I’m an atheist, but more than that I am a moral person. The two are related despite what many people say or think.
Atheism informs most, if not all of my morality. My views on everything from taxes to the death penalty start with where I am on existence. I believe that this is it. We live. We die. There is no eternal place. We have this planet, our life, and each other.
At the end of our lives we have nothing, as bleak as that may seem to some. Myself, I sometimes get emotional when I take a minute to think that I’m part of humanity, an ape with a brain that has helped us make everything from arrowheads to iPads, and travel everywhere from Antarctica to the Moon. To be part of this for even a few decades has been wonderful; I can only imagine how happy I will be when I’ve lived something like 80 years.
Life is just so beautiful, and we are lucky to have it.
And so I embrace life, and guide myself not by fear of the unknown or the things I cannot see (death, gawd…ninjas), but by the love of life, and the belief that everyone has a right to it (just fyi, that is not an anti-abortion statement).
When we strip away heaven, hell, 72 virgins, nirvana, and all other pieces of the religion-pie we are left with each other, and each of us will have roughly the same life: We are born, we live, we die. In between so much else happens, but regardless the outcome is the same–be it cancer, car wreck, or any other means. We start as one, we end as zero.
If you read the contradictions I point out (And Rev. Gordish denies) and think that they say a lot about the inaccuracy of the bible, I encourage you to explore that idea by looking into humanism and reading a book like The God Delusion, which I found utterly inspiring. So much in fact that at the end of it I was inspired to out myself as an atheist.
You may also find it useful to attend a meeting of the Missoula Area Secular Society. Though I haven’t myself they seem like a nice group of people and they are obviously passionate about what they think. (And if you’re thinking “Why do atheists need a club?” my wife said it best, “Humans are social creatures. Everyone needs to congregate.”) Don’t be afraid to lack belief, many people do (please see the included video below).
If you read our “debate” and think Gordish makes perfect sense, I encourage you to attend his church in Ronan and support him (though if you could, please be more pro-gay than the Rev). Don’t be afraid to believe.
This post is only the first of many I plan on writing about atheism in the coming months. I just want to introduce the idea here because of what Rev. Gordish and I have been throwing around. Please feel free to debate among yourselves about gawd, JESUS!, the bible, ninjas, my lord and savior the invisible pink unicorn, or his father the Flying Spaghetti Monster. But keep it on topic. Debate ideas, not persons.
In the running for my next favorite Indy reporter is Matthew Frank. Frank’s been with The Indy for a while – and before that I remember his great natural resource stuff at NewWest. I have been a fan….I’m sure he’ll pass the muster, but for now I must mourn the loss of Froehling.
The Indy’s Matthew Frank catches a good one today…former South Hills Evangelical Center (SHEC) pastor John Erbele was busted in a prostitution ring bust in St. Paul Minnesota on Tuesday evening, after having solicited and paid for services.
Honestly? This false morality that we see repeated over and over should be getting old, but hypocrisy abounds. This guy, who served as senior pastor for eight years, headed up an organization that started its ministry catering to skateboarders and basketball players – i.e., kids. SHEC is a ministry that caters to families, and often holds concerts and gatherings and all kinds of parties geared towards children. They’ve held a summer camp for kids for the last few years.
Then there’s the apologists – those that attempt to rectify the church’s (any church’s) position and the acts of a person who’ve they’ve propped up or held in esteem. Check the comments over there at Frank’s Indy post – one blames it on the liberal media for exposing a sinner.
We’re all sinners, you know – only when the liberal media exposes you, the real evil is the liberal media.
One hundred years ago your local pharmacist doubled as the owner of the town’s soda fountain, dispensing both lemon phosphates and cocaine to customers without fuss. Nowadays, you might be able to pay for most of your purchases at the pharmacy counter in the back of CVS or Walgreens, but don’t expect a milkshake while you wait for your prescription to be filled. And don’t expect to purchase birth control from the pharmacy at Larry’s IGA in Broadus. That’s right. John Lane, the 21st Century’s version of the soda jerk, has decided to stop filling birth control prescriptions in Broadus because of his personal religious convictions. Since he’s the only pharmacist in town, Powder River County residents now have to either drive 80 miles to Miles City or receive their pills by mail.
Lane believes a little inconvenience shouldn’t outweigh his ability to work and provide for his family — he and his wife, Amy, have six children ranging in age from 5 months to 9 years — while living out the convictions of his faith.
Powder River County, and all of Montana, can do something about this. We can insist Mr. Lane and others, like the owners of Snyder Drug in Great Falls, simply do their jobs. Since no other licensed professions allow their members to practice without a basic belief in and understanding of the tenets of their chosen profession, (A teacher who doesn’t teach? A hairstylist who can’t cut hair? A doctor who doesn’t cure patients?) let’s make it easier for John Lane to “work and provide for his family”. Let’s elect folks to the 2009 Legislature who will introduce and pass a law requiring pharmacists to fill all legal prescriptions and requiring the Montana Board of Pharmacy to revoke the licenses of those individuals who cannot perform their jobs. That way, Mr. Lane can practice his faith by finding employment in a less-demanding field. Like making banana splits at Baskin Robbins.
So…in other words, the Antichrist will be…Christ! I must have missed those chapters in the New Testament where Christ called for divisiveness, war, and the destruction of the environment.
Ugh. Frankly, you’re not gonna find too many friends around here with that kind of attitude. A barren wasteland? Not only does Missoula have a vibrant Christian community, it has a vibrant Buddhist community, too. Oh, and even the agnostics and atheists in town generally support peace, the environment, and freedom. We lead the state in community farming projects, the Missoula Food Bank is amazing, etc & company.
Or, in the end, will this church try to change the community into its own image?
I’m not too hopeful it’s the former based on that “barren wasteland” crack. Good luck, fellas. With an attitude like that, you’ll need it.