Re:Why are geeks often atheist?
by IsaacSchlueter on Sunday July 06, 2008 @03:47PM
(#237985)
Who says atheism == nihilism?
I consider my life rich with meaning and spiritual satisfaction. I relish my place in this species, my instincts and my awareness of them. My scant century-or-so of life is a limited quantity, and that motivates me to use it to live and love and push for everything I can achieve.
Atheism is one version of nihilism unless some attempt is made to redefine the basic concepts. It sounds like you already have and it sounds very similar to what I embrace. I don't know where that leaves us, but it doesn't worry me either. I'm not trying to convert anyone. But I'm also very satisfied by my working model for God. You may choose a less-loaded term to describe where you derive a "life rich with meaning and spiritual satisfaction".
Re:Why are geeks often atheist?
by IsaacSchlueter on Sunday July 06, 2008 @09:16PM
(#238181)
God is a particularly bad word for that term.
Not only is my life 100% godless, I try to be free of superstition of all kinds. (No Santa, no tooth fairy, no magic dreams, no esp, no ghosts, etc.)
Superstition, in my opinion, is mental clutter that obscures spirituality.
"I try to be free of superstition of all kinds."
Really? What's "spirituality" then?
Re:Why are geeks often atheist?
by IsaacSchlueter on Monday July 07, 2008 @01:49AM
(#238361)
Spirituality is a type of experience. No more superstitious a term than "happy" or "hungry" or "purple" or "curious".
The inflexibility of thought is what doesn't work for us. But that wasn't a reason to stop learning. We just searched a bit harder for folks to learn from. Now we're satisfied by the result even as the learning is incomplete.