I must say that while religion has served it's purposes and given us great art and culture (and taken away from it also) we no longer need faith in abhigher beaing to have a new renaissance of thought and expression.
Faith in self and faith in man is the new religion... and we even have our own religious texts... An extract of what has been called "profound atheism":
"Whither is God" he cried. "I shall tell you. We have killed him—you and I. All of us are his murderers. But how have we done this? How are we able to drink up the sea? Who gave us the sponge to wipe away the entire horizon? What did we do when we unchained the earth from its sun? Whither is it moving now? Whither are we moving now? Away from all suns? Are we not plunging continually? Backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there any up or down left? Are we not straying as through an infinite nothing? Do we not feel the breath of empty space? Has it not become colder? Is not night and more night coming on all the while? Must not lanterns be lit in the morning? Do we not hear anything yet of the noise of the gravediggers who are burying God? Do we not smell anything yet of God’s decomposition? Gods too decompose. God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we, the murderers of all murderers, comfort ourselves? What was holiest and most powerful of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives. Who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must not we ourselves become Gods simply to seem worthy of it? There has never been a greater deed; and whoever will be born after us—for the sake of this deed he will be part of a higher history than all history hithertoo.
Here the madman fell silent and looked again at his listeners; and they too were silent and stared at him in astonishment. At last he threw his lantern on the ground, and it broke and went out. "I come too early," he said then; "my time has not come yet. This tremendous event is still on its way, still wandering—it has not yet reached the ears of man. Lightning and thunder require time, the light of the stars requires time, deeds require time even after they are done, before they can be seen and heard. This deed is still more distant from them than the most distant stars—and yet they have done it themselves."
-Nietzsche in the story of "The Madman" from "The Gay Science."
Profound. It speaks volumes to me, it offeres questions without answers. A profound nihlism without the comfort of answers from your gods.
Do not confuse atheism with being without faith. I have great faith. I just don't place it in some metaphysical nameless being with a million definitions while leaving nothing tangible.
If God appeared beforeme today I would accept his/her/its/their existance. I suppose that just makes me a cynical agnostic
But until that point I reject your beliefs and even if I saw God to be real I would still reject your flawed and hateful religious institutions.
I spit at organised religion, christianty, and the church. If you follow their doctrine rather than your own sense of faith (with which there is nothing wrong, I just don't feel the same) then I spit at you. Have faith by all means. propogate the conformist and restrictive values of the church and then you'll find me in direct opposition with such "faith." Faith should be a personal thing, not organised for simplicity.
Faith in self and faith in man is the new religion... and we even have our own religious texts... An extract of what has been called "profound atheism":
"Whither is God" he cried. "I shall tell you. We have killed him—you and I. All of us are his murderers. But how have we done this? How are we able to drink up the sea? Who gave us the sponge to wipe away the entire horizon? What did we do when we unchained the earth from its sun? Whither is it moving now? Whither are we moving now? Away from all suns? Are we not plunging continually? Backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there any up or down left? Are we not straying as through an infinite nothing? Do we not feel the breath of empty space? Has it not become colder? Is not night and more night coming on all the while? Must not lanterns be lit in the morning? Do we not hear anything yet of the noise of the gravediggers who are burying God? Do we not smell anything yet of God’s decomposition? Gods too decompose. God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we, the murderers of all murderers, comfort ourselves? What was holiest and most powerful of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives. Who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must not we ourselves become Gods simply to seem worthy of it? There has never been a greater deed; and whoever will be born after us—for the sake of this deed he will be part of a higher history than all history hithertoo.
Here the madman fell silent and looked again at his listeners; and they too were silent and stared at him in astonishment. At last he threw his lantern on the ground, and it broke and went out. "I come too early," he said then; "my time has not come yet. This tremendous event is still on its way, still wandering—it has not yet reached the ears of man. Lightning and thunder require time, the light of the stars requires time, deeds require time even after they are done, before they can be seen and heard. This deed is still more distant from them than the most distant stars—and yet they have done it themselves."
-Nietzsche in the story of "The Madman" from "The Gay Science."
Profound. It speaks volumes to me, it offeres questions without answers. A profound nihlism without the comfort of answers from your gods.
Do not confuse atheism with being without faith. I have great faith. I just don't place it in some metaphysical nameless being with a million definitions while leaving nothing tangible.
If God appeared beforeme today I would accept his/her/its/their existance. I suppose that just makes me a cynical agnostic
But until that point I reject your beliefs and even if I saw God to be real I would still reject your flawed and hateful religious institutions.I spit at organised religion, christianty, and the church. If you follow their doctrine rather than your own sense of faith (with which there is nothing wrong, I just don't feel the same) then I spit at you. Have faith by all means. propogate the conformist and restrictive values of the church and then you'll find me in direct opposition with such "faith." Faith should be a personal thing, not organised for simplicity.
