Friday, December 14, 2018

Bidding Holy Days Good-Riddance

I do not celebrate any religious holidays.

I am a "from the cradle" atheist. Don't think my parents particularly enlightened though. It was just neglect, masquerading as "allowing choice."

I am from about 2 generations ago, and when I realized (in isolation - no internet at the time) the malicious and dehumanizing nature of religious dogma (and indeed all dogma), I began to see religious holidays as anti-human events intended to promote an anti-human agenda. I gave up celebrating them for that reason - they are anti-human symbols of anti-human mentalities.

Since that time, not celebrating hatred of humanity has become pretty much a defining part of who I am. It is unthinkable at this point that I should return to it. Unfortunately for me, I suppose, the next generation's crop of budding atheists came in the form of almost deprogrammed religious people, who still bore fond memories of religious holidays - and a prime topic became whether people should or should not celebrate. Some of the deep programming, it seems, remains.

I rarely speak in terms of "shoulds," so I was at a disadvantage against a huge number of atheists leaving their religions, and wanting to keep the old, good times alive, despite what they were symbols for. They moved into redefining holidays in their own terms or reclaiming them from religion B back for a better/nicer/kinder religion A or some other such rationalization. I always saw the proper approach as creating new celebrations based on humans rather than dogma.

Hell, even our "atheist" groups are mostly led by people who have only recently lost their faiths, so now we see most atheists carrying baggage from their earlier lives, which they try to inject into atheism. They suffer a cognitive dissonance about celebrating holidays that I do not. Of course this is sort of understandable, since religions routinely seek to assimilate any celebration into their dogmatic terms.

The latest "millennials" generation is even worse, having re-embraced extreme dogmatism in the form of social engineering. Because, you know, they have it all 100% right *this time.*

That I see it this way does not add to my popularity, even among atheists, and when I describe an atheist or humanist accepting a xmas present as being like a jew accepting a present wrapped in swastikas, that doesn't sit well with some. Most are still unsure whether religion is humane or not whereas I recognize religious charity as a mere PR campaign. It isn't charity at all and it isn't about humans at all - it's an indoctrination technique.

However, that said, that is how I see it, and I make no demands or claims on anyone else. Celebrate what you choose to. I never really had a family, so familial reasons do not apply to me, as they might to others.

I shall continue to raise a toast on Darwin Day or on Carl Sagan's birthday and hibernate during religious celebrations. That is my way, and it helps to maintain the integrity of who I am.

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

On Agnosticism and Dogmatic Atheism.


Agnosticism


Agnosticism is merely skepticism about one particular concept.
I am an agnostic atheist. I make no knowledge claims about a concept that is designed to defy evidence one way or the other, *and* I also don't believe in god(s) for lack of evidence, and the slippery concept involved.


Agnosticism is the skeptical heart of any scientific exploration - the leaving open of possibilities. Some would call that skepticism, but skepticism is the heart of both science and agnosticism. If you imagine there is not more room for exploration, exploration stops. What N. deGrasse Tyson called a perimeter of ignorance. Although he spoke specifically about God-belief, I suspect we can consider it also true of any claim or concept that puts further investigation out of bounds. I also include "knowledge" is that group of claims/concepts that halt inquiry.

Open and free inquiry is necessary, *NECESSARY*, to continued human development. Period. If you want to continue human development, then you *MUST* maintain a skeptical core that questions what you think you know. Fail in that and you fail yourself and everyone around you.

Dogmatic atheists are not useful in the continued exploration. For every dogmatic, exclusionary atheist, there are 20 or more dogmatic theists who are just as "certain" about their truth. The dogmatic atheist is a drain on our thought processes and a reversion into "belief = knowledge" garbage.

Agnosticism merely points at a particular concept and says,"We cannot know this." They are simply correct about "knowing" about the God-concept. Sometimes you have to point at the flaws of a concept to start accounting for it. More thoughtful agnostics seem to do this, as do I.

Those who are interested in science will recognize that need as well, understanding that hypotheses must have empirical referents or they become matters of wild inference.

I don't have a problem with someone not believing in god(s) - I don't believe in god(s) either - but asserting it as a knowledge claim is the same idiot mistake theists have made for ages. We do not advance the subject matter that way, and it plays right into the theists' hands, portraying atheism as just another belief system.

We must rise above that. Agnosticism/skepticism allows us the room we need to do so. Dogmatic atheism is just more of the same hunkering down, entrenched in irrational and enthusiastic quasi-certainty.

I am not defending a "fence sitting." I am defending the possibility of inquiry. Stop relying on jaundiced soundbites you hide behind and fucking think!

We need skepticism. We need the recognition of fallibility. Agnosticism is merely skepticism about one particular concept.

Polarization


Polarization is the theme of the moment in our culture. Calm, rational, critical thought is falling aside in the face of the screaming. Atheists are not immune to its twisted allure, it seems.

One of the sad things is it's almost an inevitable outcome. Religious people proclaim their "certainty" at the top of their lungs and with absolute confidence, and many atheists feel the need to do the same just to be heard. That's part of how theists "win." To fight them we risk becoming them, unless we are very, very careful. What was that quote about battling not with monsters again...?

Sunday, December 2, 2018

Reclaim Our Humanity

The very first thing we must do in terms of human values is to reclaim our qualities from the wretched dogma of the religious. For too long we have let them hijack and redefine (to suit their purposes) our finest qualities.

Are you in "love?" Not unless it's "through God" say christians. "Peace" is achieved only after islamic conquest of everything everywhere.

Our dedications to each other are enshrouded in religious trappings - so much so, the celebrations aren't even about we humans at all anymore. This shit needs to stop. It is one of the many ways religion is harmful, and why I am an anti-theist. I see the harm.
We need to reclaim our humanity.
Does anyone have a favourite human quality that religion has hijacked and redefined? My favourite is morality. They took what should be an opportunity to continuously elevate people to a higher standard and reduced it to a retributivistic punish - Punish - PUNISH!