Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Pantheism

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November 21, 2012

Nature or God


The Buddhism of the Pali scriptures does not worship or make reference to the divine. Taoism of Lao Tzu or ChuangTzu talks about nature not the divine. The Greek atomists like Democritus and Leucippus, Greek and Roman Epicurean philosophies of Epicurus and Lucretius were either atheists or they held the gods to be irrelevant.


 

Atheism is the belief that empirical evidence for the divine is lacking. It is lacking in the same way that there exist no compelling proof for Unicorns or Pegasus. In addition Ferengi, Cardassian, Klingon, Angosian, Bajoran, or Lela Dax who joined a Trill cannot be proven to exist other than science fiction characters. The point is atheism is not a profound faith in the non-existence of god or gods. But atheism simply states there is insufficient evidence to waist time worrying about the nature or existence of the divine.  This does go beyond a lack of faith in God. Atheists state God is not necessary. At a certain level all atheists are agonistic in the same way that it is impossible to prove that a hot pastrami sandwich, double shot of espresso and a shot of Canadian whisky eternally rotates around Pluto without ever changing temperatures. It is so remote a chance that to considerate is absurd. At this point our discussion has slipped into intellectual masturbation.

Humanism claims people are capable of being ethical and decent and becoming richly fulfilled without belief in God. In fact belief in the divine makes this more difficult.

 

Pantheism adds to atheism a profound celebration of life and a reverence for the magnitude of the universe and a respectful exaltation and the veneration of the earth. Science is the way we gain understanding and respect for humanity, life, the earth and the universe. God as a term if it is used at all is an emotive expression not a description of reality.

 

Ignosticism simply states that because without a clear definition of the divine that is subject to testing and capable of being proven false the question of God’s existence is meaningless. Because ultimately believe in God is a matter of faith and there is not a single acceptable definition, then the question itself is silly.

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