Apparently a group of atheists are meeting in Australia for a convention. The idea fascinates me. How much is there to say about the absence of religion? I'm not against the idea nor atheists. But if you remove spirit from motivation, if for instance, you suggest goodness is innate have you not made a circle? Isn't all religion based on the idea that goodness is and should be nurtured with reverence?
Ahhh, lovely. The noodles drying reminded me of my great grandma. She'd hang dishtowels over the chairs backs and drape the noodles to dry.
ReplyDeletelove you, Val
beautiful photo.
ReplyDeletea convention of atheists is probably like a convention of any other group. mutual support and validation, among other things. atheism, as i understand it, is not necessarily about a rejection of spirit. it is a rejection of externally imposed religious dogma, in favor of cultivating the innate spirit of the human being. the idea that life itself is beautiful enough, and that morality is obvious enough, if one is living in the present instead of planning for "pie in the sky when we die".
ReplyDeletei think rather than a rejection of "goodness is and should be treated with reverence", the idea of innate goodness rejects the need for externally imposed rules to define and develop it. and, not unimportantly, many many religions define goodness in a way that rejects people on the basis of stuff that may also be innate...homosexuals for example. so insisting that we look inside ourselves for our own goodness, and validate it by being good to others in the world...not so lacking in spirit.
ReplyDeleteYeah okay, all that sounds good. The similar circularity of either path struck me, is all.
ReplyDelete"so insisting that we look inside ourselves for our own goodness, and validate it by being good to others in the world...not so lacking in spirit"
ReplyDeleteExactly what's taught by every major religion. This is what Jesus said. This is what Buddha taught. Right?