An atheist claiming to be spiritual

General Academics Religion and Philosophy
1

This is a mix of politics and religion, I’m just sticking it in here because I’m questioning his description of himself as being an atheist rather than his reasons for not voting (although I do disagree with his reasoning).

See full letter: 'I am a non-voting Atheist' | News24

'I am a non-voting Atheist' by Morne 2011-02-24 11:00

Hi! My name is Morne. I am a non-voting Atheist, who is proudly South African.

This is what confuses me: how can people so vehemently oppose one system, and publicly support another, when both systems rely on the ignorance of those who support either, or both?

According to popular belief, or compared to my peers and their standards (more like a points system if you ask me), I am an Atheist. I am also a South African who has never voted, and does not intend to either (not in the near future any case).

How do these two things relate? Well it is quite simple, both concepts, or systems, prey on the fear and ignorance of the masses in order to survive or work, which makes the one as fundamentally flawed as the other.

I mentioned that according to some people, or by some standards, I will be and I am classed as an Atheist. Strange, because I believe I am in fact a very religious and spiritual person. I do believe in a "Maker", or "God", or "Higher Being", but because I decided from a very early age in my life that I will not associate that belief with a known, or established structure or religion; I am an Atheist. A case of if you are not with us, you are against us type of thing.

The fact that my beliefs are closely associated to the Christian faith does not make me a Christian, especially given that I am hugely opposed to Christian faith structures and general beliefs, specifically the church as an institution to such an extent that my own family has denounced my “faith”. But it is not only Christianity; I am opposed to every other religious faction that exists or I am aware of in the world. You see when people start abusing their faith, and lie, steal, abuse, rape, corrupt and kill in the name of their “God” or religion there is something very wrong with that system

I am also a man of science, who applies my “God-given” logic to all matters and issues in life, including faith. To ignore the scientific evidence and proof of something like evolution, and theories surrounding the creation of the universe and how all things relate, is not only ignorant, but stupid.

I guess that puts me on the Isaac Newton end of the scale (if I can associate myself with such a brilliant mind for just a second), where I cannot see how science and religion cannot co-exist, or work together in our quest to explore the mysteries of not only ourselves and who we are or where we come from, but our whole universe.

So I am not arguing the point that there is a better political system out there we all should rather follow, as much as I am not arguing for any one religious or spiritual belief system.

And it will be the reason why I will continue not to vote, or associate myself with a political system.

For the time being I will remain a person with a deep spiritual belief, but no faith, a staunch political activist, with no party or political system to follow.

We’ve all come across the “I’m spiritual but not religious” individuals, and in my experience, they’re the worst woo-mongers out there. IMO this chap is agnostic, and for all his self-proclaimed intelligence, not all that bright.

Comments?

2

This person is confused, and therefore confusing. If he ‘believes in God’ then he cannot be an atheist, because an atheist is defined as a person who does not believe in God. The rest of his post is merely an incoherent rambleathon; I didn’t have the staying power to read it to the end.

3

It’s a word salad.

4

Morné wants to have his cake and eat it, too. As st0nes points out, he’s not an atheist, nor even an agnostic, if he asserts, as he does, a belief in “a ‘Maker,’ or ‘God,’ or ‘Higher Being’.” Besides, what does it really mean to say that someone is “spiritual”? The word has no demonstrable real-world referent, so it can mean whatever gives you a thrill, and woo-woo thrives on such ambiguity. Typically, people tell you that they’re “spiritual” in order to impress you with how in touch with “deeper meanings” they are, how special they are. What they’re really after is personal validation, probably because of some underlying insecurities.

My advice? Ignore Morné. He’s not impressing anyone.

'Luthon64

5

To be fair…

according to some people, or by some standards, I will be and I am classed as an Atheist. Strange, because I believe I am in fact a very religious and spiritual person

He’s not classifying himself as an atheist. He says that according to OTHER religious people, he’s being classified as an atheist, but he does not agree. (as far as I can tell from the quotes here)

6

Yes, he is. From the first sentence of his post:

I am a non-voting Atheist
and
I do believe in a "Maker", or "God", or "Higher Being"
These are contradictory statements. There is a lot of havering in between about what other people think, and some unjustified bragging about his '"God given" logic', but as Hermes said, it's just a word salad.
7

if he calls himself atheist, and then says he believes in some higher power… it sounds like he wants to be rebellious, but still keep his options open, you know, in case there is a god, and heaven or hell.
i find a lot of people calling themselves ‘spiritual’, which is fine by me. my view of this is, its one step closer to shirking religion alltogether. that’s how i started on my journey towards non-religion.
people are gatvol of church bullshit. so, let them believe somebody is still holding their spiritual hand, but move away from the dirvel and dogma the church pushes on them. in the absence of constant propaganda, they will, eventually, see the light, or their kids were.
i’d rather have them think they are heading to buddha-hood, as opposed to heaven. it makes them less douchebaggy.

8

That was my impression as well, but I think this is just another case of a “Christian on holiday”. He might just be “reborn in Christ” and spend the rest of his life saying “I used to be an Atheist like you …” when in actual fact he was never an Atheist in the first place. It’s a common story and lifted straight from the bible. Jesus battled satan for 40 days in the wilderness. Then there’s Job in the old testament. I wonder if he recently heard a sermon about one of those stories. He could just want a piece of that action.

But on the other hand you might be right. This may be his first forray into agnosticism and it might stick.

I suppose it depends on whether you’re a pessimist or an optimist. Optimists say that the whole of humanity might one day wake-up from the religious nonsense. Pessimists say that it will always be with us, whether it’s Christianity in the 20th Century or HarryPotterism in the 23rd century.

James