ATHEISM:
A Step On The Long Journey

A Bit of Background

According to a popular internet source, atheism is a term that first emerged in the 16th century being used later to identify certain groups that emerged during the Age of Enlightenment. The internet source defines it like so: "Atheism is, in the broadest sense, the absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is the rejection of belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities".

And, since agnosticism is akin to atheism, and so many wonder about the difference shija, and further, because it definition helps demonstrate the march of mindal progress on the spectrum of God-consciousness, our popular internt source’s definition is provided here: “Agnosticism is the view that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable”. While we are on the subject you may be interested to know that there is a branch of agnosticism, agnostic theism, that: "…believes in the existence of a god or gods, but regards the basis of this proposition as unknown or inherently unknowable".

And so, for the purposes of what follows, agnosticism and its related philosophial theories, may be viewed as somewhat more evolved philosophies in the sense that they do not rely on the absolutest doctrines and dogmas of the leading proponents of atheism. Moreover, it can already be seen from the preceeding, that the thinking, or non-thinking, about the idea of the existence of God, can be thought of as a spectrum ranging from non-thinking to (perhaps) all-thinking!

Meanwhile, our popular internet source goes on to say the "Arguments for atheism range from the philosophical to social and historical approaches. Rationales for not believing in deities include arguments that there is a lack of empirical evidence, the problem of evil, the argument from inconsistent revelations, the rejection of concepts that cannot be falsified, and the argument from nonbelief. Atheists themselves might say it is "the rejection of any and all species of ingenious self-deception resulting from a retreat to the false shelter of stereotyped religious doctrines and dogmas".

By critics, atheism has been variously, and perhaps unfairly, referred to or described as: a master deception; a fool’s folly; and many other such derogatory portrayals. But have such characterizations been substantiated in any way?

The plot thickens!… Who is it then, who is self-deceived? According to some of atheism’s chief contemporary proponents and certain cultural icons, it is clearly their intellectually inferior detractors.

Among its more vocal adherent, atheism has captured: Richard Dawkins, scientist, author of works like "A Devil’s Chaplain", and a student of evolution and human behavior; Sam Harris, the "rock star" of contemporary atheism, an Islam belief system critic(!), and more strangely a paranormal advocate; Christopher Hitchens, the author of "God is Not Great", is perhaps the most articulate and urbane voice among the more (self-described) "intellectual atheists"; and Daniel Dennett, last of the "four horsemen" of atheism, and author of "Darwin’s Dangeroud Idea". Then there is: Stephen Hawkin; Steven Pinker; and Michael Shermer. Of sourse there are many other less notable and outspoken atheists including some sports and Hollywood favorites like: Bill Murray, Jodie Foster, Mark Zuckerberg (although now he seems to have embraced some form of religion. Perhaps this was a business decision?), and Lance Armstrong.

Curiously, men seem to dominate the list of popular, contemporary atheists, with one notable exception who has broken into the gentlemen’s club, one Jennifer Michael Hecht, a woman "with expertise in history and philosophy", and author of “The End of the Soul”.

Meanwhile, Richard Dawkins, perhaps the most influential atheist in the relatively modern world has said, "Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist". And this is true – if one: continues to discount more recent thinking and the availability of better scientific data; ignores the incontrovertible debunking of many of the former bases for atheism; fails to recognize the limitations and outright error in earlier thinking; or if one is presently locked into a circumscribed, ideologically self-fulfilling set of what were once believed to be actual ‘facts’.

“If you want to get a sense of the how wrong neo-darwinists, such as Dawkins and Dennett, have been", google the author of this statement, James Shapiro of the University of Chicago and read his most recent article related to the “Central Dogma” of biology. The bottom line is that Dawkins and Dennett and company have been shown to be wrong on virtually every key first principle of their argument. And this comes from an agnostic not a creationist!

