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The Authentic Eclectic
What Rough Beast…?
Some thoughts on gods, God and the Absolute in a big Universe
What I mean when I say ‘atheist’
That’s a label I have to put on myself when discussing religion. It means a lot of things to a lot of people, but mostly, it’s taken to mean not believing in God. Which is fine by me, because by and large I don’t believe in the God or gods theists talk about.
Now I have very particular reasons for this. One can, theologically, bring up reasons for God permitting human suffering; it can either be a punishment for Original Sin, part of maya or the illusion of reality, or Gods’ way of testing our fortitude and care for each other. What no religious person has ever been able to justify to my satisfaction, however, is the apparently contradictory and petty nature of their God.
This apparently benevolent and caring being, we are told, has Views about pre-marital sex, same-sex lovemaking, masturbation and birth control. On the other hand, He (and it’s usually a He) is very relaxed about the assumed right of any half-wit to own and use a lethal weapon. So in other words, bonking is a no-no but bloodshed is fine! You’ll excuse me if I take these ideas to be those of the humans leading the religion rather than those of any…
