I'll compose you an atheist's guide. For you, Ateisto – to have a point of attachment in today's world, which accuses you with allegations and unusual arguments. ...I'll compose it for you too, believer. Not to convince you to atheism, but to know what not to say. And you'd know why you shouldn't say that.
I'm not writing you. due to the fact that I don't compose for you unless I compose a letter. And this is simply a small bit of a letter, so who knows – possibly this paragraph is for you, Reader. However, I usually compose from an interior request – like any autisticist, small reasoning about recipients. To believe that my writing will change someone's mind, convince individual or make the planet a better place – I am already besides old. Especially present the fact is like an ass – everyone has their own. And even the almost mathematical display of a mistake doesn't change anything. At most, a man will hear that he's a lefty or a blip and the case is closed. If the facts do not agree with ideology, the worse for facts.
Writing is my reaction. Irritated sometimes. Then the lyrics come out best: short, concise, to the point, dripping with irony and sarcasm. Sometimes the request to organize certain concepts and ideas. Then they come out longer and little brilliant, but frequently deeper.
One fresh thing for me is that these 2 motivations can overlap, at the same time raising in me (although most likely for a short time) the belief that my writing may be useful to someone. So I'll compose you an atheist's guide.
I've been an atheist myself for a while, but that's not always the case. I come, like the overwhelming majority of Poles, from a household of believers and spiritual – though unreasonable. But adequate to baptize, send a kid to communion and to spiritual lessons – again like most. In my childhood, however, spiritual exultation gave me more than my family. I became an altar boy and terrorized my grandma to have fish on Fridays for dinner. I did not fall into a deeper abyss, but I cultivated all the rituals and duties of a good Catholic – including weekly (or sometimes more often) Masses. At the same time, I was fortunate to go to academic pastoral ministry – by far better cast and serving an intellectually attractive approach. I grew up to be a Catholic.
This changed in the mid-2000s erstwhile I lived in the United States. Then the issues of protecting priests harming children by bishops began to come to light. Shocking information, of course – but at first accepted by me as a consequence of the action of individual "split apples". due to the fact that in the end, there will be degenerates, thieves, rapists, and psychopaths in all sufficiently large group of people. That's the kind of thing that happens to a bishop. It shortly turned out, however, that this activity was systemic – that is, it was not an accident at work, but a rule. Very clear reasons from Crimen solicitationis pointed to the top of the hierarchy – including the pope. And of course I do not think that the intent of the Church was to defend those hurting children. The goal was to defend his good name. In the worst possible way – 1 that has caused more children to be hurt. It is simply a hypocrisy of the highest possible measure—and for me a clear sign that unless a promise that "the gates of hell will not prevail"—it is most likely about another Church. I didn't lose religion at this stage. I inactive called myself a Christian – although not Catholic anymore. I was incapable to belong to the organization of this kind – due to the fact that I would so take work and company the activities of the Church. That's what my morality didn't let me do. And as it turned out, it was right – subsequent years brought scandals slow coming out of the carpets under which they were swept away. yet besides in Poland.
This was the first step towards atheism – although not yet into atheism. It took a second step. And the step was to read the Bible. As a book eater, I tried this earlier – but I was unlucky to translate, which was at my house. The Bible of the British and abroad Bible Society did not fit to read—at most to quote in an elevated speech of individual phrases. As a child, I approached respective times – and all time the enthusiasm ended in the mediate of Genesis. Fortunately, “Gazeta Wyborcza” then published a fresh translation of the Bible (as well as the Torah and the Koran), which I purchased and read. And it was a very interesting reading. She opened my eyes to the origin of many leads in our culture, which so far seemed bizarre and incomprehensible to me. The second thing that became absolutely clear to me is that if you treat the Bible and its God as a origin of morality, it would be a terrible morality. Even the celebrated 10 commandments do not order to be good – at most it prohibits the top transgressions – and besides very selectively. More importantly, though, this reading made me realize that the communicative described there absolutely cannot be true. besides naive and shallow. Greek myths in comparison are the highest of sophistication. What is amazing – the Greek culture level was much higher than that of the Judeans. Well, even if it's all true, I don't want anything to do with specified a God. He's a spoiled, chaotic psychopath with a superiority complex. It seems that nothing worse has happened to the Israelites themselves erstwhile they become "chosen"—and competition is considerable.
So I ceased to be a Christian – and by enlargement I could not become either a Muslim or a Jew. They remained east religions, but on no level were they any more convincing. So I became an atheist – which was not easy. decades of indoctrination have made the process of transition psychologically difficult, filled with doubts, guilt and fear. Pascal's bet isn't meaningless either. But it did.
However, the position of the atheist was completely different from that of the believer. What was natural and apparent before became little natural. While absurdities specified as the “image of spiritual feelings” were hard for me to deal with and before getting free of faith, another matters became clearer over time. Even though constantly paying attention to the fact that only religion is simply a origin of good—ergo atheists are evil or at least they deficiency moral guidance. Besides, the hierarchs have frequently said this rather simply – as unbelievers are incompatible – or inferior. They slow began to contact crosses in offices – due to the fact that they rather clearly pointed out who was in charge. Crosses in schools show how to form children. And I – the father of the children of the unbelievers, I gotta explain why on the walls there are scary images of tortured people. Although I was fortunate to have educational facilities, the stories of my friends about spiritual lessons and retreats caused a considerable level of irritation.
Yet, this irritation was frequently met with even greater irritation on the another hand. “What bothers you is the cross – for you there are only 2 boards.” "Why should religion be in the last lesson? After all, then no 1 will walk anymore.” “And if you do not believe in God, how do you know what is good and what is bad?” “If there is no God, you can bargain and murder.” all year, I began to see more and more clearly the flood of absurd objections, allegations, pretenses – previously completely transparent. And it became clear that it was the consequence of years of indoctrination that made all this seem apparent to the average man. As of course (for him) is simply a fishy and untrustworthy individual, at best the chosen and the seeking (conjectually: God).
And so over the years, I've been collecting these petty annoyances, collecting ridiculous allegations, and pseudological arguments. And with them I collected answers to “no”. mostly for myself – to dispel your own doubts. Today, however, their number is large adequate to call for order, and the level of irritation is invariably significant.
That's why I'll compose you an atheist's guide. For you, Ateisto – to have a point of attachment in today's world, which accuses you with allegations and unusual arguments. Let us add, the argument developed over centuries – so frequently not so easy to break or polemics. I'll compose it to you so you don't feel alone so you know that others go through the same thing as you do. I'll compose it for you too, believer. Not to convince you to atheism, but to know what not to say. And you'd know why you shouldn't say that. To make you know why things that are apparent and harmless to you can be problematic to others. The first part is coming.
* Oh, my God * The text is the first installment of the Guide, which we will print in the monthly Liberté!
