Found a questionnaire on tumblr about atheism. I thought it was fun, so I'll crosspost it here.
At what point did you know you were an atheist? Why did you become one, what were the factors leading up to the decision, if you weren’t always one?
It’s weird. There was never any defining moment for me. I’ve been anti-religion for a long time (as a deist at one point and as an agnostic at another) but I never reached the point where I could comfortably call myself an atheist until the last year or so (I prefer agnostic-atheist, but that’s three more syllables than people want to say). I never hopped over a line and declared it to the world, it was very gradual and blurry. I was a deist because I was (and still am) a huge science cheerleader, and the things I read about string theory and quantum mechanics made it seem like the idea of a creator was at least plausible. Then one day I was watching this show about cosmology on the Science Channel. Paraphrasing, some guy said that it’s tempting to infer God into this universe because it’s so orderly and beautiful, but we must resist the urge to jump to a conclusion so huge, because evolution here on earth makes everything seem like it’s designed as well. That made a lot of sense to me. He said the universe itself, and all the laws which govern it, may have “evolved” in a way similar to life on earth. That was three years ago maybe. I became an agnostic soon after, and an atheist soon after that.
What religion did you grow up with? Did you have positive or negative experiences with religion?
I was a Christian. We were “Methodist,” but I didn’t know what that meant because I was never taken to church aside from when I was very young. I had neither positive nor negative experiences with religion. It was never something extremely important to me, but nothing ever happened that caused me to hate it either. High school was when I started questioning why I called myself a Christian.
Are you a more outspoken or more apathetic atheist? Why?
This is a question I’ve always had a struggle with. I can be both. I do make a conscious effort to live and let live, but sometimes the sheer ignorance of some religious people really pisses me off, and I get angry. I’m never aggressive or outspoken when discussing things with religious friends (in spite of how much I would like to be sometimes) because it’s not something worth ruining friendships over. My religious friends are cool about it and they don’t care, so I treat them the same way.
Do you think religion is obsolete and should be wiped completely off the face of the Earth, or does some good come out of it?
Religion is definitely obsolete, and the world would definitely be better off without it, but I don’t think it should be “wiped out” by anyone. That’s what a religion would do. Secular humanism is going to become dominant one day, but it shouldn’t be forced. It has to come gradually, and of humanity’s own free will. There is some good that comes out of religion, but it’s mostly in personal lives rather than on a global scale, and so I don’t think it outweighs all the global catastrophes that religion is directly responsible for. If people would pay attention to all the good things secular humanism is responsible for, like science or modern democracy, progress would come a lot faster.
Did you lose any friends because you decided to be an atheist? Did your family flip out?
No, I didn’t lose any friends at all. My brother is also an atheist. I don’t think our parents know. My dad’s best friend is an atheist, so I don’t think he would care. Mom may have a more difficult time understanding though.
How do you feel about so-called “militant atheists” such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Harris?
They’re all pretty brilliant if you ask me, and I can’t think of anything any one of them has said about religion that is logically untrue. But they are aggressive, and while that’s great for atheist circlejerking, it’s not the way to open a discussion with others. If you treat people like idiots, they’re going to shut down and stop listening. We are questioning the lens through which they view the universe, and we have to be gentle.
Except for God, do you believe in anything supernatural or pseudoscientific? (Ghosts, alien abductions, spirits, souls, demons, psychics, magic, Harry Potter, etc.)
No. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
What’s your political alignment? Does your atheism influence how you vote and how you feel on issues?
I’m very liberal, and yes, it influences my political alignment a great deal. The American right is made up of religious fascists, and I don’t appreciate it when they tell me that gays or Muslims or atheists like myself are not as American as they are. Fuck them.
Even though you’re an atheist, have you ever experienced a moment that could be called “religious?” Like an epiphany about the world or complete peace?
Absolutely. There’s nothing preventing an atheist from experiencing ecstasy. I used to meditate a bit. There is nothing more peaceful than blocking out the outside world completely, so it seems like the entire universe is inside your head. If you’ve never meditated before and you’ve never experienced that, I mean it quite literally. I’ve only been able to do it a couple times, but it’s amazing, and it’s probably the closest experience to drugs as I’ll ever get. The brain is really interesting.
Are you spiritual, or are your feet always on the ground?
I flirt with both extremes. I’m sort of a logical artist, so I have to.
Do you have/plan on having a career in the sciences? Alternatively: which branch of science intrigues you most?
I love science and I love reading about it, but I’m really not smart or patient enough to take part in it myself. I almost failed physics in high school (which kinda boggles me, because I’m an INTJ on the Meyers Brigg, who are apparently best with science or mathematics. Multiple intelligences, I guess). My favorite branch of science is cosmology.
What happens when we die? Do you fear death?
Do you remember any moment before you were born? Death will be like that — nothing. I don’t fear death as much as I fear not being alive. Does that make sense? Death will be painless, I don’t care about being dead. I just don’t want those who love me to feel pain for my loss. And no matter how many things I will eventually do in my life, there will always be so many other things I could’ve done. I would live forever if I could.
Would you ever date/marry somebody who follows a religion? Be honest.
I don’t see why not, there are a lot of cool people out there who still believe in God. I may not like organized religion, but I’m not going to judge individuals on what a group has done. That said, I still find atheists/agnostics/skeptics pretty sexy, and I’d prefer them. Buddhists are cool too. But I’m not going to rule out a girl simply because of her religious beliefs. That’s really fucking stupid.
On a scale of 1-10, how happy are you with life at this moment, and why?
8 or 9? Happiness to me is simply the absence of sadness. And I’m never really sad. Nothing extraordinary is going on in my life at the moment, but I’m content, and that’s more than enough. I’m white, male, and privileged. If you ever see me complain about anything, please kick me in the balls.
Recommend a book. :) (Doesn’t have to be relevant to atheism, just any good book.)
Just one? No.
2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke. I was lucky enough to have read this before seeing the movie. Absolutely incredible.
Anything by H.P. Lovecraft (as long as you don’t mind staying awake at night). Aside from the obligatory Cthulhu, I like The Dunwich Horror and The Colour Out of Space.
The Song of Ice and Fire series is the best book series I’ve ever read. This is that Game of Thrones show that just started on HBO. It’s so fucking great. Can’t recommend it enough.
1776 by David McCullough is my personal favorite history book.
No comments:
Post a Comment