Posted on 11/27/2005 6:32:15 AM PST by machman
Morning Edition, November 21, 2005 ·
I believe that there is no God. I'm beyond Atheism. Atheism is not believing in God. Not believing in God is easy -- you can't prove a negative, so there's no work to do. You can't prove that there isn't an elephant inside the trunk of my car. You sure? How about now? Maybe he was just hiding before. Check again. Did I mention that my personal heartfelt definition of the word "elephant" includes mystery, order, goodness, love and a spare tire?
So, anyone with a love for truth outside of herself has to start with no belief in God and then look for evidence of God. She needs to search for some objective evidence of a supernatural power. All the people I write e-mails to often are still stuck at this searching stage. The Atheism part is easy.
But, this "This I Believe" thing seems to demand something more personal, some leap of faith that helps one see life's big picture, some rules to live by. So, I'm saying, "This I believe: I believe there is no God."
Having taken that step, it informs every moment of my life. I'm not greedy. I have love, blue skies, rainbows and Hallmark cards, and that has to be enough. It has to be enough, but it's everything in the world and everything in the world is plenty for me. It seems just rude to beg the invisible for more. Just the love of my family that raised me and the family I'm raising now is enough that I don't need heaven. I won the huge genetic lottery and I get joy every day.
Believing there's no God means I can't really be forgiven except by kindness and faulty memories. That's good; it makes me want to be more thoughtful. I have to try to treat people right the first time around.
Believing there's no God stops me from being solipsistic. I can read ideas from all different people from all different cultures. Without God, we can agree on reality, and I can keep learning where I'm wrong. We can all keep adjusting, so we can really communicate. I don't travel in circles where people say, "I have faith, I believe this in my heart and nothing you can say or do can shake my faith." That's just a long-winded religious way to say, "shut up," or another two words that the FCC likes less. But all obscenity is less insulting than, "How I was brought up and my imaginary friend means more to me than anything you can ever say or do." So, believing there is no God lets me be proven wrong and that's always fun. It means I'm learning something.
Believing there is no God means the suffering I've seen in my family, and indeed all the suffering in the world, isn't caused by an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent force that isn't bothered to help or is just testing us, but rather something we all may be able to help others with in the future. No God means the possibility of less suffering in the future.
Believing there is no God gives me more room for belief in family, people, love, truth, beauty, sex, Jell-o and all the other things I can prove and that make this life the best life I will ever have.
Except that Penn is absolutely not a liberal.
If you follow some of his writings and watch his great TV show BullS%%t, you would know that. He is more libertarian/conservative than liberal.
And, its his life, he can believe what he wants without having to have a bunch a folks waving bibles in his face telling him that he is doomed.
Jello in hell is runny.
#109 ARGUMENT FROM LACK OF DISPROOF
(1) You can't prove God doesn't exist!
(2) Therefore, God exists.
#164 ARGUMENT FROM WE ALL GOT FAITH
(1) We all believe in something.
(2) Therefore we all have faith.
(3) My faith in God is no different from your faith that the sun will rise tomorrow morning.
(4) Therefore, God exists.
Alright, having this as proof he needs to get to work.
Thanks, for me I cannot see going through life and not believing in God.
Why do you think they wasted their time?
Believing there's no God means I can't really be forgiven except by kindness and faulty memories.
This article is loaded with statements to be commented on. Sadly it's probably indicative of society in general. Making yourself a god is the way of many.
Narrow is the way...Jesus.
Freepmail me if you want on or off this ping list.
bonk
Psalm 14:1 [[To the chief Musician, [A Psalm] of David.]] The fool hath said in his heart, [There is] no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, [there is] none that doeth good.
Psalm 53:1 [[To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil, [A Psalm] of David.]] The fool hath said in his heart, [There is] no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: [there is] none that doeth good.
I never claimed to have the authority to claim what belief is 'real'. But you seem awfully intent on ascribing that to me. I merely stated what I know from being around a little while.
Why? To discredit the messenger?
So, out of curiosity, which pigeonhole do I fit in for you? 'Fundie'? 'New Ager'? Hmmm? Personally I could care less.
Sorry, I couldn't get past the first paragraph. The writer seems to think that conflating the physical with the meta physical somehow justifies his innocuous declaration.
I wish him the best and for Christmas I wish that he would learn some humility because he has demonstrated once again that there is no fool like a condescending, self important one.
Lot's of people still get saved by hearing good preaching.
This thread will not end well...you are correct in that, sir. This was a well written, well thought out commentary and why people who believe, or SAY they believe in God should be so bothered or threatened by it is so anti-everything they stand for. He made a well thought out case. Why does that scare people? It made me think...didn't change my beliefs, but it made me think.
By now you know she is a he...and this is what non-believers can't stand about true believers...YOU THINK YOU KNOW EVERYTHING. If Penn Gillette says he's happy, who are you to doubt him because he does not believe what you believe?
Nope, not the way it works. He can believ anything he wants and he can even get the public dime to publish his beliefs but from there you go astray. As long as the the "folks waving bibles in his face telling him that he is doomed" do it on their own dime and in their own space they are well within their rights whether you agree or disagree with their criticism or method.
His case is the same fatuous one made a million times over. He's happy. Great.
Now why is it wrong to rape babies?
Perhaps that makes somebody happy. Perhaps that somebody's prime directive is self aggrandizement not the libertarian principle of non aggression which makes libertarians happy. Why are the non aggression folks right and the self aggrandizing folks wrong if they both end up happy?
Most natural disasters...the bad things happen because of the laws of physics, chemistry, biology or a combination of the above.
The very laws that cause bad things to happen are also responsible for very many good things.
The Human suffering that comes from them are the result of ignorance, bad planning, or arrogance.
Try to think clearly.
I can learn things from different cultures, despite his insuation that anyone who believes in God can't. That's the point smalls.
You need to read what he is saying a little closer before you start accusing me of giving anyone a bad name.
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