More recently, and apparently desperate to hold on to its audience, atheism proponents have purveyed the ingeniously twisted and unprovable (and unfalsifiable, see below) notion that all the complexity of the universe, and the biological systems extending up to human intellect — can be explained by the multi-universe theory on the one hand and evolution on the other. BTW… Doesn’t such a notion require an act of ‘faith’ on the part of those atheist who want to hold (on to) such a belief?

While one can make all the most (seeminglingly) profound counter arguments, both for and against atheism, various popular internet sources provide this smathering:

• Lack of empirical evidence: True on both sides of the ledger. All the so-called "top thinkers" have now been debunked. Look it up!
• The problem of evil can be counterposed with the "Problem of Goodness". Pick your problem!
• Purveyors of the inconsistent relevations idea are apparently unaware of the phenomenon demonstrated by the "Telephone Game"!
• The rather ridiculous proposition that even an absolute fact cannot be true — if it can’t be falsified. Say what?
• Or, the argument from non-belief — that erroneously assumes a perfect world of perfected individuals with perfected thinking — and fails to consider and integrate the idea of the evolutionary aspects of creation, and therefore, of course, the actual fact of, and differences between, individual human experiences and thought.

But all such counter arguments and considerations are for naught if: one’s mind is: insufficient, unopen to critical thinking, too busy with the trivialities of daily life; too lazy for the serious consideration of potentially life-altering, alternative thought; too fearful to entertain conflicting thoughts that might upset one’s mindal fragility; or perhaps, one is currently sufficiently ‘satisfied’ with their state of life’s comprehension, or perhaps there is some other point of view — that supplants more wise thinking.

And if you are really a truth-seeker, you will learn that recent advancements in physics and especially in biology are making it increasingly difficult to hold onto the view that all that we see arose by accident. Complexity and the signature of design in life systems is becoming increasingly obvious. Moreover, there is no evidence for one to embrace the multi-universe scenario, as speculated, and there are many issues with this hypothesis even with its most casual consideration. This is just an ingenious, albeit baseless idea that attempts to explain away the fundamental argument that there is simply not enough time for everything we see to have evolved – and the fact tht the universe was mind-planned.

All of this notwithstanding, an attempt will be made to contrast the real essence of the atheistic philosphy on its own terms by using the (atheistically discredited ☺) reality of personal experience and sufficient logic, as the means.

WARNING: The information that follows may be unsettling, even disturbing to some… but challenging to others… and thought-proving and even, perhaps for the few, long-sighted truth-seekers — insightful and helpful. It’s hard-hitting and no punches will be pulled!

Materialism and Modern Day Atheism

Some ask: "Is atheism a religion?". The answers can vary, but I will offer an answer in the negative – assuming one is using the more standard definitions of religion and atheism. For example, according to the Google-provided definition, religion is: "the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods". On the other hand, again Google-provided, atheism is: "disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods." Even the IRS does not apply the same taxation considerations to atheist organizations that it does for groups that meet its criteria for being a ‘religion’.

And so, despite what might be called superficial similiarities, perhaps the best answer to the original question is: "No, atheism is a non-religion".

Interestingly, Atheists, apparently not wanting to be boxed into any particular definition – presumably to avoid bases for critical-thought attack – renounce almost all definitions, and reject such terms as: religion, belief system, and even ideology, to define themselves. In fact, according to the Atheist Alliance, "atheists have no beliefs in common, no gods of any kind, nothing they worship, no scripture, no shared values, and no dogma. They have no clergy, no schools, and no sacred buildings. The only thing all atheists share is a lack of belief in gods" (emphasis added!). This self-definition itself is fraught with several self-contradictions, but these are matters for another article.

