Normally, when I write articles about religion, they are targeted
at either believers or nonbelievers. Agnostics are rarely the target,
but that's not going to be the case here. They tend to set themselves
above the fray, as if bemusedly wondering to themselves, "Oh, you silly
New Atheists and fundamentalists. Why can't you believe what you
believe, or don't believe, and just
leave it be? Clearly, it doesn't matter whether or not people believe in
God. It's just a personal choice, after all." To be fair, this
sentiment is somewhat mirrored by religious moderates. There are many
ways to answer this, and most of them come with exceptions and careful
parsing. However, I'm going to limit my scope, in this article, to an
attempt to answer a simple provocative question. How does the efficacy
of basing one's morality on a religious text change depending upon the
actual existence of that religion's deity? On the surface, it is natural
to assume that nothing important changes here. Thou shalt do no murder
is a sound and rational precept, for instance, whether or not Yahweh
exists. Look closer, however, and you'll find that a great deal changes
when one bases one's morality on scripture (meaning any religious text)
that is merely the work of man instead of the work of an infallible
deity. After all, nothing can go wrong with following the axioms of a
morally infallible being. Such a being's axioms would be perfect in all
their parts and immune to changes in context of all sorts. Moral
progress would be an unnecessary factor in a moral system that, by
definition, has already been perfected. Things look quite a bit
different, however, if there is no infallible being behind the
scripture. Ordinary, quite fallible, men will have defined a code unable
to foresee contextual change of any sort and the scripture would've
rendered itself immune to improvement or revision by virtue of its own
claim to infallibility. Either these scriptures are an eternally sound
foundation upon which to lead a moral life because they are the inspired
writings of an infallible being or they are ordinary words written by
ordinary men that demand we pretend otherwise.
Agnostics may say that it still doesn't matter if the scriptures were written by ordinary men or not because it is impossible to know for certain either way. While it is true that we cannot be certain, it is also true that we find ourselves in something of a binary situation. The moment you incorporate something from another source, say Aristotle, into your moral code that either adds or subtracts from what is outlined in the scriptures, you're admitting that the scriptures are fallible. No matter how passionately devoted to neutrality one may find oneself, you're either going to act as if the scriptures are an infallible moral foundation or you're not and, if you're not, then you've already made your choice. This all has to do with a concept I heard early on in my Christian days, which was referred to as, "Being your own God." For instance, if you decide waiting until marriage for sex is stupid because making a legal commitment to a lifelong sexual relationship with someone without having the slightest idea whether you're sexually compatible with them is stupid, then you're being your own God. Atheism itself is the ultimate expression of being your own God because that means you're going to figure everything out on your own. What's moral, where you should live, be in social contact with, work, and so on are all decisions you make without prayer or consulting scriptures to find out what you're supposed to do. Of course, if there is no God then you really still have two choices. You can either be your own God or you can let others be your God. For that to end well for you, you're going to need to have sufficiently good judgment to suss out which other people ought to serve as your God and, if you're got sufficiently good judgment for that, you've got sufficiently good judgment to be your own God i the first place. Scripture in a world with no God is just another God to pick over yourself, except it's often written by men far less educated than you on just about every conceivable level. Individual liberty is the enemy of the religious mindset because it offers something even more radical than being your own God.
