Fear of a godless world

[Rum]

I was out walking the pooches this morning. I drove a couple of miles to a golf club which has a public footpath which goes right round it. It is a beautiful walk which takes about an hour. When I got there it was absolutely bucketing down with rain, but within two minutes the clouds blew away and there was bright blue sky and a lovely windy, quite warm autumn day to be had.

I set off on the walk and felt absolutely great. I found myself appreciating the wonder and beauty of the universe and the simple fact that it should all come together at that moment for one small conscious entity to wonder at the trees, leaves, sky and at itself and its ability to appreciate this. It was a stunning hour. Raindrops gleamed in bright sunshine. Autumn leaves blew past and the sun was warm on my face.

And then it struck me that one of the reasons people who hold on to their religion do so is fear. I was alone out there. I wasn't trying to commune with some sky being. I wasn't marvelling at his creation, but as a wondrous set of circumstances which made that experience possible. I realised that I have no safety net, nothing to refer to, nothing to gauge myself against, other my fellow beings perhaps. And I reckoned that for many people of religion that imaginary safety net is what holds them to their religion. They feel they have someone else who 'knows better'., who will make everything OK in the end and who is something 'other'. Letting go of that must be very hard for some people, even in the face of overwhelming evidence.

The marvel I contemplated was rather more marvellous though than if it had all been made by magic.

[floppit]

I think there are lots of reasons people cling to religion. I suspect in many cases it has much to do with religion being something a person feels they are rather than something they do. It defines the very nature of the person looking at the leaf, not just the company of a sky being, it cuts right down to the presence of self, the company of their own being.

Of course all of that might be twaddle. While I believed for part of my life I never really went with it, the thinking side of me mattered more so I only gained from myth dumping.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Clinging to a false hope is like using an anvil for a life-preserver. It will take you down with it.

[Pappa]

... I realised that I have no safety net, nothing to refer to, nothing to gauge myself against, other my fellow beings perhaps. And I reckoned that for many people of religion that imaginary safety net is what holds them to their religion.

I love that. I've felt strongly since I was about 20 that I stand entirely on my own two feet. I may have people around me who will help me and who I care about and love, but when all is said and done we stand alone in the universe. I must rely on myself for fortitude and nobody really knows the inner world inside my head. I find it inspiring, but I can understand how it strikes fear into some people too.

[Feck]

I was pretty sure from a very early age that god (if there was one ) hated me ,so I 've never had a fear of there not being one .

[Robert_S]

I went through something like that. The very last version of theism I had was just that somehow, outside the prying eye of science, there was something that would give the overall story a happy ending even if it couldn't really be proven, measured, or described using language.

It might seem like letting go of that last bit wouldn't be significant, but it made a subtle difference in every area of my life.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I was pretty sure from a very early age that god (if there was one ) hated me ,so I 've never had a fear of there not being one .

The older religions were up front about that. "God" didn't love you, he'd step on you without noticing. If you were lucky you never got their attention.

[Bella Fortuna]

... I realised that I have no safety net, nothing to refer to, nothing to gauge myself against, other my fellow beings perhaps. And I reckoned that for many people of religion that imaginary safety net is what holds them to their religion.

I love that. I've felt strongly since I was about 20 that I stand entirely on my own two feet. I may have people around me who will help me and who I care about and love, but when all is said and done we stand alone in the universe. I must rely on myself for fortitude and nobody really knows the inner world inside my head. I find it inspiring, but I can understand how it strikes fear into some people too.

This is my feeling too. For some of us it's an awe-inspiring sensation, but I can see where some - especially those who seem to need external consciousness to thank or blame rather than taking responsibility for themselves - could be terrified by the prospect.

[Millefleur]

I was out walking the pooches this morning. I drove a couple of miles to a golf club which has a public footpath which goes right round it. It is a beautiful walk which takes about an hour. When I got there it was absolutely bucketing down with rain, but within two minutes the clouds blew away and there was bright blue sky and a lovely windy, quite warm autumn day to be had.

I set off on the walk and felt absolutely great. I found myself appreciating the wonder and beauty of the universe and the simple fact that it should all come together at that moment for one small conscious entity to wonder at the trees, leaves, sky and at itself and its ability to appreciate this. It was a stunning hour. Raindrops gleamed in bright sunshine. Autumn leaves blew past and the sun was warm on my face.

I love those perfect moments, oxygen feels like a drug.

The lack of some higher power, the realisation that you're an insignificant fleck of dust in an inconceivable expanse of space, that your life has no effect in the grand scheme of things.. I find it very liberating.

[Trolldor]

When I'm happy life is grand.
When I'm 'else' it is lonely.
But I never feel like having an imaginary friend would make things better.

[charlou]

I was pretty sure from a very early age that god (if there was one ) hated me ,so I 've never had a fear of there not being one .

I had a similar issue with the Jesus/God loves you shite. My life didn't reflect that at all. Even as a small child I thought that aspect of religion was wishful pretension at best. ugggh.



