Diversity in Atheism

One would think that an Atheist denies any existence of God. That isn't the case however. There are supposedly three different waves of Atheism. The first wave was the one we are all familiar with, declaring that there is no God. The second wave actually took a vastly different approach, claiming that there is no doubt that God exists. What caused them to lost faith was the fact that God's existence didn't lead to an end in the world's suffering. The third and current wave claims that there is no God, but perhaps there is value to religion.
I want to address that third group's stance. Taking out the concept of God, what is religion? Quite frankly it becomes just another organization or group, comparable to the government or the boy scouts. God is what makes religion. Without that higher being, religion is merely a social gathering. Without God, there is no weight to any religious text, nor religious rituals. Without God, there is no religious diversity and nor is there religious approaches to living life.
For me personally, the third wave of atheists are riding a nonexistent wave. Because without God, there is no religion.
Of course another point is arguable here. Why do we need religion? Well religion does many of the same things that other social organizations do: 1. it gives a sense of community 2. it builds relationships 3. It provides a social network to fall back upon. But it also does more than that. Religion provides meaning, or purpose in life. Atheists have no belief in God, so what are their aims in life? Money, fame, knowledge? These are aspects that are whimsical, and can be lost as quickly as they are gained. Faith in a higher being and an afterlife however, has driven people through entire lifetimes. Perhaps more importantly, it has given satisfaction. What can atheists say to that?

Televangelists Finally Being Exposed

I had seen televangelists perform on television many years ago. Not being a Christian, I gave little thought to them. But in my Politics and Religion class, i was exposed to the ways in which televangelists take advantage of poor Americans in the name of Jesus. With so many televangelists, you would think that one of these guys is for real. But there is strong proof against that claim, because so many of these people are multi-millionaires.
Now how exactly do these people become so rich when they are preaching for God, and asking for money for good causes such as charities? Truth is that many are taking part of this incoming money and using it for personal desires. So what exactly are these people buying? Planes? Boats? Rolls-Royces? Houses? Yes to all of the above. Their spending is so ludicrous, that its a wonder these people have not been jailed for mass extortion. One man has at least stepped up to the plate. Mr. Chuck Grassley has started to meticulously monitor these televangelists under the pretense of tax evasion. There is legitimacy to this claim, because the government outlaws religious authorities earning or receiving copious amounts of money.
Until further developments can be made, we will just have to hope people begin making their own investigations, and exposing these frauds.

Sarah Palin Part of Christian Right?

Having recently heard of the Christian Right, I came across an article that talked about Sarah Palin's new book Going Rogue suggesting her candidacy to not only join the organization, but to lead it. With Palin being the vice president candidate runner up with John McCain, this book brings up to different thoughts.
The first is: What in the world was a Christian Fundamentalist, the type of people that constitute the Christian Right, doing running for the second most influential position in American politics? If anything, this is further proof that Americans are too dependent on "Christian Morals", rather than personal qualifications.
The second thought is that why didn't Sarah Palin run with George Bush? The match would have put together extremely devout Christians, and the people could have had the most fundamental Christian duo of American history. In that sense, the Christian Right would have been happy, the American people would have been happy, and the Vatican would have been happy. It would have been a win-win situation for everyone. Well perhaps everyone except the millions of Hindus, Muslims, Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Atheists. At least it would neatly solve the question : Is America a Christian Nation?

Christian Power in Europe

Just recently, Switzerland banned Muslims from building minarets on their mosques. It seems that there is little reasoning behind the decision. This is without a doubt discrimination against the minority Swiss Muslims, numbering around 400,000. The ban seems to make little sense, since only four mosques actually have minarets. These spire like structures are used to call Muslims to prayer. Perhaps of some ironic nature, is the fact that the religious majority there is Christian.

The situation in Europe strongly mirrors a situation I blogged about earlier, on the Hindu mandir in Chino Hills. Just as the minaret situation, the mandir faces opposition on placing spires above the imposed 42 foot city height limit.

One point should be remembered however. That this is not a post to blast Christianity. I'm sure minority religions have problems practicing their faith in religious dominated societies. The point is then, that religious tolerance isn't enough. Rather, countries need to incorporate religious acceptance.

Islam only extreme?

Islam is a religion of terrorism. That seems to be the outlook of many Americans at least. But if Islam is looked at from a macro perspective, it is easy to see that acts of terror, violence, and intolerance are regulated to a small portion of the population. Other Muslims take no part in crimes or violence.
So what really should Americans be targeting? Fundamentalism. That is the root of religious dissension. Fundamentalists, which come from all religions, never accept tolerance and go to extreme means to get religious objectives completed. They are the cause of strife and the current mindset that religions cannot live harmoniously with one another.
What is important here, is to remember that not only Muslims are fundamentalist. Christians (Religious Right, Family, KKK), Hindus (VJP), Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs will always have their own fundamentals. But that doesn't mean that they should ruin the image of followers as a whole.
Some key similarities of fundamentalists are
1. Strong Basis on Texts
2. Taking the texts literally- meaning they are not open to interpretation
3. Intolerance of other religions
4. Divinity of religious leaders
5. Secularism causes problems

Obama's show of faith

As I have noted in a recent post, Obama has not been scared to show that he is a man of faith. Now that does not mean he goes to the level of FORMER PRESIDENT G. Bush, but just that he lets Americans know he is religious. He even actively used his Christian background to appeal to voters during the elections.
So the question is, do President's, or politicians in general, live their lives as religiously as they publicly advertise? There have been numerous examples where President Obama has been caught in small lies about being present in church or actively being Christian. So what really are the chances that all of our Presidents have being abiding Christians? Could they have just fooled the Christian crazed American people into voting them into office? Could they just be attending memorials, services, and rituals to keep selling their product?

For most Americans, this is a definite possibility. Sadly, with so much emphasis on religion during elections, it is likely that other qualified men and women who are either part of minorty religions or atheists, never get a chance to change America for the better. How do we know that Christian leaders have the best interests of the country in mind? How do we know that an atheist cannot lead America forward? Quite frankly, we don't.

Atheism accepts intelligent design

Atheism is officially the third largest "religion" in the world. That is frankly surprising, and as a religious person, perhaps a bit frightening. And yet, even though people make think that Atheists and Theists must be absolutely opposed on every issue, that isn't the case. The proof is provided by the recent study that some atheists don't discount the intelligent design theory offered by mainly Christians. The theory goes along the lines of, if you pick up a watch and open it up, you see that there are many integral parts that lead to the watch being able to keep time. Essentially, there has to be a creator for the watch. That example is drawn in parallel to the world. The world has so many facets that work together and create the existence we are a part of today. So theists argue, that like a watch, there must have been a creator for the world. There is no way that the world can function so seamlessly as it does, without having been set in motion by a greater being.

But my purpose for this blog isn't necessarily to discuss this acceptance. Rather its to move on to what moves people to become atheists. Here are a list of personal thoughts on why it happens.
1. Calamities/ Life changing experiences- Holocaust, WWII, Hiroshima bombing, Rwanda Genocide
2. Religious intolerance, acts of violence, and fraud around the world
3. Ego (either wanting to take credit for accomplishments, or feeling so minuscule in relation to a divine being and countless galaxies.
4. Attempt to do away with faith (although every decision we make is based on faith)
Let me hear your reasons or disputations.