on atheism (part 2) from guest author sal paradise

here is part 2 of "on atheism" from my friend, sal paradise. once again, he has stated his case in an articulate and compelling manner.

reason v. faith: that seems to be the issue. i will say that, for me personally, i recognize that there is no rational argument that supports the existence of god. that's why i hope to someday recapture my faith.

there was a time that i was so convinced in the existence of god that, whenever anyone told me they didn't believe in god, i didn't believe them. i believed the non-believer was simply denying god, either because they had been hurt in some way or were angry at god. belief in god was so fundamental to me that i could not accept that anyone could exist without an inner awareness of his presence. now i'm on the other side. hmmm...

btw, i will be happy to devote equal blog space to any writer who would like to submit an article arguing for the existence of god.

anyhoo, read, enjoy, think, respond.

On Atheism: Part II
by Sal Paradise
Daydream Nation

Chapter four of Richard Dawkins' brilliant book the God Delusion is titled "Why There Almost Certainly is No God".

As I stated in the Part One of this essay, what it is that really gets me about that statement by Dawkins is the inclusion of the word "almost".

Atheism is nothing more than a declaration to remain within the boundaries of reason.

There is a vast difference between the statement, "there certainly is no god" and the statement, "there almost certainly is no god".

That single word, "almost", is instrumental in illustrating the ways in which an atheist thinks, and is quite powerful in its context. It represents the line that is drawn between reason and absurdity, in that it is indeed absurd for anyone to claim that there "certainly is no god". It's also absurd to claim that there "certainly is a god".

No one knows with complete certainty whether or not there is any sort of god. Neither the most devout clergyman nor the most ardent atheist could make such a claim within the boundaries of reason.

Reason and absurdity.

Atheism and faith.

There are those that believe completely in the existence of dragons. Though they have never actually seen a dragon, believing in them fulfills some kind of emotional void...they cling to their belief in dragons without blinking, without questioning and without a shadow of a doubt, so help them Smaug.

Why? Well, perhaps as children they were enchanted by the idea of dragons...perhaps they read a book or a heard a story told to them in which dragons were presented as such amazing, fantastic creatures that they were sold one hundred percent on the concept. Perhaps the idea of dragons brought to them such dramatic splendor, such a thrill and wonder that the impact the event had on their susceptible, fragile and easily manipulated little minds was nothing short of tremendous, and therefore the idea that dragons may not exist would to them be devastating and heartbreaking, even into their adulthood.

There are also those that don't necessarily believe in dragons, but consider the jury to be still out on the matter. They, just as the dragon faithful, have seen no evidence one way or the other as to whether or not they actually exist. Maybe these individuals, too, were enchanted by the idea of dragons as children. Maybe they had read the Hobbit or played a role playing game of some kind; but as they grew older, alas! their faith in the existence of dragons was shaken. They consider the existence of dragons to be quite possible, and may think to themselves, "how nice it would be if they were really out there somewhere", but for the most part they reside atop a fence of faith regarding the existence of dragons, waiting for the winds of whatever it may be to cast them onto one side of that fence or the other.

Then there are those that don't really ever consider the existence of dragons at all. While even these individuals may have had an extraordinary experience as children in regard to dragons, they just don't really think about dragons at all anymore. While they, too, just as everyone else, have never seen a shred of actual evidence indicating that dragons may exist, this type of person considers it to be a complete waste of time in general to even consider the matter. They know that in all likelihood, dragons almost certainly do not exist...and the question of the existence of dragons is not ever going to impact their lives in any way. To them, their time is better spent thinking about things that verifiably exist within the observable, living world around them.

Now, those in this latter category, when pressed with the question, "do dragons exist?", what you will likely receive as an answer is the following:

"Dragons almost certainly do not exist."

Let's stay on the topic of dragons, here...

Let's pretend for a moment that someone has given to me their newborn infant to care for for the rest of its life for the sole purpose of conducting an experiment..

Let's pretend that I immediately begin to rear this infant to believe in the existence of dragons. I center it's life around...let's call it "Dragonism"...and bestow upon this infant a structured and dynamic belief system featuring an endless string of dramatic, scary and wonderful stories about "the Great Dragon". The Great Dragon is everywhere. The Great Dragon watches over you. The Great Dragon made all of us and created the world from its fiery breath. The Great Dragon loves you and watches over you. The Great Dragon punishes those that don't believe in the Great Dragon. The Great Dragon will cast you into the Dungeon of Suffering if you have not devoted your life to the service of the Great Dragon.

I think that there's a pretty good chance that said infant is going to reach puberty and early adulthood with a rock solid belief in Dragonism.

This is especially likely if as much as possible I decide to isolate the child in an environment in which he or she is exposed to "non-Dragonists" as little as possible. After all, exposing the child to the unfaithful may influence them to become Dragon-less heathens...which of course would be tragic, right?

Yes, I think my audience gets my point.

There's no difference between god and dragons. There are those that believe faithfully in "god", and there are those that believe faithfully in "the Great Dragon".

Both are equally absurd.

As an atheist, when considering the world around me and how or why it exists, I simply place both the idea of god and dragons, jesus and outer-space teacups, yahweh and jim jones, mohammed and the flying spaghetti monster, ganesh and the magic toaster all on equal footing with regard to the possibility of their actual existence and relevance to the living, observable and verifiable world around me:

Each of them almost certainly do not exist.

Part III to come...

daydream nation is here