Silent Night, Godless Night: Surviving Christmas as a Godless Atheist
Wednesday November 28, 2007
The term 'juggernaut' is thought to come from a Jagannath, an idol of Krishna pulled along on a cart under whose wheels devotees would throw themselves. Christmas in contemporary America is a juggernaut in that respect: people willingly throw themselves under its wheels and it crushes everything it comes into contact with. You can't escape it and it dominates everything in culture, politics, and media for upwards of two months. What's an irreligious atheist to do?
Read Article: Silent Night, Godless Night: Surviving Christmas Eve, Day as a Godless Atheist
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I recently attended a “December Nights” event in San Diego, CA, and saw an “atheist” booth there. Seeing the 3 very lonesome and rather dejected looking individuals manning this booth made me feel rather sad for them.
They were sitting behind a table where hardly anyone stopped, with a small pine tree with no ornaments or lights on it. It seemed so sad to see people without joy, hope, or even a hint of a smile on their faces, yet surrrounded by thousands of others who had all of those things.
The atheists were there to advocate that their position that “God” (or “god” if you prefer) doesn’t exist, and that non-atheists are “deceiving themselves” by believing in Him.
Perhaps….but I guess I’d rather be “deceived” in life and look forward to someday “being in heaven” (even if I died and never WAS) than to find out that I had been wrong about religion by being an atheist and finding out THEN that I had been the one who was wrong on THIS side of that “great divide”.
Therefore, I’ll just “stumble along in my stupidity” and enjoy my Christmases,
Easters, and all the rest of the “ignorant” religious holidays that atheists don’t acknowledge.
If I’m wrong, I haven’t lost a thing, and I’ll have enjoyed every Christmas that rolled around while I was here on this rock………….I just don’t see that as a “losing position” to take!
Maybe some of those people who had “joy” and “hope” and been treating the atheists poorly, as often happens. Or maybe you misinterpreted. I suppose if you had really cared about them, you might have approached them to talk to them, but it doesn’t sound like you did.
Why would you rather believe a lie that makes you feel good than the truth and try to find a way to live well anyway?
Do you advocate this sort of attitude generally? If so, is there any limits that you’d place on what people believe simply because it makes them feel better? Is there any point at which you would reject for yourself or criticize in others believing comforting falsehoods over supposedly uncomfortable truths?
It’s a popular belief that atheists have something to lose and theists have nothing to lose, but that’s just a myth.
Of course, if you are sincere in saying that you’d rather believe a comforting lie than a supposedly uncomfortable truth, then you can’t really care if your position is a “safe bet.”
Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. Just don’t foist them off on me. Some people prefer not to speculate on what they cannot know and cope better when they don’t confuse their imaginings with truth. It may well be that “enjoying every Christmas” is an immature raison d’etre to some, especially when it goes hand-in-hand with a way of life that deprives others of their right to live in a non-toxic environment.
using the “hedge you bet” rationalization for you belief in god will probably not do you much good when you face your big boogey man in the sky. it tells me that you really don’t know, really don’t believe and, for you, it’s good enough just to take the path of least resistance, like the rest of your herd of frightened sheep. stand up on your hind feet, man! stand for something other than a rationalization of a poor default argument. look around. read other religions and philosophies. think about the universe.
Not very original. Blaise Pascal said so in the 17th c. We should definitely know more about the world today than then. Besides you can enjoy Christmas anyway, as I do, without believing in absurd fairytales tha we’ll never be able to prove. Christmas has to do with the Sun and the winter solstice, and precedes Christianity by thousands of years, when humans first realized that every winter thay would get out of darkness, days would grow longer, and life would blossom again… good enough reasons to celebrate Christmas.
I’ve posted a couple posts about sending Hannukah cards to Jewish friends, and Xmas cards to openly Xian friends. Just for the record, I also have relatives who don’t celebrate the holiday. I don’t send them a card. I respect whatever someone is into.
I celebrate–mainly becuase I like to celebrate. It’s very likely that if I was in India, and there was a religious event/holiday, I would participate. But then, I also have a background with a dollup of anthropology–so I like cultural things–even if they’re religiously motivated. I have some Native American jewelry with a deity depicted on it (one I find especially cute). And I have statues of a particular Hindu god I really like (as a character).
As far as Xmas, I’m throwing a holiday party at my house this year. We’re decorating. We won’t have a nativity–but we’ve got a fiber optic tree and colored lights.
