I became an atheist this morning. The experience was similar, though less overwhelming, than the moment i became a Christian five years ago. The declaration was immediately accompanied with a wave of relief, and my anxiety was quelled. It was as though knowing there was only me in that moment removed any yearning for an answer to God’s absence. Suddenly, there was no absence to obsess over, no voice to not hear, and no love to not feel—i settled peacefully in my own little nook in this universe knowing that there was no one coming to save me. And i slept the remaining hour in an embrace of calm. The half-decade war was over, and when the dust settled i saw that i had been alone.
Well put. I think your point of view is centered on His supposed ignorance of human suffering. What helps me is a non-traditionalist analogy, if there was a God or Creators they may have subjected us to a tribulation - of unknown length - to earn sentience, the right to be in His image, or sit at His/Their table. If you’ve ever seen Stargate SG-1 this would be similar to the Asgardians. They’re fighting battles we can’t yet comprehend, but we need to succeed on our own in the same way they have already struggled.
But I concede this still leaves a very one sided relationship that I cannot reason - “the mystery of faith”.
Really great read. I'm not an atheist, but I'm not much of a theist either. If there is a God, I'm not all too convinced he's concerned with the welfare of humanity, or a chosen subset of worshippers within humanity. A divine presence in the universe is probably far beyond what we can comprehend with our comparatively tiny brains, certainly nothing that can be properly expressed by a 2,000-year-old book, but that's just me.
Religion is really interesting, and it's a pleasure observing and learning about it from a distance. Beyond that, however, I'm simply not convinced of the story it tells.
Well put. I think your point of view is centered on His supposed ignorance of human suffering. What helps me is a non-traditionalist analogy, if there was a God or Creators they may have subjected us to a tribulation - of unknown length - to earn sentience, the right to be in His image, or sit at His/Their table. If you’ve ever seen Stargate SG-1 this would be similar to the Asgardians. They’re fighting battles we can’t yet comprehend, but we need to succeed on our own in the same way they have already struggled.
But I concede this still leaves a very one sided relationship that I cannot reason - “the mystery of faith”.
Really great read. I'm not an atheist, but I'm not much of a theist either. If there is a God, I'm not all too convinced he's concerned with the welfare of humanity, or a chosen subset of worshippers within humanity. A divine presence in the universe is probably far beyond what we can comprehend with our comparatively tiny brains, certainly nothing that can be properly expressed by a 2,000-year-old book, but that's just me.
Religion is really interesting, and it's a pleasure observing and learning about it from a distance. Beyond that, however, I'm simply not convinced of the story it tells.