__/ [ tjozzie ] on Friday 03 March 2006 15:49 \__
> "greg byshenk" <gbyshenk@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:slrne0eh7p.ns.gbyshenk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> There Is No God
>>
>> by Penn Jillette
>>
>> 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.
The existence is simply a presumption that goes back millenia into the past.
And, as we all know, Neanderthal man was wiser than us, thus belief must be
assumed unless proven otherwise. *rolls eyes*
>> 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 long-winded 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.
That's a good point. Many see the suffering as inevitable as it is "in the
hands of God". Without the existence of God, people would take
responsibility for the action and proactively initiate change.
>> 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.
>>
>> from <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5015557>
>>
>> --
>> greg byshenk - gbyshenk@xxxxxxxxxxx - Leiden, NL
>
> Amen!, er, Well said!
Yes, indeedie.
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