ASK ABDI: WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT ATHEISM?

QUESTION: What do you think of the growing interest in atheism and the leaders of the movement, like Richard Dawkins?

ANSWER: Troublemaker, huh? Fantastic!

What I have will be just another opinion to you, no matter how informed or uninformed it is. Important topics like this need to come from our own knowing. An intellectual answer will not quench your thirst. At least I certainly hope not. Dig and keep digging. Do your best to step beyond your mind and see for yourself.

There are millions that have perished at the hands of those preaching one of the three big religions over the centuries. That certainly is not good advertising for the product. The absurdity of the mayhem, wished upon those of us that do not subscribe to the specific concepts, is even more disconcerting. Never mind the bodily harm aspect of it. It is ironic to observe the same vehemence and belligerence coming out of the atheists in their arguments.

We human beings take great comfort in our concepts. The problem with concepts is just that: they are mental constructs. I have seen deeply religious people get totally thrown off their faith when something truly hideous occurs in their life. I have also observed atheists reach for religion when old age or illness befalls them. That is part of our human experience. We crave absolutes, but alas in this temporal world that is a hard currency to obtain.

Live and let live is a good policy for this small planet of ours. It is common, in my discussion with either camp, to notice a lack of love. I am a “Love-ist”. I do my best to engage in intellectual discourse until I feel Love leaving me. Then I find myself getting lost in separation. I have yet to find an atheist that became religious or a religious person that became atheist with an argument. It seems both camps are preaching to the converted.

I find Dawkins’ concept of memes much more fascinating than the topic of atheism. I read somewhere Dawkins quote Bertrand Russell and call himself a passionate skeptic. That is the most honest thing one can say. In the absence of direct experience, agnostics seem to be the most sane here. An open mind is a healthy stance. I am also a big fan of the four negations around these big topics: not this, not that, neither either, neither both.

When the militants from either camp send me hate mail, I will be sure to direct them your way so you can delve into the topic more deeply.