Although I like the idea of responding to a quote rather than a question for the blog carnival, I have to admit I reread this quote about 10 times before deciding if I wanted to write about, because I simply just didn’t get it. But I think I have something to add, so I’ll throw up my thoughts. [Ok. So in retrospect that sounds awful. But I'm not changing it. Be prepared for lots of these little edits and comments today.]
The last part of this quote really resonated with me -
An authentic prophet can be a radical critic of spurious piety, of sham spirituality.
I think people who follow any prophet throughout history follow someone who was a radical critic of spurious piety. I don’t think anyone out there has dedicated their life to someone who said “This other religion is wonderful. Lets all go follow it, but lets make just one simple change.” So I question the addition of the word “can” – I would instead write “is.” A prophet is someone who rejects what has been told them by their teachers, and sees the Truth in their own way.
[What that last sentence means exactly I have no clue. You would think I did since it just popped from my brain, alas, nope. But it still looks good. What is Truth capitalized? Again, clueless. But just take the quote and roll with it.]
The overall quote [which I guess I can finally post, I must not be firing on all cylinders right now] is
“A good deal of so-called atheism is itself, from my point of view, theologically significant. It is the working of God in history, and judgement upon the pious. An authentic prophet can be a radical critic of spurious piety, of sham spirituality.”
I was what I now lovingly call a fundamentalist atheist in high school. I would go around, seeking out Preacher Kids and get into theological discussions with them. [That means I would yell at them and tell them why they were wrong, and they would yell at me that I was going to hell.] This is not quite that popular in a small South Georgia town, where everybody who is anybody is in Young Life and will Meet You At The Pole. I had a notebook I carried in my backpack that debunked all these things in the Bible and where it contradicts itself. In short – I was a dick [I'm using very nonviolent communication today as well apparently.] I saw the error of my ways at a Junior. I was still an atheist, but I wasn’t a dick about it. As a senior I was still an atheist, but would get into theological discussions with those old preacher kid’s, usually revolving around “Is there such a thing as an absolute truth.” These conversations either drove my other friends nuts (hello! we’re in high school! less talking and more drinking please) or got them to join in. There are things said in these conversations that still stick with me, 8 years after the fact.
I think we were all our own little prophets in these conversations, from the radical right wingers to this atheist.
As a side not, I don’t know if the term atheist applies anymore. Maybe I’m up to agnostic? [My mother would be ecstatic. I remember telling her I was an theist - She almost crashed the car, and yelled at me I wasn't, but I was an agnostic. She might be too sometimes. But I couldn't say I was an atheist. I was an agnostic. She's still in denial about this - imagine the whole gay thing.]
4 responses so far ↓
mojoey // February 11, 2007 at 5:32 pm |
Interesting post. I am an Atheist and an Agnostic. Nearing that I do not believe there is a god, nor do I believe proving the existence or non-existence of god is possible. Is that what you mean by agnostic? Because one does not move from Atheism to being agnostic, one moves from being an atheist to being a theist.
clamdigger // February 15, 2007 at 3:41 pm |
Mojoey,
Most people (especially atheists) that I know do not believe that you can be agnostic and atheist at the same time.
After hearing that for years I thought your position that you can be both was interesting. I agree that one can maintain the position that such things as God are unknowable or unprovable while having a FAITH position that God exists or does not exist. In other words, “I don’t know for sure but here is what I believe.”
I do believe that a person can move from being an atheist to being an agnostic. You don’t have to be theist to not be atheist. One can believe that the existance of God is unprovable/unknowable without taking a faith position in either direction (theism or atheism).
CD
kim // February 20, 2007 at 2:05 am |
Well, atheists are important to theism because any idea that’s any good should be able to stand up to criticism.
I guess I’m an agnostic and a theist/panentheist. Or, as someone else said, show me the god you object to and I’ll probably be atheist with regard to that god too. I’m an atheist with regard to the big bearded god on the cloud in the sky. And with regard to the Old Testament god. Although, even that god appears different ways in different passages: in some, god is a spirit, with no physical form and no gender, in others he’s a mean old man with the temper of a two-year-old. ok, I’m just wandering, not going anywhere with this, so I’ll stop….
PeaceBang » UU Carnival: Prophetic Atheists // May 6, 2007 at 6:38 pm |
[...] And Matt over at Spirituality and Sunflowers, a “fundamentalist atheist” in his teen years, is making his mom happy by thinking he might be an agnostic after all:http://kinsi.wordpress.com/2007/02/09/blog-carnival-7-atheist-prophets/ [...]