Yes, like Richard Dawkins I am a 'cultural Christian'. In fact this last Christmas was the first time in 50 years that I set up a Christmas tree with presents under it. Previously I would just play Christmas carols but this time I decided to go all in. The LED lights you can get these days are awesome. I strung them around the room so I can see at night without turning the lights on. They are solar powered and use no electricity.
The supernatural is a fantasy. But I enjoy fantasy. Science fiction, fairy stories, ancient religions with their all their gods and the antics they got up to - I love them all. Christian churches are amazing too. Back on the farm we installed a stained glass window in the woolshed - really brightened up the day when you were working hard!
Perhaps you are one of the lucky ones who never gets lonely or depressed. I'm suspicious though, since you seem to have a desperate need to come here and vent.
My friend's mother died the other day. She had a degenerative disease that caused her muscles to lock up, eventually having to be force fed for the last 6 months of her life. Imagine being in that situation. She had a strong faith in God to help her through. I don't. As I get older I wonder how I would deal with something like that.
My mother died of skin cancer at age 49, and watching her die was hard. Then my father got dementia and gradually lost his memory. That was harder. My evil stepmother got power of attorney and took all his money, then moved him around various retirement homes so he never got settled. I tried to stop it but she called the cops and they sided with her (that was a bad day). Eventually he died of starvation as the home he was in didn't care for him properly.
I don't blame people for wanting something to believe in. Most Christians just want to help each get through life with a feeling of being more than a collection of molecules following the laws of physics. Knowing the truth about the world doesn't make it any easier.
Islam is mostly about culture and respect. You wouldn't know about that though because you latch onto the 'bad' stuff its detractors wail about.
No, of course not. I also don't enjoy the heritage of barbecuing 200,000 people with atomic bombs, or killing millions with guns and germs, or enslaving millions and hanging those who got uppity. My forefathers have a lot to answer for, whether they were religious or not. But that's all in the past. Of more concern to me now are all the deniers who will be responsible for the future deaths of millions - because they value their precious wealth more.
Fair point, Roger Ramjets. I agree completely, with the hilited portion. Even though irrational beliefs are ...wrong, and in many ways harmful, without a doubt they can sometimes offer solace, and that solace can sometimes make all the difference.
I too wonder how an atheist might face up to that kind of extreme challenge. Well, the obvious answer is, with courage and fortitude. Hitchens is the best example of that kind of courage and fortitude. ...But not everyone is as courageous, not at all times. At such times, ...I don't know, at such times faith does give you a certain ...advantage, that cold rationality doesn't.
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My tentative answer to this would be: All said, we might be better off without that crutch. It is essentially that same crutch that gave the Vikings courage to loot and kill without worrying about personal danger; that same crutch that led Christians in times past to fight with greater courage and conviction than they would have otherwise; and Muslims as well, including some who carry on doing that even today. I think the answer is, if our own inborn native natural courage is not up to something, then perhaps, just maybe, we'd be better off not doing it at all? If in the foxhole the atheist does not find within himself the courage to sacrifice himself for his country, then perhaps he should not do that at all? (Like I said, just tentatively thinking this through...)
If I were faced with an ailment that is painful, then I suppose the prospect of recovery and what I might do after might help me pull through. But if I were visited with some painful illness or painful injury, and if there were no scope of recovery, then agreed, faith in God might help me stay the course, as it were. Likewise, even without faith, merely courage, merely fortitude, might help me "stay the course". But if I lacked both (irrational) faith, as well as lacked that courage and fortitude, what then? Well, my (very tentative) answer is, in that case why should I need to stay the course at all? Why shouldn't I just end it, in that case?
What I'm getting at is, without a doubt faith offers solace and gives courage, in some situations. But even there, that courage is ...artificial, a prop. We might be better off without it, is what I'm thinking, or at least not necessarily worse off, even in those cases where faith might apparently look beneficient.
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Leumas, this isn't about you, this isn't calling you Hitler, this isn't saying that Christianity is the best thing in the world. I'm spelling this out, because I don't want to derail the thread. Roger Ramjet's post about this aspect of faith was ...food for thought, and I wanted to chomp on it a bit, is all. I'm looking for no more than just thinking this through there, and maybe a response or two around this, if people want to respond, is all. ([eta]Including from you, if you'd like to, sure! ...Not looking for another slugfest with you here, that's what I'm trying to say.[/eta]).