Rum, nice thoughts. It's not always a bed of roses, but I much prefer my view of reality as it is now, that's for sure.

[charlou]

The lack of some higher power, the realisation that you're an insignificant fleck of dust in an inconceivable expanse of space, that your life has no effect in the grand scheme of things.. I find it very liberating.

Yes, indeed.

[Ayaan]

I was out walking the pooches this morning. I drove a couple of miles to a golf club which has a public footpath which goes right round it. It is a beautiful walk which takes about an hour. When I got there it was absolutely bucketing down with rain, but within two minutes the clouds blew away and there was bright blue sky and a lovely windy, quite warm autumn day to be had.

I set off on the walk and felt absolutely great. I found myself appreciating the wonder and beauty of the universe and the simple fact that it should all come together at that moment for one small conscious entity to wonder at the trees, leaves, sky and at itself and its ability to appreciate this. It was a stunning hour. Raindrops gleamed in bright sunshine. Autumn leaves blew past and the sun was warm on my face.

And then it struck me that one of the reasons people who hold on to their religion do so is fear. I was alone out there. I wasn't trying to commune with some sky being. I wasn't marvelling at his creation, but as a wondrous set of circumstances which made that experience possible. I realised that I have no safety net, nothing to refer to, nothing to gauge myself against, other my fellow beings perhaps. And I reckoned that for many people of religion that imaginary safety net is what holds them to their religion. They feel they have someone else who 'knows better'., who will make everything OK in the end and who is something 'other'. Letting go of that must be very hard for some people, even in the face of overwhelming evidence.

The marvel I contemplated was rather more marvellous though than if it had all been made by magic.

You are right, Rum - part of the reason people cling to religion is fear, fear of this life, fear of having to face life alone, fear of what happens after death and for some fear of what will happen if they displease the sky being. They need the universe to be small place so they are not so lost in it.

[charlou]

I was out walking the pooches this morning. I drove a couple of miles to a golf club which has a public footpath which goes right round it. It is a beautiful walk which takes about an hour. When I got there it was absolutely bucketing down with rain, but within two minutes the clouds blew away and there was bright blue sky and a lovely windy, quite warm autumn day to be had.

I set off on the walk and felt absolutely great. I found myself appreciating the wonder and beauty of the universe and the simple fact that it should all come together at that moment for one small conscious entity to wonder at the trees, leaves, sky and at itself and its ability to appreciate this. It was a stunning hour. Raindrops gleamed in bright sunshine. Autumn leaves blew past and the sun was warm on my face.

And then it struck me that one of the reasons people who hold on to their religion do so is fear. I was alone out there. I wasn't trying to commune with some sky being. I wasn't marvelling at his creation, but as a wondrous set of circumstances which made that experience possible. I realised that I have no safety net, nothing to refer to, nothing to gauge myself against, other my fellow beings perhaps. And I reckoned that for many people of religion that imaginary safety net is what holds them to their religion. They feel they have someone else who 'knows better'., who will make everything OK in the end and who is something 'other'. Letting go of that must be very hard for some people, even in the face of overwhelming evidence.

The marvel I contemplated was rather more marvellous though than if it had all been made by magic.

You are right, Rum - part of the reason people cling to religion is fear, fear of this life, fear of having to face life alone, fear of what happens after death and for some fear of what will happen if they displease the sky being. They need the universe to be small place so they are not so lost in it.

You know who instills and perpetuates that fear? Religion mongers .. sincere or exploitational, it doesn't really matter, the end result is the same ..

Here it is again ...

In The Case Against God, George H. Smith said, "In exchange for obedience, Christianity promises salvation in an afterlife; but in order to elicit obedience through this promise, Christianity must convince men that they need salvation, that there is something to be saved from. Christianity has nothing to offer a happy man living in a natural, intelligible universe. If Christianity is to gain a motivational foothold, it must declare war on earthly pleasure and happiness, and this, historically, has been its precise course of action. In the eyes of Christianity, man is sinful and helpless in the face of God, and is potential fuel for the flames of hell. Just as Christianity must destroy reason before it can introduce faith, so it must destroy happiness before it can introduce salvation."

[mistermack]

Not for the first time, I see it differently. It would be great if there was a god. I would happily pay the price of being good, for the prize of eternal life, and seeing my parents and grandparents again.
Trouble is, it's a ludicrous story, with not one iota of evidence.

It's not surprising it's an attractive illusion, it's been designed and constantly modified to appeal to our wishful thinking over thousands of years. Trouble is, I would be miserable and embarassed following a religion, knowing in the back of my mind that it's all complete rot.

So I'm not going to try to convince myself that there's something wonderful about life as an atheist. It's what it is, a quick pointless blip between birth and death, with some joy and misery scattered about. Religion is a more attractive story, but I just prefer fact over fiction.

I like a good walk and nature as much as anyone though. My brain evolved to like it.
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