Meanwhile, back to the main theme of posing thoughtful dilemmas for the would-be atheist:

^195:6.13 If men were only machines, they would react more or less uniformly to a material universe. Individuality, much less personality, would be nonexistent. More…

^195:7.3 The inconsistency of the modern mechanist is: If this were merely a material universe and man only a machine, such a man would be wholly unable to recognize himself as such a machine, and likewise would such a machine-man be wholly unconscious of the fact of the existence of such a material universe. The materialistic dismay and despair of a mechanistic science has failed to recognize the fact of the spirit-indwelt mind of the scientist whose very supermaterial insight formulates these mistaken and self-contradictory concepts of a materialistic universe. More…

^195:6.11 To say that mind “emerged” from matter explains nothing. If the universe were merely a mechanism and mind were unapart from matter, we would never have two differing interpretations of any observed phenomenon. The concepts of truth, beauty, and goodness are not inherent in either physics or chemistry. A machine cannot know, much less know truth, hunger for righteousness, and cherish goodness. More…

^195:6.9 The materialistic sociologist of today surveys a community, makes a report thereon, and leaves the people as he found them. Nineteen hundred years ago, unlearned Galileans surveyed Jesus giving his life as a spiritual contribution to man’s inner experience and then went out and turned the whole Roman Empire upside down. href=”../../eng01/195.html#195_6_9″>More…/p>

^195:8.2 Modern secularism has been fostered by two world-wide influences. The father of secularism was the narrow-minded and godless attitude of nineteenth- and twentieth-century so-called science — atheistic science. The mother of modern secularism was the totalitarian medieval Christian church. Secularism had its inception as a rising protest against the almost complete domination of Western civilization by the institutionalized Christian church. href=”../../eng01/195.html#195_8_2″>More…

^195:7.2 Science should do for man materially what religion does for him spiritually: extend the horizon of life and enlarge his personality. True science can have no lasting quarrel with true religion. The “scientific method” is merely an intellectual yardstick wherewith to measure material adventures and physical achievements. But being material and wholly intellectual, it is utterly useless in the evaluation of spiritual realities and religious experiences. More…

^195:7.1 How foolish it is for material-minded man to allow such vulnerable theories as those of a mechanistic universe to deprive him of the vast spiritual resources of the personal experience of true religion. Facts never quarrel with real spiritual faith; theories may. Better that science should be devoted to the destruction of superstition rather than attempting the overthrow of religious faith — human belief in spiritual realities and divine values. More…

^195:6.5 Science is a quantitative experience, religion a qualitative experience, as regards man’s life on earth. Science deals with phenomena; religion, with origins, values, and goals. To assign causes as an explanation of physical phenomena is to confess ignorance of ultimates and in the end only leads the scientist straight back to the first great cause — the Universal Father of Paradise. More…

Sadly, many of the older generations’ atheists (materialists) will hold to their beliefs until they are in the grave, but even then, they may still have a chance to learn the truth!

And much more… in The Urantia Book

NOTE: The Urantia Book is now freely available for download in a variety of formats and languages here: Download The Urantia Book.

Hedging One’s Bet

On the one hand, the arguments for undermining the belief system known as atheism – are often as simple as reversing the logic of its inexperienced thinking. And, such an approach holds true for other such schools of thought, including, for example, those of the gnostics, the libertines, the skeptics, nihilists, evolutionists, Christians, Buddhists, aesthetics, and so on.

Moreover, if one is honest with one’s self, if one is up-to-date on the latest scientific inquiry and discoveries, and if one has the courage to entertain evolving thought, then the so-called ‘facts’ supporting the assumptions of atheism will unravel at a indy pace.

And so, if you are a luke warm advocate of atheism, or even currently a staunch, die hard fan, this or any other ‘ology’, it’s seems prudent to hedge one’s bet in case one is mistaken.

To this end, I must recommend The Urantia Book for it has information that can withstand to most rigorous scrutiny and has done so now for more than half a century.

And much more… in The Urantia Book

NOTE: The Urantia Book is now freely available for download in a variety of formats and languages here: Download The Urantia Book.

“The Maximization of Ugliness”, Really?

Atheism’s dirty little secret is that it is the ideology of the walking dead. It is lifeless, hopeless, and is the ultimate dead end. Not corrected, atheism will lead not only to bodily death (a necessary step on the journey), but also mindal death, soul death, and personality extinction. You could become as if you never were! Consider the following, if you will.

