non-believer lang po
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities. Most inclusively, atheism is simply the absence of belief that any deities exist. Atheism is contrasted with theism, which in its most general form is the belief that at least one deity exists.
-Wikipedia
Many people label or assume I must be an atheist who hates and rejects religion. Well actually that is not the case. I proclaim myself as only to the ground of non-believers.
However I do admit, I went through many difficulties to the point I did go to an anti-religion phase in my life.
I just hate how many people, especially here in the Philippines, claimed to be religious behaved. I find the arguments against religion very compelling, and I thought that being an atheist/non-believer is a sign of being intellectually “strong” (of course I enjoy the smug feeling that I am better than the fools who believed.)
As a matter of fact, as I grew older, I stopped being an anti-religious.
I just hate how many people, especially here in the Philippines, claimed to be religious behaved. I find the arguments against religion very compelling, and I thought that being an atheist/non-believer is a sign of being intellectually “strong” (of course I enjoy the smug feeling that I am better than the fools who believed.)
As a matter of fact, as I grew older, I stopped being an anti-religious.
Maybe one reason is that I achieved a better understanding of the arguments for and against religion. I tried to be rational and after reading and grasping arguments put forth by thinkers such as Aquinas, Descartes, Marx, and others, as well as the lectures in my Philosophy of Religion class, I find it difficult to dismiss completely the idea that God or a Supreme/Higher Being, as I prefer to call Him, exists.
Another reason is that I achieved a greater degree of personal maturity and also intellectual maturity, I hope. I am still irritated at the way some allegedly religious people behave. But I can now distinguish between a belief and those who claim to hold that belief. I do oppose those who use religion to justify their evil, their hatred and their prejudices. But I oppose them because they are evil–not because they claim to be religious.
In all honesty my religious beliefs are not settled yet. I have never had a definitive religious experience that convinced me of the truths of faith. I cannot believe just because some person in a fancy costume waves a sacred book around and tells me it is true. I cannot believe just because most people do.
In all fairness, I do want to believe. I would prefer a meaningful reality in which the wicked are brought to task, the good are duly rewarded and an afterlife awaits us all. I want that very much. But, I know that what I want (to believe as “true”) and what is true are two distinct matters.
At this point, I reject the hateful dogmatism of the extreme atheist and the fanatic theist. But, I do not really know what I believe. Of course, neither do most people. When I talk to people about their faith and their God, I observed that they tend to speak empty words and have no real understanding of what they claim to believe. Worse is, they often seem completely uninterested in learning anything about their alleged faith. It does strike me as ironic when they smugly judge me for my lack of faith when I am far more interested in what they believe than they are.
In all honesty my religious beliefs are not settled yet. I have never had a definitive religious experience that convinced me of the truths of faith. I cannot believe just because some person in a fancy costume waves a sacred book around and tells me it is true. I cannot believe just because most people do.
In all fairness, I do want to believe. I would prefer a meaningful reality in which the wicked are brought to task, the good are duly rewarded and an afterlife awaits us all. I want that very much. But, I know that what I want (to believe as “true”) and what is true are two distinct matters.
At this point, I reject the hateful dogmatism of the extreme atheist and the fanatic theist. But, I do not really know what I believe. Of course, neither do most people. When I talk to people about their faith and their God, I observed that they tend to speak empty words and have no real understanding of what they claim to believe. Worse is, they often seem completely uninterested in learning anything about their alleged faith. It does strike me as ironic when they smugly judge me for my lack of faith when I am far more interested in what they believe than they are.
To end this dispute and reasoning, let me leave you a question...
Will that make an individual amoral and less human if he or she is a non-believer?