I just like to celebrate in general. I guess for me it’s just a cultural shin-dig, and I have a good time with my friends/family–some of whom I don’t get to see that much during the more hectic times of year (when we don’t get days off.
Regarding Pascal:
1. Which god do you bet on? The one with the worst hell? The one with the best heaven? Ones that allow you to worship other gods (so you can hedge your bets with as many gods as possible)?
2. You don’t lose anything only if you put nothing into your belief. In other words, if you attend church for 2 hours a pop three times a week for 30 years before you die, you lost over 9,000 hours of your life to a lie. If you actually incorporate the beliefs into your life in ways some people do (like not using contraception, not having abortions, not allowing a divorce for an unhappy couple…) then it could cost you plenty in that you actually gave up your right to decide what is best for you in your life, and acquiesed to someone else’s view of what you ought and ought not to do. If that is the case–you paid for your belief in a lie with your entire life.
3. If you reference the Xian god–which most of Pascal’s Wagerers seem to here. Then “I went to church to hedge my bets–in case you actually existed…” won’t get you past the Pearly Gates–according to the requirements in the NT.
4. If you mean that you “believe” in order to hedge your bets–you’re lying. Belief is not something you can will. If you claim it is–test it out: Next time you’re up high–on a ledge, believe you can fly if you jump off. If you actually do it, I’ll accept your claim that you can just “will” yourself to believe bullsh*t on cue.
Where there is no shred of evidence for the existence of any item-X, I challenge your claim you can just believe in it on a whim.
Pascal didn’t really think it through very well.
Also with regard to Pascal, you lose your dignity, if not in your own view, at least in the view of many others.
I don’t respect people who say they’d rather believe lies that make them happy. If my husband was cheating on me, I’d rather know it than believe he’s faithful and continue in a sham of a relationship. What you’re describing goes beyond that to a sham of an entire life–because it feels good.
I don’t respect the mind that doesn’t respect truth. Ironically, the Bible celebrates truth in many verses–and yet so many Xians say exactly what is said above: “I’d rather believe a lie…I mean, so what if it’s not true…it’s a _really_ nice lie.”
Hmmm. WWJSay?
For some of us, maybe even millions of us, it is a day that represents the The word made flesh. The birth of Christ and of hope in the world. I have a difficult time with the season because of the expectations, obligations and memories. The fuss over political correctness, I ignore. It’s alway’s been Jesus’s chosen birth date in the Western Church. It’s my faith’s day. Even if it isn’t your belief’s day look at the bright side, It’s a time when people have an excuse to wish each other well. Or get on public transit without correct change. I keep it private and go to Christmas Eve Mass and recite the words of my faith, take communion, listen to The Gospels sung in solo and feel the mystery of life and the presence of a loving God. Nothing wrong with that. Why should it bother anyone-you can opt out and just go on with your business. I don’t think the holiday is going away, why not just take it in the spirit of goodwill towards all. Lamb lies down with Lion. I know Richard Hawkens has started a faithless faith. Get together with like minded and celebrate whatever is good, with food and drink. Be creative. I despise New Year’s but can’t change it. Plus it isn’t much easier for all Christians for reasons stated. It’s terribly emotional and my shrink is on holidays. Hope it works out for you anyway.
I really do think you need your own holiday.
Then you don’t know much. First, it’s “Richard Dawkins.” Second, he hasn’t started any sort of faith.
No, we don’t, because atheism isn’t any sort of religion or belief system that would require one.
“I know Richard Hawkens has started a faithless faith.”
Well, there is a Jim Hawkins but that is a character from a novel. Faithless faith sounds like an oxymoron. Why would you need faith if you have never had in the first place?
The term ‘juggernaut’ is thought to come from a Jagannath, an idol of Krishna pulled along on a cart under whose wheels devotees would throw themselves.
Interesting. Jagannath is a synonym for Krishna meaning ‘lord of the world’. So I guess there’s a misunderstanding involved as well.
I found this to be sort of ironic:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas#_note-0
>The identification of the birth date of Christ did not at first inspire feasting or celebration. Tertullian does not mention it as a major feast day in the Church of Roman Africa. In 245, the theologian Origen denounced the idea of celebrating Christ’s birthday “as if he were a king pharaoh.” He contended that only sinners, not saints, celebrated their birthdays[3].
[3] ^ Origen, “Levit., Hom. VIII”; Migne P.G., XII, 495; quoted by Natal Day The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911