poincicco

[quote=Vinterland;27316]Vinterland, you seem to be saying here what I just took far too many words to say in my last post. Thanks! Poincicco

poincicco

I'm probably breaking some copyright laws here, but I'll risk it. I wanted to share with you all a refreshing little article I enjoyed this morning. It's by Penn Jillette and comes from the book, "The Portable Atheist." It's somewhat germane to this atheist/agnostic thread we've been running here.

Geez, I hope I don't go to jail for this!!!

Poincicco

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Together with his sidekick Teller and his comrade James Randi, Penn Jillette can discredit any levitating or spoon-bending guru, restage any "miracle," expose any cruel exploitation by any "faith-healer," and shame any water-diviner, astrologer, card-reader, or spiritualist. In the grand tradition of Harry Houdini, Penn puts his own powers at the service of the rational and the humane.

I believe that there is no God. I'm beyond atheism. Atheism is not believing in God. Not believing in God is easy--you can't prove a negative, so there's no work to do. You can't prove that there isn't an elephant inside the trunk of my car. You sure? How about now? Maybe he was just hiding before. Check again. Did I mention that my personal heartfelt definition of the word "elephant" includes mystery, order, goodness, love, and a spare tire?
So, anyone with a love for truth outside of herself has to start with no belief in God and then look for evidence of God. She needs to search for some objective evidence of a supernatural power. All the people I write e-mails to often are still stuck at this searching stage. The atheism part is easy.
But, this "This I Believe" thing seems to demand something more personal, some leap of faith that helps one see life's big picture, some rules to live by. So, I'm saying, "This I believe: I believe there is no God."
Having taken that step, it informs every moment of my life. I'm not greedy. I have love, blue skies, rainbows, and Hallmark cards, and that has to be enough. It has to be enough, but it's everything in the world, and everything in the world is plenty for me. It seems just rude to beg the invisible for more. Just the love of my family that raised me and the family I'm raising now is enough that I don't need heaven. I won the huge genetic lottery and I get joy every day.
Believing there's no God means I can't really be forgiven except by kindness and faulty memories. That's good; it makes me want to be more thoughtful. I have to try to treat people right the first time around.
Believing there's no God stops me from being solipsistic. I can read ideas from all different people from all different cultures. Without God, we can agree on reality, and I can keep learning where I'm wrong. We can all keep adjusting so we can really communicate. I don't travel in circles where people say, "I have faith, I believe this in my heart and nothing you can say or do can shake my faith." That's just a longwinded religious way to say, "shut up," or another two words that the FCC likes less. But all obscenity is less insulting than, "How I was brought up and my imaginary friend means more to me than anything you can ever say or do." So, believing there is no God lets me be proven wrong and that's always fun. It means I'm learning something.
Believing there is no God means the suffering I've seen in my family, and indeed all the suffering in the world, isn't caused by an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent force that isn't bothered to help or is just testing us, but rather something we all may be able to help others with in the future. No God means the possibility of less suffering in the future.
Believing there is no God gives me more room for belief in family, people, love, truth, beauty, sex, Jell-O, and all the other things I can prove and that make this life the best life I will ever have. (Penn Jillette, from The Portable Atheist, pgs 349-350)

debdodd

so what about the rest of the book? Is it a good read?

I am always looking for a new book to read. I have an eclectic book collection of likes .... except romance novels ....nada of those books ...

Summer is coming up and "summer reads" are a must for me ... so if you say it's so ..... I will add the book to the list. Thanks, Deb

__________________
"Ubi dubium ibi libertas."

"We are all lone souls. It pays to know humility, lest the delusion of control, of mastery, overwhelms. And indeed, we seem a species prone to that delusion, again and ever again ....."

poincicco

Deb, this little article by Penn Jillette is from the book, "This I Believe", edited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman, printed in 2006. I haven't read the book, but it may be a good read. I too am always looking for good new books to read, both fiction and nonfiction (and no romance novels for me either!). If you have any FAVORITES, maybe you could pass on the titles. In fact, that might be a good thread for the Water Cooler Forum! I'll try it out and see if we get anything.

Take care!

Poincicco

debdodd

there was a thread about books but it's been a while since I saw anything readable on it ... thanks for the info. Deb

__________________
"Ubi dubium ibi libertas."

"We are all lone souls. It pays to know humility, lest the delusion of control, of mastery, overwhelms. And indeed, we seem a species prone to that delusion, again and ever again ....."