Hitchens on Christianity

I know he has many detractors but I can't help admiring Christopher Hitchens, whose intelligence and language skill is always persuasive. Granted, I haven't heard his defense of the Iraq war, but everything else I've seen is convincing - which is probably why I have avoided his views on the Iraq war!

Here's a YouTube "illustrated" talk on his critique of Christianity, which I totally agree with.

Biology trumps spirituality

Here's another in an occasional series of "deconversion" stories. Though there are many more over at debunkingchristianity.com I only feature those that stir a responsive chord in me. This one is from a former Seventh-day Adventist and hits at the point that even learned Bible scholars can see the light eventually. As a Christian Scientist I had taken "the inspired Word of the Bible as our sufficient guide to eternal Life," and studied the Bible diligently, applying the unconventional interpretation that religion imposes on the texts. Gradually, over several years, several of the supporting concept of Christianity began to crumble. I could no longer believe in the doctrines of the virgin birth, the resurrection, or even the very existence of the person who is claimed to be the founder of Christianity. Eventually this led to my complete disbelief in the existence of any "supreme being" or individual "Creator" of the universe. Like "Evan" in the following account, the evidence of evolution became the universal acid that dissolved every supporting column of spiritual belief.

My departure from Christian Science, and all forms of "spirituality," came as a result of long and deep thought, observation and testing. After thirty years of immersion in a specific form of it, Christian Science, I believe my decision should not be taken lightly by those who continue to cling to spiritual beliefs. I am someone who has gone before you and worked it out. I encourage you to take on the adventure for yourself. I'm not saying it will lead you to bliss -- in fact, it will probably be difficult making the transformation - but you can rest in the conviction that your views are more truth-based than any religious or spiritual doctrine.

Here's an excerpt from Evan's story:

I was a believer in biblical inerrancy and a young-earth creationist just like all those around me. I was the best in my age group at Bible trivia (we called them Bible sword drills) to the point that our Sabbath School teachers would keep me from playing because it wasn't fair to the other kids.

In high school some of my friends were growing disillusioned with our church and I listened to their arguments but didn't find them compelling until I got to college. I wanted to go to medical school eventually, but I initially declared a major in Religion while taking all the science prerequisites needed for my premed aspirations. The second quarter of my freshman year, I took a class in Jesus and the Gospels. This was the first exposure I had had to higher literary criticism of the Bible and my exposure to the textual theories about the Gospels astonished me, and made me realize the all-too-human nature of the text. This also led me to investigate other German theories regarding the Bible including Graf/Wellhausen, which confirmed my concerns.

My study of religion abolished my faith in biblical inerrancy and I changed my major to biology.

I began to see strong evidence for evolution, even though all my professors were young earth creationists.

Full text at: http://debunkingchristianity.blogspot.com/2008/02/my-deconversion.html

The phantom limb

**"Brother Crow "makes a good point about the "cost" of evolving to atheism. I often feel that old hankering for my Imaginary Friend, the "easy believism" that eases fear and provides a measure of courage. During some of the scarier and painful moments of my recent physical problems, I could feel that old twitch, the turning to a "comforter," like a phantom limb.

In a recent poem, The Hole, I note that simply having an experience isn't proof of the reality of what seems to prompt it:

Calling it good doesn't make it real.
Every conned victim believes, for a time,
in value received from the predation;
every junkie's jiggered brain
runs movies indistinguishable from reality;
every drug is a prayer,
every prayer a drug.
Every delusion works
awhile.

Here are some excerpts from Crow's recent blog:

But - actually - I am not thinking of that kind of thing when I talk about the cost of agnosticism/atheism. I am talking about something else, possibly a spiritual dynamic (and certainly psycho-social) that resists the notion of denying or questioning the reality of God. It's really a question of the head versus the heart. My head has always doubted the reality of God - my heart yearns for his reality. Rationally, reasonably, I can question (at least) and deny (at most) the existence of a Divine Being. But my heart wants magic, mystery, and the sense of wonder that can be part of the journey of faith and belief.

I don't have much respect for those on either side of the God debate who deny the role of the aching heart in the agnositic/atheist community. Of course, I admit that not all have the emotional resonance with Christianity that I have as a former Christian. But anyone who denies the role of emotion in the formation of faith and belief is a liar and a fool. We are not just thinking animals...we feel, and our feelings are often a far more powerful reality than our reason.

I miss God. I often want to fall back on easy believism. A recent commenter on this site reminded me of the rules of "easy believism" - God says it, I believe it, that settles it. No questions asked. I wish! My heart wants - indeed, aches - for a trust in a Heavenly Daddy who loves me, desires the best for me, has a plan for me, and will help me accomplish that plan if I put my trust in him (and give his church my money)!

A few days ago, I saw a guy wearing a religious tee-shirt. It showed a knight in armor, kneeling, with his sword in front of him. Over the picture were these words" "The difficulty of what you face is not as great as the Power behind you." It nearly brought me to tears. How I yearn to believe - simply, as a child - that there is God who stood behind me, held me up, helped me through. Alas...and forsooth.

Remember the movie "Pitch Black" - the sci-fi movie that introduced us to Vin Diesel as Riddick, the space cowboy? In that movie, a mullah challenges Riddick, saying "you don't believe in God." Riddick responds - "No, I absolutely do believe in God. And I absolutely hate the M---F---er!"

It's hard to believe. It's harder to choose not to, especially when your heart - your emotional life - yearns to believe.

But there is a reason I choose not to believe...and the cost of atheism is high.