11-23-2011, 03:31 PM
My best friend is an atheist, I've gotten a decent look at the perspective over the few years. What's interesting is that it's simply a case of the search for meaning in existence being unfulfilled. A lot of the lack of fulfilment comes from as has been reached in this thread- dogmatic religion.
Unfortunately any and all questions dealing with 'what lies beyond' are framed in relation to what religion provides. Eventually, all spiritual and theological ideas are labelled as fitments of the imagination. I once suggested to my friend that he consider out of body experiences- he dismissed that as 'most probably hallucination'. It's ironic that the strength of resistance is the same for religious fundamentalists and atheists- I suppose because both mentalities give some aspect of refuge one surrender and one (intellectual) sovereignty. So as to where it comes from, I'd say those with enough discernment rise from the muck of superstition in religion but take it too far in then dismissing all things metaphysical.
The rationalisations come later. Since the moment of and nature of origin of the universe/existence is necessarily something assumed the smaller assumption is that it all came from some material 'immensity' such as the big bang singularity rather than a completely unbounded, aware infinity. Questions of why or how don't even enter into such a clinical approach to assumptions. So I don't think the idea of a true infinity is acceptable. So an all encompassing oneness I don't think is something accessible from that mindset. I think though that it doesn't really matter since 'oneness' is realised more provincially from the realisation that there's a commonality of experience and not in an idea of infinity or infinite deity.
As to the 'point' of the atheist 'condition' I think the 'balancing of previous incarnation as a fundamentalist' is plausible. What seems to me to be a more immediate justifying effect is that it accelerates the choice making. Let's be honest, religion for most people doesn't provide viable perspective or guidance as regards polarisation. I think atheism is a condition imposed on the self by the Self in order to narrow the 'playing field' of life. My friend, for instance, had a period where he intensely sought out a system of ethics from within his materialistic point of view, he had the drive to understand human nature and be more able to relate. On the other hand, one can see it all as a game of materiality which advances the 'for me' mentality. So in that way I see it as a reaction to the stagnation that most religions draw people into.
Unfortunately any and all questions dealing with 'what lies beyond' are framed in relation to what religion provides. Eventually, all spiritual and theological ideas are labelled as fitments of the imagination. I once suggested to my friend that he consider out of body experiences- he dismissed that as 'most probably hallucination'. It's ironic that the strength of resistance is the same for religious fundamentalists and atheists- I suppose because both mentalities give some aspect of refuge one surrender and one (intellectual) sovereignty. So as to where it comes from, I'd say those with enough discernment rise from the muck of superstition in religion but take it too far in then dismissing all things metaphysical.
The rationalisations come later. Since the moment of and nature of origin of the universe/existence is necessarily something assumed the smaller assumption is that it all came from some material 'immensity' such as the big bang singularity rather than a completely unbounded, aware infinity. Questions of why or how don't even enter into such a clinical approach to assumptions. So I don't think the idea of a true infinity is acceptable. So an all encompassing oneness I don't think is something accessible from that mindset. I think though that it doesn't really matter since 'oneness' is realised more provincially from the realisation that there's a commonality of experience and not in an idea of infinity or infinite deity.
As to the 'point' of the atheist 'condition' I think the 'balancing of previous incarnation as a fundamentalist' is plausible. What seems to me to be a more immediate justifying effect is that it accelerates the choice making. Let's be honest, religion for most people doesn't provide viable perspective or guidance as regards polarisation. I think atheism is a condition imposed on the self by the Self in order to narrow the 'playing field' of life. My friend, for instance, had a period where he intensely sought out a system of ethics from within his materialistic point of view, he had the drive to understand human nature and be more able to relate. On the other hand, one can see it all as a game of materiality which advances the 'for me' mentality. So in that way I see it as a reaction to the stagnation that most religions draw people into.
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