The God Issue
 "I
refuse to prove that I exist," says God, "for proof
denies faith, and without faith I am nothing." "But,"
says Man, "the earth and the universe are a dead give
away -aren't they? It could not have evolved by chance. It
proves you exist, and so therefore , by your own arguments,
you don't. QED." "Oh dear," says God, "I
hadn't thought of that," and promptly vanishes in a puff
of logic. "Oh that was easy ," says man, and for
an encore goes on to prove that black is white and gets himself
killed on the next zebra crossing.[1]
What exactly IS religion ?
To each their
own when it comes to religion ... both literally and figuratively.
No two believers or disbeliever’s are alike. How ever
you define religion, one thing is clear; it involves a person
and their interpretation of a concept that he or she deems
important enough to connect with. If this concept is a god,
philosophy, or even a methodology, it is so significant to
the individual that it becomes an integral part of the person
in some form.
religion - noun [ME religioun,
from L religion-, religio reverence, piety, religion, probably
from religare to tie back, tie up, tie fast + ion, io] 1:
the personal commitment to and serving of God or a god with
worshipful devotion, conduct in accord with divine commands
especially as found in accepted sacred writings or declared
by authoritative teachers, a way of life recognized as incumbent
on true believers, and typically the relating of oneself to
an organized body of believers. 2: the state
of a religious 3 a: one of the systems of
faith and worship : a religious faith b: the body of institutionalized
expressions of sacred beliefs, observances, and social practices
found with a given cultural context 4: the
profession or practice of religious beliefs : religious observances;
5 archaic: scrupulous conformity : conscientiousness,
fidelity 6 a: a personal awareness or conviction
of the existence of a supreme being or of supernatural powers
or influences controlling one's own humanity's or all nature's
destiny b: the access of such an awareness or conviction accompanied
by or arousing reverence, gratitude, humility, the will to
obey and serve: religious experience or insight 7
a: a cause, principle, system of tenets held with ardor, devotion,
conscientiousness, and faith: a value held to be supreme importance
b: a quality, condition, custom, or thing inspiring zealous
devotion, conscientious maintenance, and cherishing.”
[2]
Personal Conclusion... The dictionary
definition appears to list all the attributes of religion
but not what it is. To me, religion is any paradigm by which
mankind answers the basic fundamental questions of life, universe
and his/her existence within it. —Why am
I here? —What is my purpose in life? (and) — How
did it ALL come into being?
I am no different from anyone else -- I needed these questions
answered as well. For myself, I found most of my answers in
science, philosophy, and psychology. So - yes I do have a
religion.
Are god(s) a necessary requirement
for religion?
The Labels
According to most definitions, religion can very easily exist
without deities. Although the majority of the world religions
today have some form of supreme beings within their faith,
there are a few that do not. One mainstream religion that
is non-theistic is Theravada Buddhism, where the belief structure
is based on the teaching of one man (but he is not a god).
Majority of these non-theistic religions can be found in ancient
Eastern cultures. Due to the Judeo-Christian dominance in
western cultures, non-theism didn't really take hold until
the early nineteenth century. The majority of these non-theistic
social and cultural groups do not label themselves as religion
even though they have an established belief system.
Skepticism
The philosophical attitude of doubting claims of
knowledge based upon what it substantiates and what is determined
to be true. There are varying levels of doubt, from a simple
mistrust to extreme epistemological skepticism, where one
wonders if anything actually can be known with complete or
adequate certainty. When applied to religion, skepticism covers
more than just weather or not gods exist. It can also cover
the doctrines, dogmas and philosophy. We are all skeptics
to some degree whether we have secular or non-secular beliefs.
Irrational
skepticism - Skepticism is fine but it only takes you
so far and you ultimately need to make those unjustifiable
leaps of faith in order for truth to be found. <Granted
-mistakes will be made, but it will be made by those who try.
Many great scientific discoveries have been made by taking
a leap of faith. >
Naturalistic
skepticism - Man makes life meaningful by constructing
a "spiritual mode" according to biological and social
factors. Whatever his "faith or belief" is, it allows
him a sense of certainty and security . The Naturalist skeptic
considers this an inherent quality.
Secularism
Secularism is the principle without religious
faith or supreme beings. When this principle is applied
to spirituality, it focuses on the reality of the here
and now, and acknowledges that this
is the *only* life that is lived. Spiritual secularism
is often accompanied by the Humanistic philosophy, which
places the emphasis on mankind and not some transcendent
being. <A problem, I have
with this principle is that it is based on the typical
definition of religious faith. With my definition, secularism
becomes what it tries to deny. >
Humanism
A general philosophy that asserts the prime importance
of "man" and his/her capacity for self-realization.
Because of the general nature of this philosophy, it can be
applied to many domains.
- Renaissance Humanism was the
movement away from feudalism and the singular concern of
one's afterlife. Instead, emphasis shifted to the concern
of the man's earthly life as well as his afterlife. This
was accomplished through in the renewal of education, in
particular philosophy, science, painting, sculpture, architecture
and literature.
