THE ATHEIST POINT OF VIEW

Prologue:

In the commentary you are about to read,
I do not see the Atheist
attacking religious theology.

I see an opposing perception of truth
expressing itself openly and candidly
in the pursuit of knowledge.

Knowledge is the greatest human accomplishment
and must be seen as a dramatic tool of examination
to be used for the enlightenment
and improvement of humankind.

ATHEISM

What is Atheism?

Atheism
is the lack of belief
in a god or gods.

Atheism
is not
the lack of religion
because there are many religions
which do not have gods.

Buddhism is one.

Gods cannot be proved

Gods cannot be disproved.

If you cannot see them,
you cannot possibly go about
proving that they are or are not there.

Humans
have created many gods.

Gods are never disproved.
They simply no longer have followers.
There are still gods left
that do have followers.

One such god is
Yahweh,
the god of the Jews
and the god of the Christians.

Another such god is
Allah,
the god of the Muslims.

Followers of these gods
will find much about Atheism
that is offensive to them,
because they are easily offended
by intelligent thought that
does not confirm
their belief in their god
and does not profess admiration
for their religion's leading figures.

One common misconception
is that Atheists are people
who are angry at God for something.

This is not atheism.

This is apostasy.

Atheists feel there are three
main abuses or traps
that are predominant
in the god idea.

1 ~ the illusion of certainty
2 ~ the posturing of authority and
3 ~ the seductive unfalsifiability.

CERTAINTY

The certainty that one's religion is right
while that of one's neighbor is wrong
is quite often the sole root
of endless private, public
and even national misery.

A major abuse of the god idea
is that it infects our thoughts
with the virus of wishful certainty
when, in truth, we cannot be
absolutely certain of very much
of anything of basic importance.

We must live with uncertainty.

The god idea persuades us
that this is, ultimately,
not really the case
when essentially,
it really is the case.

The need to feel certain
in no way guarantees
that the needed certainty is,
in reality, a truly real certainty.

The straw you feel compelled to clutch at
does not necessarily save you from drowning.

AUTHORITY

Individual believers in any god
will work out the supposed certainties
of their god's supposed will.

Inevitably some members
of any given faith will be set up as
experts on the will of their god.

Scriptures will be written
about the god that are to be considered
irrevocably sacred by the members.

The experts on the god soon
assume a privileged status.
They must not be questioned
on the fundamentals of their faith,
merely asked for detailed
interpretation of the sacred scriptures.

Perceptions of certainty
that must be accepted lead
to perceptions of authority
that must be obeyed.

Free thinking people
must claim the right,
indeed, acknowledge the duty,
to question anything and everything.

Free thinking people hold that
there are no privileged beliefs,
no privileged theories
and no privileged data.

Everything is open to critical scrutiny.

The god idea is dangerous
because it precludes proper skepticism.

UNFALSIFIABILITY

An unfalsifiable notion is one
that, by its very nature,
cannot be exposed as false
by reference to reasonable
observation or experimentation.

Unfalsifiable theories are simply
self-propelled fantasies.
They owe everything
to the active imagination
and nothing to the data.
Often they are utilized as
an authoritative means
of getting out of a tight corner.

The god idea
relies on unfalsifiable theories
to support its very existence.

If good things happen
that is because the god is undeniably good.

If bad things happen
that is because the god is undeniably good
but its goodness is undeniably mysterious
as that goodness is given or withheld.

Unfalsifiability
is a great impediment
to clear, honest, disciplined thought,
and the god idea advocates it.

Some consider it vital that the church
should maintain a team of astronomers
to prevent repeats of its past battles
with scientists like Galileo,
because of perceived dangers for Christianity
and the possible discovery of alien life forms.

It would have to be decided
if salvation applies to aliens.

If civilization were found on other planets,
and if it were feasible to communicate,
the church must send missionaries to save them
just as it has done in the past
whenever new lands have been discovered.

Atheism,
used as an adjective or as a noun,
must be understood clearly.

The believer asserts that a god does exist.

The atheist does not assert the exact opposite,
that no such god actually exists, per se.

Atheism
is not a direct reversal of religious belief.

The atheist merely states
that belief in the existence
of any god is not inborn.

It is a belief that we acquire
only from other people.

An Atheist sees no sufficient reason
to embrace such beliefs.
People who seek to urge the Atheist
to embrace such beliefs
have not, in the Atheist opinion,
made their case intellectually acceptable.

What we have then
is just one more fascinating conundrum
for civilization to solve.

Summing up ~

I have quoted, copied,
paraphrased for clarity,
and expressed in my own words
segments to develop this commentary.

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FOR EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US!