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October 26, 2006
I'm Coming Out of the Closet. There, I Said It.
I picked up a copy of The God Delusion last week and I’m only a few chapters into it. But wow, great book. So far I’m wondering why it took me so long to discover the genius of Richard Dawkins. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Mr. Dawkins, he is probably the most outspoken atheist of our time. And, he makes a damn good argument for the abolition of religion.
The first chapter challenges atheists to “come out of the closet” and proclaim to the world their disbelief in an all-knowing superhero who lives in the sky. He urges people, like myself, who’ve always called themselves “agnostic”, to own up to their true feelings and tell it like it is. And he’s right. Saying you’re agnostic is like aligning yourself with the softer side of atheism. It’s okay to say “I don’t know what I believe” but it’s unacceptable in today’s society to be an atheist. It’s actually more acceptable to say you are gay than you are an atheist—which is great for gays—but it paints a bleak picture of where society is devolving to. (That’s no knock on gays by the way. As society moves back into the evangelical stone age, the gay community will need all the help it can get. Legalizing gay marriage is a good start.)
So yeah, I’m an atheist. I’m also a Buddhist, but I’ll explain how that works in another post.
So pick up Dawkin’s book if any of these dilemmas ring true. And also check out some great excerpts from his UK television series called The Root of All Evil. This program has not found a distributor in the states because, well, nobody wants to the touch the subject of atheism—it’s too controversial. Thank God for Google video!
And finally, follow along on his US book tour via his own blog.
Geoffrey sez:
Dale: I’ll admit, there wasn’t really any courage involved, but your comment brings up another good point. If us atheist/Buddhist weirdos are so legion why are we absent a public voice? I’m pretty certain any self-proclaimed atheist would have zero chance of holding public office in this country. Yet, we are supposed to be a secular government run by the people.
Posted at October 27, 2006 8:33 AM
Dale Cruse sez:
I think much of the reason we atheist/Buddhist types don’t have much of a public voice is not because of our atheism - it’s because of our Buddhism. I don’t really see how Buddhism and politics mix. But I’m open to the conversation: What would the intersection of Buddhism and politics look like?
Posted at October 28, 2006 6:43 AM
Geoffrey sez:
I don’t think Buddhism is at odds with politics at all. Buddhism itself seems quite pragmatic. It might appear “mystical” on the surface, but in reality it has a lot more to do with common sense and mindfulness than anything—which seems like a perfect remedy for politics.
Atheism vs. monotheism is a completely different argument anyway. There is no “God” in Buddhism. There is no Buddha for that matter. It’s all a state of mind.
Posted at October 29, 2006 1:48 PM
Dale Cruse sez:
It took great courage for you to “come out.” But trust that there are other atheist/Buddist weirdos like us out there. In fact, we are legion.
Posted at October 27, 2006 4:24 AM