^195:6.17 The sincere pursuit of goodness, beauty, and truth leads to God. And every scientific discovery demonstrates the existence of both freedom and uniformity in the universe. The discoverer was free to make the discovery. The thing discovered is real and apparently uniform, or else it could not have become known as a thing. More…

^56:10.3 Philosophy you somewhat grasp, and divinity can be comprehended in worship, social service, and personal spiritual experience, but the pursuit of beauty — cosmology — you all too often limit to the study of man’s crude artistic endeavors. Beauty, art, is largely a matter of the unification of contrasts. Variety is essential to the concept of beauty. The supreme beauty, the height of finite art, is the drama of the unification of the vastness of the cosmic extremes of Creator and creature. Man finding Him and He finding man — the creature becoming perfect as is the Creator — that is the supernal achievement of the supremely beautiful, the attainment of the apex of cosmic art. More…

^56:10.4 Hence materialism, atheism, is the maximation of ugliness, the climax of the finite antithesis of the beautiful. Highest beauty consists in the panorama of the unification of the variations which have been born of pre-existent harmonious reality. More…

And much more if you dare… in The Urantia Book

NOTE: The Urantia Book is now freely available for download in a variety of formats and languages here: Download The Urantia Book.

Contemporary Challenges For Atheism

^1:2.7 The existence of God can never be proved by scientific experiment or by the pure reason of logical deduction. God can be realized only in the realms of human experience; nevertheless, the true concept of the reality of God is reasonable to logic, plausible to philosophy, essential to religion, and indispensable to any hope of personality survival. More…

^1:2.8 Those who know God have experienced the fact of his presence; such God-knowing mortals hold in their personal experience the only positive proof of the existence of the living God which one human being can offer to another. The existence of God is utterly beyond all possibility of demonstration except for the contact between the God-consciousness of the human mind and the God-presence of the Thought Adjuster that indwells the mortal intellect and is bestowed upon man as the free gift of the Universal Father. More…

The full version of The Urantia Book is available online in 23 languages View The Urantia Book ONLINE… Simply click the desired menu option at the top of the page!

Search engines for any of the 23 language-versions of The Urantia Book may be used, or downloaded, here The Urantia Book in any of its 23 languages can be freely downloaded here Search The Urantia Book…

A Few More Challenges

^139:12.5 It is altogether possible to fall victim to the peaceful deception of pleasant adjustment to the paths of [error] and death. More…

Are you kind, caring, perhaps even inexplicably loving? Are you fearless, truly courageous, and willing to honestly explore the depths of the meaning of life?

Atheism’s promise is akin “to the mistake of the foolish carpenter who wastes valuable time squaring, measuring, and smoothing his worm-eaten and inwardly rotting timber and then, when he has thus bestowed all of his labor upon the unsound beam, must reject it as unfit to enter into the foundations of the building which he would construct to withstand the assaults of time and storm.”

Stuck in someone else’s idea of reality? Isn’t it time to discover who you really are?

Another atheist popular in some circles, Greta Christina, asks in her article by the same name: “Why Did God Create Atheists?”, posted on June 5, 2010, on Alternet.

In this article, Greta poses a number of interesting such questions but goes on to say this about the title:
“This is a question I always want to ask religious believers. (One of many questions, actually. ‘What evidence do you have that God is real?’ and ‘Why are religious beliefs so different and so contradictory?’ are also high on the list.)”

Sadly, in a combination of: only-partially-informed assumptions; dependence on now-debunked science; apparent resistance to alternate views based on real and scientifically-observable evidence, Greta leaps, altogether too-hastily IMHO, to “final” points of view – even as the so-called ‘evidence’ Greta cites continues to change or is simply cast aside. And where the entire foundation of her logic continues to rumble and shift, and at times, this ground literally sinks beneath her feet.
Another set of questions posed by Greta is: “If God is real, and religious believers are perceiving a real entity… why is anyone an atheist? Why don’t we all perceive him? If God is powerful enough to reach out to believers just by sending out his thoughts or love or whatever… why isn’t he powerful enough to reach all of us? Why is there anyone who doesn’t believe in him?”.