Atheism is more than the rejection of dogma, superstition, and faith. It is also the rejection of infallible beings, including oneself. You make your own decisions in life, and you're capable of sussing out the difference between right and wrong, prudent and foolhardy, cruel and kind, and gracious and petulant. Except when you're not, because sometimes you're not. Sometimes you won't know the best thing to do and you have the wheel during those times too, for better or for worse. Christian notions of free will are similar, but an important difference is that, by those lights, you're a fallen being in a fallen world and you're SUPPOSED to be able to be perfect, but, you know, the whole ancestor fruit-eating incident screwed the pooch on that one. Contrast that with a world where you're SUPPOSED to be making mistakes because that's how you learn and grow. Sure, you'll hurt people and they'll hurt you. Both of you will probably think you're in the right too. Despite all your challenges and the utter shitstorm of chaos is that is the average human being's life, you'll have to suss out best way for you to live. So here we have two very different ways of measuring a man. Either you measure him against an infallible being who set up an infallible moral code, or you measure him against himself because his life is his own, his decisions are his own, and the only person who can ultimately be accountable for his behavior is himself. So, yes, it matters whether or not you believe in God, because it determines whether or not you're going to be able to fully and fearlessly assume control over your own life or if you think a portion of your life, however large or small, is in God's hands. Instead of seeking Christ's forgiveness, I seek only the forgiveness of those against whom I have trespassed. Instead of feeling an obligation to God for bringing me into this world, I feel an obligation to my parents. Instead of looking for the answers in the back of the book like a poor math student, I'm willing to do and show my work for every moral precept I hold dear. Believe in God if you wish. We all do what we must. Whatever you believe, believe this. It matters.
-Frank
Agnostics may say that it still doesn't matter if the scriptures were written by ordinary men or not because it is impossible to know for certain either way. While it is true that we cannot be certain, it is also true that we find ourselves in something of a binary situation. The moment you incorporate something from another source, say Aristotle, into your moral code that either adds or subtracts from what is outlined in the scriptures, you're admitting that the scriptures are fallible. No matter how passionately devoted to neutrality one may find oneself, you're either going to act as if the scriptures are an infallible moral foundation or you're not and, if you're not, then you've already made your choice. This all has to do with a concept I heard early on in my Christian days, which was referred to as, "Being your own God." For instance, if you decide waiting until marriage for sex is stupid because making a legal commitment to a lifelong sexual relationship with someone without having the slightest idea whether you're sexually compatible with them is stupid, then you're being your own God. Atheism itself is the ultimate expression of being your own God because that means you're going to figure everything out on your own. What's moral, where you should live, be in social contact with, work, and so on are all decisions you make without prayer or consulting scriptures to find out what you're supposed to do. Of course, if there is no God then you really still have two choices. You can either be your own God or you can let others be your God. For that to end well for you, you're going to need to have sufficiently good judgment to suss out which other people ought to serve as your God and, if you're got sufficiently good judgment for that, you've got sufficiently good judgment to be your own God i the first place. Scripture in a world with no God is just another God to pick over yourself, except it's often written by men far less educated than you on just about every conceivable level. Individual liberty is the enemy of the religious mindset because it offers something even more radical than being your own God.
Atheism is more than the rejection of dogma, superstition, and faith. It is also the rejection of infallible beings, including oneself. You make your own decisions in life, and you're capable of sussing out the difference between right and wrong, prudent and foolhardy, cruel and kind, and gracious and petulant. Except when you're not, because sometimes you're not. Sometimes you won't know the best thing to do and you have the wheel during those times too, for better or for worse. Christian notions of free will are similar, but an important difference is that, by those lights, you're a fallen being in a fallen world and you're SUPPOSED to be able to be perfect, but, you know, the whole ancestor fruit-eating incident screwed the pooch on that one. Contrast that with a world where you're SUPPOSED to be making mistakes because that's how you learn and grow. Sure, you'll hurt people and they'll hurt you. Both of you will probably think you're in the right too. Despite all your challenges and the utter shitstorm of chaos is that is the average human being's life, you'll have to suss out best way for you to live. So here we have two very different ways of measuring a man. Either you measure him against an infallible being who set up an infallible moral code, or you measure him against himself because his life is his own, his decisions are his own, and the only person who can ultimately be accountable for his behavior is himself. So, yes, it matters whether or not you believe in God, because it determines whether or not you're going to be able to fully and fearlessly assume control over your own life or if you think a portion of your life, however large or small, is in God's hands. Instead of seeking Christ's forgiveness, I seek only the forgiveness of those against whom I have trespassed. Instead of feeling an obligation to God for bringing me into this world, I feel an obligation to my parents. Instead of looking for the answers in the back of the book like a poor math student, I'm willing to do and show my work for every moral precept I hold dear. Believe in God if you wish. We all do what we must. Whatever you believe, believe this. It matters.
-Frank
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