species is in finding patterns.

I believe we assign meaning to a great many patterns that have no actual meaning.

I believe that I have believed many things that were incorrect and I probably still do.

I believe that I have made my friends angry many times without being aware of it.

I believe I have gotten angry at my friends many times due to my own misinterpretation of their intent.

I believe that my children are more naturally intelligent and compassionate than I am.

I believe that my wife is very beautiful and I love that she doesn't believe that she is.

I believe that I will be no more aware of the moment after my death than I was of the moment before my conception.

I believe that events only have meaning if they have a terminus.

I believe that if I was offered eternal life that I would refuse.

I believe that our senses and emotions mislead us more often than we realize.

I believe that the scientific method is the best safeguard against our own common sense.

I believe we know far more now than we did 2000 years ago.

I believe that if we can detect a neutrino, we should be able to detect a soul if it exists.

I believe that most religions are simply the retelling of myths borrowed from older religions that incorporated the folklore of their predecessors. In losing the context, the story has become corrupt and troubling.

I believe that there can be no more vile idea conceived by Man than the concept of eternal torment.

I believe that seeing the world through a haze of mysticism causes us to miss the true splendor of reality.

Since I have no reason to believe in anything other than natural reality, I reject and deny any supernatural concepts that would enslave me including Allah, Vishnu, Krishna, Dionysus, Mithras, Yahweh, Yeshua and the Holy Spirit. I believe it is better to remain unassimilated.

Music by Amanda Bloom
http://www.myspace.com/themusicofamandabloom

To learn more about a naturalistic worldview visit:
http://naturalism.org/

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• rational
• response
• blasphemy
• challenge
• atheism
• christianity
• awesome
• god
• jesus
• atheist
• holy
• spirit
• genius
• logic
• science

[chichoguitar]

I THINK YOU ARE A VERY SMART HUMAN BUT I BELIEVE WE HAVE LINE WE WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO CROSS THAT IS THE ONE THAT OUR MIND DONT UNDERSTAND. I BELIEVE THERE IS SUPERIOR POWER THAT WE CANT UNDERSTAND ITS EXISTANCE ONLY IT WHO IS THE CREATOR OF EVERTHING KNOWS WHAT WE WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND BECAUSE OUR EXISTANCE IT SELF. MAYBE MY BELIEVE IS WRONG ONLY BECAUSE I BELIEVE ...LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF WHAT I THINK..

[unassimilated]

@chichoguitar I understand your belief because I used to share it. We are brought up to believe that "belief" is a virtue. When we are taught this and have it reinforced from childhood, it seems natural to just accept it uncritically. But then you divorce yourself from reason. On what basis do you decide that your "belief" is correct and Buddhism or Hinduism is false? All belief must have a foundation stronger than the prior belief of our ancestors. Otherwise the belief is built on sand.

[Jasper50]

You are a good person.  YOu have a good heart. I respect your belief. I am a believer in Jesus Christ as the Savior of my soul. It bothers me that good people will spend eternity apart from Jesus unless they put their faith in Christ Jesus. I think it is possible to find meaning in life but for me I find it difficult. If this life is all there is, what would it matter if one had a happy life or a life full of pain. When it all ends neither will be any better off. I have faith in Christ.

[unassimilated]

I understand your need for meaning. This definition of meaning has likely been taught to you since birth. For me, meaning is local in time-space. My life has meaning while I live it. That meaning can be positive for those I love and for the world, or it can be negative. Life is happier if our impact is positive and we have people who love us. I would not reduce the importance of this life by requiring a better life after this one. I believe that denigrates the present, giving this life less joy.

[Mordekai1]

Well thought out and presented. I like this speech :)

[Dwrancho144]

Almost everyone denies the power/existence of the Holy Spirit in there life, but denying the Holy Spirit is not the unforgivable sin at all !!! the unforgivable sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit....According to the bible this blasphemy has to do with someone witnessing Jesus Christ performing a miracle and then attribute that power to Satan instead of the Spirit. So an atheist can't even commit this sin because he/she doesn't even think satan or the Holy Spirit exist!!!

[SHADYSPAW2]

you seem like a smart man, god is nature life the universe real, i hope one day you hear him and feel his presence like i did, anyways i wish you luck and peace you seem honest. god is my friend. i hope one day you will be his.

[silenus212]

Thank you for posting this. You are a very wise person.

[unassimilated]

You are almost certainly correct. But we are already starting to see a bit of a backlash against fundamentalist evagelicalism. That movement was much less powerful 20 years ago. I hope it returns to a more benign state.

[photekxl]

I hate to be a cynical douche but religious institutions and many of its believers will ensure religion will never be seen as a "personal matter." Religions teach that it is the obligation of its believers to spread the word of their God to non-believers. Until people recognize religion for what it is: ancient mysticism concocted by desert tribal people with fabricated deities, and learn to treat it as only tradition, it will continue to be pervasive in our lives whether we like it or not