Oh fucking hell… I tried posting this three times and each time my computer crashed. I hate PC’s.
Ok, so basically I’m going to try not to get into the whole bickering, but here’s my experience with it all:
I am an atheist, and I am confident in my belief but it has been a long road getting here. Neither of my parents were religious, and they didn’t push religion or atheism – I basically had the room to make up my own mind. As a kid I was generally an atheist, but almost out of default. I went to a conservative country school which was fairly religious and a private Christian school which did a fair bit of religious education. Throughout my life I have flirted with the idea of god, and since I was 17 I made a habit of regularly questioning whether a god exists. I like to question my beliefs.
It wasn’t until I started university last year that I got more direction. I took two philosophy courses: one on argument and critical thinking and the other on mind, knowledge and god. The former explained how to think and to distinguish good arguments from the bad, and the latter examined various arguments for and against god in a very objective and non-biased way. Since then I have done a lot of thinking and I am now very comfortable with my position – I know what I believe, and why. Having said that, I will also continue to question my own beliefs and if somebody presents me with a good argument for a god I will consider it carefully and then change my mind if need be. As it is if someone asks me why I am an atheist I can list the reasons and present, I feel, a fairly compelling argument.
I think that the main thing is that people know how to question their beliefs, and present reasons for having them, whether they are atheist, agnostic or theist. Someone who is atheist because god ‘sucks’ or is ‘uncool’ is just as bad as a Christian who believes in god ‘because the bible said so.’ A belief is only useful if you can justify it and are willing to meet the challenges presented to it.
One gripe I have is with people who are either religious or atheist simply because that’s how they’ve been brought up. If you never question your belief then how much do you actually believe? Believing in something because of pride or stubbornness is comparable to nationalism, which is more or less the belief that one’s country is the greatest, simply because one was born in it. It’s not only pig-headed, it can be dangerous, because that’s how wars start. Let me again emphasise that I mean this to apply to both sides of the debate, and to all religions.
I think that the main point is that people should be taught how to think for themselves, and how to distinguish good beliefs from the bad. They should also be taught to have the courage to admit they’re wrong and be willing to change their minds – there is no valour to be had in stubborn and hateful pride. Already, looking at some of the posts in this thread, it is easy to see how when people get hold of guns they can start wars. Sorry if this has been a bit of a rant, but I guess I get sick of ignorance – and let me again point out that it comes from all sides – and bickering. If you are on top of a skyscraper and believe you can fly, when someone demonstrates gravity to you’d be better off if you are willing to change your mind.
Basically, what I am saying is this: if you believe in something, but are not willing to discuss and consider alternate beliefs, and change your mind if need be, then you are not believing in that thing, but simply kidding yourself. No matter what your belief is.
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