One of the cool things about the internet is the abililty to do geneaological research. This was maybe the first time in my life where I was really thankful for my unusual family name (Ulery). I can't imagine trying to find your roots with a name like Smith. I was able to follow most of my lines back into the 1600's, including my Ulery's, who came from Bavaria, Germany to the New World in the 1700's.
I joined a facebook group for Ulery's and it was there I met a young evangelist who, although we share a last name, is not related to me from what we can tell at this point. When I got a friend request from him I checked out his page. He was definitely what I would call "over the top" for Jesus, but he was also a really, really nice guy, someone I enjoyed knowing, and someone who truly lived according to his beliefs. I don't share his faith, obviously, but I can respect his dedication to it, and my life would be dull if I only surrounded myself with people who think like me, so we friended and got to know each other a little.
Today I want to offer an atheist's response to a comment he made once, not to me personally but in a status, that, "Without Him [Jesus] my life is void and empty, and has no meaning, purpose, or fulfillment."
I know he meant what he wrote because he wouldn't have said it otherwise, and I'm sure that, according to what he has been taught and the way those around him believe, he can't comprehend how anyone could have meaning without belief. I'm sure he wasn't trying to be offensive or even challenging. He was simply stating that his faith is so powerful that it defines who he is in his every waking moment, and that it is such a large and important factor in his life that he thinks he would be lost without it. The idea of being without something that has been so prevalent in his life is probably kind of scary.
So what is it like to live without faith in God? Is life without God just one pointless day after another? Is it just a drunken orgy of pleasures of the flesh? Are atheists lonely, sad, despairing, angry, and selfish?
Not at all.
Remember that feeling, if you're someone who has ever had a history as a person of faith, when you gave money to feed the hungry or bought computers for a school in an impoverished country or when you helped a lost child find his parent? Do you know that feeling you get when you turn the other cheek, or love your neighbor as yourself, or give someone the coat off your back? Those parts of Christianity that teach us to love and help one another are actually common to lots of different faiths, and they are something that you *can* and *should* continue to do as an atheist. Why? Because you are human, and you have the power to make other humans' journeys easier. Because it's the right thing to do.
Somewhere along the line we (all of us) allowed religion to claim certain things for itself, things like the Golden Rule, or the "ethic of reciprocity." No, Jesus was not the first to suggest it. This ethic is found in most cultures throughout history. Religion claims that "morals" or "values" belong to the church, and those have become code words for certain kinds of bigotry, but if we look at values as being a way of being responsible for our social behavior and of treating others well, then we can see that this is not something that is exclusive to religion. In fact, we can cite thousands of examples in which churches or people of faith have behaved in ways that are just the opposite of the values which they claim are theirs. From the Catholic Church protecting its priests at the expense of children to faith healers bilking their followers for millions, there is no shortage of immoral behavior to be found under our steeples.
The fact is that every single one of us is responsible for how we treat others. It doesn't matter what you do with your Sunday mornings. With the exception of sociopaths, human beings hopefully try to treat others well, not because we were told to do this but because we have the mental capacity to imagine ourselves in another's place and behave accordingly.
When I say that I find my own meaning I don't mean that I just charge through, taking whatever I can get for myself with no thought to the consequences. I have chosen a life of contemplation. The truth, to me, is the most important thing, and I can't think of any way I'd rather live than in relentless pursuit of it. I value free thought and speech, learning, love, service, equality, my family, and my fellow humans. I have it within my power to affect change in my corner of the world, and I don't take that responsibility lightly. I fight for the things I think are important. I teach my kids to think about their place in the world and what kinds of contributions they might be able to make.
Whether we call ourselves believers or not, each of us creates our own meaningful life. We may think that we are following the directions set forth by God, but we have chosen to do that. We have chosen to believe that slavery is wrong. Why do we know this? Because we can imagine ourselves in the slave's position. We don't need anyone to tell us that it's wrong. In fact, the Bible never condemns it, but we still know it's wrong, just as we know it's right to love and help our neighbor. Even the most devout among us have chosen which parts of their Bible they follow and which parts they can ignore. (How many Christians reading this are wearing polyester?)
Maybe the only difference between the meaning in an atheists' life and in the life of the Christian is that the atheist admits that he chooses right of his own accord.
I think that in the coming decades we will see a huge increase in the number of people who claim not to believe in God. I believe that they're out there - in numbers hovering around twenty percent at present - and that as more of us speak out, so more will gain courage and realize that nonbelief is not something to be feared or ashamed of but rather something to be celebrated. We are free to take those parts of religion that we found meaningful, like helping others, and employ them in our lives. Giving up religion doesn't mean we give up on our values. We don't need to replace religion with the worship of any person or thing or culture. We share the human condition, and no shortage of need. As we realize that we have the power to pursue a life of service to others, no God required, we will have our meaning, our purpose, and our fulfillment.
Peace.