- Literary Humanities are the results
of the renewed interest literature, philosophy, history
and language, which we call the "humanities" or
liberal arts.
- Cultural Humanism: A concept
that knowledge can be obtained through rational thought
and experimentation. It has its roots in ancient Greece
and Rome and is now a part of our everyday lives.
- Religious Humanism is a modern
movement made up of non-theistic humanists dedicated to
achieving the ethical goals of religion without beliefs
and rites resting upon supernaturalism. Within many already
existing religions, there are members that follow this branch
of philosophy, for example groups like the
Humanistic Judaism and
Unitarian Universalist.
- Christian Humanism advocates
the self-fulfillment of the individual in addition to his
or her Christian principles.
- Naturalistic Humanism is also
known as Modern Humanism or Scientific Humanism. It is the
naturalistic philosophy that rejects supernaturalism and
regards man as a natural being who relies primarily upon
reason and science for his/her own self realization.
- Secular
Humanism adheres to the Naturalistic and Cultural humanism
philosophies with a strong emphasis that ideologies should
be accepted with reason and intellect and NOT on "faith".
- Rational Humanism promotes that
life should be lived in happiness and freedom by reason
and science, without dogmas, deities and state.
- Marxist Humanism A state of society
in which the notion of class, status, and hierarchy is completely
removed and redundant
Agnosticism
Although the word "agnosticism" was first
used in 1869 by T.H. Huxley to label his own spirituality,
the concept behind the word is ancient. The ambiguity over
the existence of supreme beings most likely has been around
since their earliest known existence. The ancient Greek philosopher,
Protagoras once wrote: "concerning
the gods, I cannot know either that they exist or that they
do not exist, nor what they are like in form."
Today, philosophers call this Strict Agnosticism. There are
many degrees to agnosticism:
- Agnostic theists are those who
believe that deities probably exist but knowledge of their
nature is impossible due to the limitations of the human
mind.
- Agnostic atheists are those who
believe that it is improbable that deities exist. (A definitive
atheist would go on to say there is no evidence and there
could be none.)
- Undecided agnostics are those
who believe there is no evidence to support either case.
The existence of deities remains unsure.
- Non-religious or Inconclusive
agnosticism can be applied to any situation or topic and
does not necessarily pertain to "religion". It
accepts the limits of one's knowledge of the situation and
suspends judgment until further evidence or information
is produced. In Thomas Huxley's own words --" it is
wrong for a man to say that he is certain of the objective
truth of any proposition unless he can produce evidence
which logically justifies that certainty. This is what Agnosticism
asserts; and, in my opinion, it is all that is essential
to Agnosticism."
Religious Agnosticism
Agnosticism cannot be a religion because by its
very nature it denies the plausibility of religious belief.
So, how can it be a religion? "For religious agnosticism
not to be contradictory, it has to be taken to refer to an
acceptance of the agnostic principle. This is combined either
with a conviction that has at least some minimum of affirmative
doctrine that can be established on adequate grounds; or else
with the sort of religion or religiousness that makes no very
substantial or disputatious doctrinal demands." [3]
One such principle is the fact that agnosticism does not actually
close the door on the possibility of the divine as does secularism
and atheism. For more information visit the
Agnostic Church Organization.
Atheism
Atheism is not the same as agnosticism. Period.
Some older dictionaries will list atheism and agnosticism
as synonyms of each other, however this is erroneous. While
both allege they have no sound evidence for belief in gods;
the agnostic, unlike the atheist, does not feel justified
in making a decision and suspends judgment. In Atheism there
is the certainty of the non-existence of gods because there
is no proof for the fact that they do.
- Aprioristic atheist - Burden
of proof lies with the theist believers to give evidence
to the existence of supreme beings. Since supreme beings
are defined as belonging to a transcendent reality, it's
this reality that ultimately needs to be proven.
- Fallibilistic atheist - This
person does not believe in the existence god(s) because
at the moment the current evidence supports this premise.
Yet, if there was sufficient evidence to the contrary then
there is a possibility of a reassessment of belief.
- Intuitive atheist -The inner
knowledge that there are no supreme beings, despite whatever
any evidence shows.
GNOSTIC
Atheism and Theism
Believing is seeing
I already know
Total certainty
Judgment
Faith
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AGNOSTIC
Agnosticism
Seeing is believing
I want to know more
Areas of uncertainty
Suspended judgment
Reason
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Final Thoughts on the subject ...
I always say "No one knows everything, and everything
is not known" . Does this make me agnostic? I really
don't know. Do I believe in god as a sentient being ? -No.
Do I believe in a universal force? -Yes
As for labels... After reading up on my philosophy, I began
to wonder just how many times does the wheel has to be re-invented
before it is finished? I also began to question, if some of
these modern philosophers weren't just sticking new labels
on an old idea.... "A rose by any other name is still
a rose." -isn't it?
Guess my skepticism is showing.
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