I am agnostic. My definition of agnosticism is slightly different from the one given above by the Oxford dictionary. I, at this point of time, cannot decide whether I believe in the existence of God or not. In the future, however, I do not rule out the possibility of turning theist or atheist.
All over the world, believers have the tendency to look down upon non-believers. In a survey held in the US, more than ninety percent people were ready to vote a woman, a black or a gay for President. But only one fourth would vote for an atheist. Non-believers are tagged as immoral or plain stupid. The aim of this post is to clear these misunderstandings about us.
Charge no.1: Atheists/Agnostics are egoistic people who find it below their dignity to accept the existence of a power superior to them. (This comes from a column in The Indian Express).
Not true. I understand that I am just an ordinary person out of the millions in this world and I realise the unimportance of my existence on this planet. So I personally don’t have a problem accepting that there is a power superior to me. In fact, it would be wonderful to feel protected and guided all through life. . (Though I do have a problem in accepting that all my actions and my destiny are being controlled by somebody else. What would be the point of our lives then?)
Charge no. 2: Agnostics/Atheists are stupid because how can one not believe in God? (This is usually accompanied by condescending lines like, “You are too young, you know. You’ll know better when you grow up.”
I won’t even bother answering this one.
Charge no. 3: Agnostics/Atheists are stupid because how can one not believe in God? The world is so beautiful and complex. It is even beyond the understanding of science. So God exists.
Huh? I mean, in pre-historic times, Man worshipped the forces of nature because he could not explain them. A lot of thing might be beyond our understanding today, but that hardly proves that God exists.
Charge no.4 (Levelled at agnostics by both theists and atheists): Are agnostics also agnostic about sunrise everyday (i.e. believe that sun may rise or may not)? (This too comes from the same column in The Indian Express)
Again a very fallacious argument. Sun has been rising every single day for as far as we know. Therefore, the probability of the sun rising tomorrow morning is extremely high. It would therefore be stupid to be agnostic about it.
Charge no. 5: Agnostics/Atheists are immoral because they have no fear of God.
If fear of God is the only thing keeping a person from being immoral, then such a person is a big hypocrite. (The omniscient God will see through this!) And then again, don’t we know people who behave immorally and then conduct poojas and visit temples to wash the sins off?
(What helps us choose between good and bad is our conscience.)
‘Believing’ in God is a question of ‘faith’. And ‘faith’ is often beyond ‘reason’. I, an agnostic, am caught between the two. Only time will tell if one of them is to win.
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7 comments:
This reminds me of a dialogue from Matrix, Morpheus asks Neo, "Do you believe in faith?" Neo says, "No".
"Why not?"
"Because I don't like the idea that I am not in control of my life!"
Believing in God and believing in supernatural force are two different things. Many people don't believe in 'Murtipuja', whilst several don't trust the supernatural power as well. It's like the way we create fear in the minds of kids about the darkness. A kid is never afraid of it as he cannot make a distinction between day and night. It is us who create a fear in his mind and he starts believing in ghosts and monsters.
VaPu Kale said once, "asthir maaNse jashi beer bar madhye saapadtat, tashi ti devlaat suddha saapadtat!"
However, I don't deny the existence of some force beyond my control, due to my personal experiences.
There is nothing wrong in being atheist/agnostic. Ultimately what matters is your self-belief!
well....im as u say agnostic/atheist...i have no personal godly experience or anything...n as far as the nature is concerned man simply uses god as a defence mechanism for his safety n cover his sins...god doesn't tell one to kill animals n please him or turn innocent girls into devdaasis or kill humans for that matter...faith is something which u have n believe in...it could be a normal person, it does not always have to be god, divine, supernatural....i have faith in myself...am i divine then??
science has proofs of how the concept of god developed....the big bang...living beings...flora n fauna..all! WE have created god!
THE EVOLUTION PIONEER DARWIN DIDN'T FOLLOW SUCH CONCEPTS..then why are we...common people fighting over something we cant justify for????
I disagree with Sumit when he says that believing in God and supernatural being are two different things, because what is God if not a supernatural being? I mean you can call him a force or whatever but the fact remains that as most of us define God, he's a thinking being, often intervening in our lives. And speaking of 'asthir maanse', I'm one of them but you won't find me in neither a bar nor temple. Maybe a French classe is also a good place to find these asthir atme;)
Niyati's argument that 'man created god' is quite strong as well!
To conclude, a quote from Blaise Pascal: Il y a suffisamment de lumiere pour ceux qui veulent voir et sufisamment d'obscurite pour ceux qui ne veulent pas! To believe or not to believe, that is (and will be) the question...
Well, when I said that God and supernatural power are two different things, I meant the worship (murtypuja. A supernatural force need not necessarily be found in the idol.
As far as asthir(restless) people are concerned, I think you have completely misunderstood the sentence. If at all you visit a temple, you will see people speaking out their sorrows, agonies, asking for a relief, demanding peace, etc. We blame people for going to bar, but what about those who visit temples as they do not get peace at home? For them God is just like a pain killer! they don't worship God, they buy their wishes, asking God to speak in their favour, in exchange for money. We call dunkards bad people, so what about these hypocrites? Do you think they really believe in God? No way!
Good article.
Have you read God Deluison by Richard Dawkins?
It is on my shelf for your ready reference : Please Visit
http://www.shelfari.com/udaydada/shelf
I have read a part of God Delusion... Frankly I got quite bored and left it halfway...
i am no atheist i believe in the superior power. but i do not look down upon those who do not believe in it. i think its the society that forces most people to believe in god..esp in india where idol worshiping is rampant..but as an individual as you grow up,u make up ur choices! one must respect others choices..i feel more than looking down upon non believers its the narrow mindedness of such people to not think of other possible dimentions that exist! as for what niyati says ,nobody is in a fight to justify something..its a question of personal choice and tolerance besides where do you think science has come from?did it come to us d minute we wer born,or have we made it up? just as this question it is hard to say dat it has proof or dat we have created god or not!
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