Whateverist
Active Member
Some of you may have known me as Whateverist at atheist forums .org which I joined 12 years ago. This was my intro there: Anyone here interested in the nature of the self ?
As you can see I was pretty naive about religion when I was 58. I left that forum because of the nonstop drama and Lord of the Flies desire to chase all believers off ASAP after ‘chewing them up’, the term used to cast being rude and insulting in a favorable light as a kind of fun or sport. Moderation was fully behind this ‘fun’. So I left. Though at the time I thought there was something wrong with most religious belief in our modern times I didn’t think this was at fitting. For a while I posted at a forums called atheists discussions .org but I realized what I needed was to hear from articulate believers about why they did.
So in 2018 I joined BioLogos forums which was founded by Dr Francis Collins to promote real science to his fellow Christians. I supported them for a while and I did find thoughtful, open minded and educated Christians there willing to give me useful feedback. I keep in touch with a few but I got tired of the shallow, rude ones. For a while I felt like fine, there is low life on both sides of the belief divide and let it roll by off my back but the lack of opposition only made the worst ones even worse and I finally had enough. Now I have nothing to do with the site or forums but keep in touch with a few of my favorites: a moderator, a former moderator and a librarian from Michigan.
So early this year I left that forum. I came here mostly to stalk @vulcanlogician who I’ve known from a couple other forums and whose insights are always made with great care. I’ve sensed that like me he wanted real conversations with real believers. I’ve probably had enough of those or at least the kind where one must always code switch to the vocabulary and mindset of a faith tradition.
Anyhow when I came here the first time I kept things pretty light and personal. This time I wouldn’t mind having more conversations with my fellow nonbelievers. People are sometimes confused about my religious status because of my fluency in code switching with Christians. But I consider myself a confirmed agnostic with an interest in panentheism.
I no longer bother with the “atheist” label as I no longer think whether or not one harbors belief in God/gods to be a very important question. What I focus on instead is what it is people mean by those words and how do they come by the belief they have. Yes/no without clarifying terms is pointless. Of course whatever one means by those words, the concept is not an easy one to capture in language. But I no longer think that is a point against religious faith, the insufficiency lies with the language not with the inadequately communicated substance of them.
So anyone who wants to start with a dictionary isn’t going deep enough. Why did god belief get started and spread so widely for so long? Hint: it isn’t simply bad science, gullibility or ignorance. Unless you have something positive to offer about what accounts for the depths of our humanity, there is nothing for us discuss. “Not God” isn’t helpful or relevant. So you won’t enjoy talking religion with me.
A little bio: I’m married to a professional artist ten years my senior which really sucks at our advanced age. But no regrets on that account. As a college undergrad I majored in philosophy but don't approach the subject as a sacred collection of people's thoughts on profound subjects. I am currently down to one dog but usually go with two, a master and an apprentice. But my old boy Smokey whose image graces my avatar died unexpected early this year. Fortunately he imparted good lessons to my youngster, a two year old female McNab named Ember. In addition to a wife and dog I also care take a fairly ambitious garden in one of the most benign climates anywhere. Oh and while I’d rather be reading good literature I am for now working through Iain McGilchrist’s The Matter With Things. Which addresses all the philosophy and science which interests me.
As you can see I was pretty naive about religion when I was 58. I left that forum because of the nonstop drama and Lord of the Flies desire to chase all believers off ASAP after ‘chewing them up’, the term used to cast being rude and insulting in a favorable light as a kind of fun or sport. Moderation was fully behind this ‘fun’. So I left. Though at the time I thought there was something wrong with most religious belief in our modern times I didn’t think this was at fitting. For a while I posted at a forums called atheists discussions .org but I realized what I needed was to hear from articulate believers about why they did.
So in 2018 I joined BioLogos forums which was founded by Dr Francis Collins to promote real science to his fellow Christians. I supported them for a while and I did find thoughtful, open minded and educated Christians there willing to give me useful feedback. I keep in touch with a few but I got tired of the shallow, rude ones. For a while I felt like fine, there is low life on both sides of the belief divide and let it roll by off my back but the lack of opposition only made the worst ones even worse and I finally had enough. Now I have nothing to do with the site or forums but keep in touch with a few of my favorites: a moderator, a former moderator and a librarian from Michigan.
So early this year I left that forum. I came here mostly to stalk @vulcanlogician who I’ve known from a couple other forums and whose insights are always made with great care. I’ve sensed that like me he wanted real conversations with real believers. I’ve probably had enough of those or at least the kind where one must always code switch to the vocabulary and mindset of a faith tradition.
Anyhow when I came here the first time I kept things pretty light and personal. This time I wouldn’t mind having more conversations with my fellow nonbelievers. People are sometimes confused about my religious status because of my fluency in code switching with Christians. But I consider myself a confirmed agnostic with an interest in panentheism.
I no longer bother with the “atheist” label as I no longer think whether or not one harbors belief in God/gods to be a very important question. What I focus on instead is what it is people mean by those words and how do they come by the belief they have. Yes/no without clarifying terms is pointless. Of course whatever one means by those words, the concept is not an easy one to capture in language. But I no longer think that is a point against religious faith, the insufficiency lies with the language not with the inadequately communicated substance of them.
So anyone who wants to start with a dictionary isn’t going deep enough. Why did god belief get started and spread so widely for so long? Hint: it isn’t simply bad science, gullibility or ignorance. Unless you have something positive to offer about what accounts for the depths of our humanity, there is nothing for us discuss. “Not God” isn’t helpful or relevant. So you won’t enjoy talking religion with me.
A little bio: I’m married to a professional artist ten years my senior which really sucks at our advanced age. But no regrets on that account. As a college undergrad I majored in philosophy but don't approach the subject as a sacred collection of people's thoughts on profound subjects. I am currently down to one dog but usually go with two, a master and an apprentice. But my old boy Smokey whose image graces my avatar died unexpected early this year. Fortunately he imparted good lessons to my youngster, a two year old female McNab named Ember. In addition to a wife and dog I also care take a fairly ambitious garden in one of the most benign climates anywhere. Oh and while I’d rather be reading good literature I am for now working through Iain McGilchrist’s The Matter With Things. Which addresses all the philosophy and science which interests me.
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