It’s all about free will, Greta! The free will to believe in the fact — of actual personal experience with our loving creator (in any of its multifarioous manifestations)- and, as you currently demonstrate, even the free will to even reject such a worthy fact.

This personal experience is the evidence of the ages. It is as true, in fact more true, than the ever-evolving, relativistic evidence of our scientists’ current thinking/understanding. And, moreover, it is through such personal experience that or Father-creator is known to be real.

Having said all that, and because each of us is truly unique, and therefore has a unique and personal relationship with the Father, it should be understandable that each individual describes their experience with this Father-Mother creator, for better or worse, in their own terms and based on their own life experience, vocabulary, and ability to effectively communicate.
And therefore is it quite challenging to understand much about this Creator by reading someone else’s description, for the only way to truly know Him is to experience Him/Her!

Said differently, this relationship, i.e., each individual’s relation with this Creator, is so unique that it cannot adequately be described by using other familiar references. And so, these relationships defy adequate explanation and results in all sorts of various and seemingly inconsistent descriptions. This is simply the way it is, and the way it must be.

And yet, those who have already discovered our loving Creator through their own personal experiences — can readily share the fact of their experiences, in fact revel in these experiences, with others who likewise have discovered their own relationship with Him-Her..

The full version of The Urantia Book is available online in 23 languages View The Urantia Book ONLINE… Simply click the desired menu option at the top of the page!

Search engines for any of the 23 language-versions of The Urantia Book may be used, or downloaded, here The Urantia Book in any of its 23 languages can be freely downloaded here Search The Urantia Book…

And Finally

 All evolutionary creature life is beset by certain inevitabilities. Consider the following:

^3:5.6 1. Is courage — strength of character — desirable? Then must man be reared in an environment which necessitates grappling with hardships and reacting to disappointments. More…

^3:5.7 2. Is altruism — service of one’s fellows — desirable? Then must life experience provide for encountering situations of social inequality. More…

^3:5.8 3. Is hope — the grandeur of trust — desirable? Then human existence must constantly be confronted with insecurities and recurrent uncertainties. More…

^3:5.9 4. Is faith — the supreme assertion of human thought — desirable? Then must the mind of man find itself in that troublesome predicament where it ever knows less than it can believe. More…

^3:5.10 5. Is the love of truth and the willingness to go wherever it leads, desirable? Then must man grow up in a world where error is present and falsehood always possible. More…

^3:5.11 6. Is idealism — the approaching concept of the divine — desirable? Then must man struggle in an environment of relative goodness and beauty, surroundings stimulative of the irrepressible reach for better things. More…

^3:5.12 7. Is loyalty — devotion to highest duty — desirable? Then must man carry on amid the possibilities of betrayal and desertion. The valor of devotion to duty consists in the implied danger of default. More…

^3:5.13 8. Is unselfishness — the spirit of self-forgetfulness — desirable? Then must mortal man live face to face with the incessant clamoring of an inescapable self for recognition and honor. Man could not dynamically choose the divine life if there were no self-life to forsake. Man could never lay saving hold on righteousness if there were no potential evil to exalt and differentiate the good by contrast. More…

^3:5.14 9. Is pleasure — the satisfaction of happiness — desirable? Then must man live in a world where the alternative of pain and the likelihood of suffering are ever-present experiential possibilities. More…

And finally, if you can read the following two books with an open mind, andin their entirety, and still hold on to your belief in atheism — then you are a bonafide believer, a real atheist, at least for now!

1. The Urantia Book (All about personal experience) and
2. Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions by David Beliinski

Search engines for any of the 23 language-versions of The Urantia Book may be used online or downloaded here: Search The Urantia Book…